The passage of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 (hereafter called Forest Rights Act or FRA) is a watershed event in the prolonged struggle of adivasis and other forest-dwellers of the country.
For the first time in the history of Indian forests, the State admits that rights have been denied to forest-dwelling people, and the law attempts not only to right that “historic injustice” but also give them a central role in forest management.
Full article can be read in The Hindu 's Survey of the Environment 2010. The publication is now on stands. Copies can be obtained by Registered Post (not V.P.P.) for Rs.80 (Rupees Eighty) by drawing a cheque in favour of "Kasturi and Sons Ltd." (Add Rs.10 for non-Chennai cheques) and sending it to the Circulation Department, The Hindu, 859-860, Anna Salai, Chennai 600002 Email: >subs@thehindu.co.in
Neema Pathak and Sreetama Guptbhaya are members of Kalpavriksh, based in Delhi and Pune respectively. Reshma Jathar is an independent researcher and journalist based in Mumbai.
