Reasi, Feb 27: Apni Party Vice President and former minister, Aijaz Ahmed Khan on Tuesday expressed anguish over in orderly delay in the implementation of the Forest Right Act (FRA) in favour of the tribals and other forest dwellers in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi, Udhampur and Ramban Districts.
In an interaction with the tribal people from the Gujjar-Bakarwal community at Talwara in Reasi, the former minister listened to the issues of the tribals.
During the interaction, the tribals informed that they had submitted their claims with the documentary proof to the committees which are submitting the claims under the Forest Right Act in Reasi, Udhampur and Ramban districts.
“However, their files (claims) were not disposed of by the forest rights committees even after completing all the requisite formalities,” Khan said, citing issues raised by the people during his interaction with them.
He said that approximately 670 FRA claims are still pending in the Sanasar Forest Division in Udhampur and many more such cases are pending in the Ramban Forest Division as well as Udhampur District.
“The authorities have failed to fulfill the commitment, which was made by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah that the tribals and other forest dwellers would get the right of grazing and other rights on the forest land under the FRA. However, the authorities, especially the Forest Department, are creating hurdles in the fulfilment of the promises made by the Prime Minister,” he stated.
The Apni Party leader said the tribal lives have been made “miserable” by the forest department and other government authorities by fencing the forest land and restricting the movement of tribals and their cattle/livestock to the grazing land.
“The tribals and other forest dwellers have been protectors of the forest land and forests in Jammu and Kashmir for centuries. However, the Forest Department has restricted the movement of the people who depend on the forest for the feed of their cattle/livestock which is a clear violation of the Forest Rights Act of such people who live in such areas for decades,” the Provincial Vice President of the party, Ex-MLA Haji Mumtaz Ahmed Khan said.
Further highlighting the issue, Mumtaz said the people have claimed that the forest department and civil administration often stop the renovation work of the already established old /kacha houses in the forest or state lands in many districts.
He expressed concern over how the poor and economically weaker section is being ignored regarding the benefits under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) or the granting of five marla of land by the government.
“Unfortunately, the names of the people who came in the PMAY lists to get the benefits, but were denied any kind of benefit under the PMAY scheme because their land/houses had to be constructed on forest land where they lived for centuries,” he said.
