Why a letter by Chhattisgarh’s forest department ignited protests

In 2020, when forest communities living near Chhattisgarh’s Achanakmar Tiger Reserve laid claim to their legal right to conserve and manage the forest, they faced an unexpected roadblock. The district authorities asked them to get a no-objection certificate from the forest department.

Activists pointed out that this defied logic – the Forest Rights Act, 2006, under which the communities had filed the claim, had been enacted to rectify historical injustices to forest-dwelling communities, many perpetrated by forest administrators in the name of conservation. It sought to restore the traditional rights of forest-dwelling communities, which effectively amounted to a curtailing of the powers of the forest department.

Recounting the episode, an activist from the Achanakmar Tiger Reserve Sangharsh Samiti said the communities had to resort to a lengthy process to advocate for their rights, holding several meetings with officials of the forest department, the tribal welfare department, and even the chief minister. “It took us four years to finally get the rights,” said the activist, who requested anonymity.

A recent letter sparked fears that those hard-won rights stood threatened again. In May, the Chhattisgarh forest department issued a letter that effectively amounted to giving itself overarching powers to manage forests where communities’ rights under the Forest Rights Act...

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