The State government has decided to issue title deeds within 30 days to Scheduled Tribes people and within 90 days to other forest dwellers, following criticism over the delay in issuing them under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.
A total of 1.58 lakh applications were pending before the Department of Forests seeking title deeds by STs and other traditional forest dwellers in 10 districts. In all, the department has received 2.98 lakh applications, and 1.31 lakh of them were rejected.
Issued so far to 9,115 families
Minister for Forests B. Ramanath Rai, who chaired a meeting of the department on Thursday, said title deeds would be issued for forest dwellers after verification of applications at the gram sabha, sub-divisional and district-level committee meetings. So far, title deeds have been issued to 9,115 families.
He said the department with the aid of the Social Welfare and Revenue departments was considering granting title deeds to 1.31 lakh applicants whose petitions were rejected by committees earlier. Families who have been residing on forest land over the decades would not be displaced, he said.
Mr. Rai said families would be allowed to cultivate land if it was less than 10 acres and would be allowed to share forest produce with other communities.
Granting title deeds to forest dwellers has been a major issue in the 10 districts: Mysuru, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Uttara Kannada, Kodagu, Belagavi, Ramanagaram, Davangere, Chitradurga, and Bagalkot.
