RECONSIDER DECISION TO CLOSE FOREST RIGHTS CELLS

AST week, the Odisha government dissolved Forest Rights Act (FRA) cells across 12 districts of the state.

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A letter to the integrated tribal development agencies and district welfare officers instructed closure of 50 such sub-divisional cells and clearance of all dues by March end. These cells, created under the Centre’s flagship Dharti Aaba Jan-jatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA), aid processing and verification of forest rights claims while assisting in record mapping and digitisation. A key responsibility of these units is also to link beneficiaries to government welfare schemes. Given the extremely critical role these cells play, the decision of the state SC & ST development department is baffling.