Orissa HC reserves verdict on interim stay on Forest Dwellers Act

Zeenews.com, July 17, 2009

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has reserved its verdict on a plea by the state government to vacate an interim stay imposed about a year ago on the implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act.

The Act was enacted in 2006 to recognise and vest forest rights and occupation of forest land to traditional forest dwellers for generations.

Accordingly, the Orissa government had identified more than 30,000 forest dwellers to be benefitted by the Act of whom about 20,000 tribals were from Kalahandi, Koraput and Kandhamal district.

But the Act was challenged in the Orissa High Court through a PIL filed by the Society of Retired Forest Officers' of Orissa stating that the new Act went against the spirit of the National Forest Policy of 1998, Indian Forest Act of 1927 and Forest Conservation Act of 1980.

Adjudicating over the PIL, the High Court in an interim order passed in July last year had allowed the state government to go ahead with the process of identifying the beneficiaries, but had restricted issue of title deeds especially in sanctuaries, national parks and bio-sphere reserves.

After this, the process of giving rights over forest to traditional forest dwellers slowed down, giving rise to resentment among tribals.

It was also believed that the recent upsurge in Narayanpatna in Koraput district, where tribals are forcibly snatching away land of non-tribals, was an outcome of it.

However, after the recent visit of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to the troubled areas of Koraput, the government took initiative to vacate the interim stay imposed by the high court and to facilitate distribution of land rights to tribals dwelling in jungles.

Accordingly state Advocate General Ashok Mohanty had moved the High Court last week to vacate the July, 2008 stay.

The bench of Acting Chief Justice I M Qudussi and Justice Kumari Sanju Panda after completing the hearing yesterday has reserved its verdict which is likely to be pronounced next week.