Tribal dept trying to reduce forest patta application rejection

CHENNAI: The Tribal Welfare Department issuing land pattas to forest dwellers under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) is forced to take up measures to reduce the rejection rate of applications at the Sub-Divisional Level Committee (SDLCs), composed of revenue and forest officials. Tamil Nadu till date has issued 10,180 land pattas, which is lowest in comparison with other states, said sources.

Tamil Nadu started issuing land deeds for forest dwellers from 2016, after the Supreme Court vacated the interim order of Madras High Court. Since the inception of the Act in the state, the department has received 34,723 applications for land pattas from 18 districts till August 2022.

However, according to the tribal welfare department, 5,018 applications have been rejected overall by district Grama Sabhas and 8,732 applications were rejected by SDLCs out of the 21,240 applications received.

Highest number of applications was recorded from Kallakurichi with 8,964 followed by Vellore, Namakkal and Coimbatore districts.

Hence, the department officials taking note of the surge in rejection rate have called for a comprehensive training programme.

The department held a training programme in Tiruchy on September 24 and 25 with members of SDLCs, Forest Rights Committee (FRCs) and district-level committees.

Subsequently, similar trainings will be held in Coimbatore also for officials participating from nearby western districts as well.

A higher official with the department said, “As the rejection rate of applications is on a higher side, we have planned to conduct programmes to create awareness among SDLCs.”

The procedure set by the government to avail the land pattas is at first - forest dwellers submitting an application form with the grama sabha - which will be passed to FRC. The FRC will measure the land for housing, farming and community.

Followed by this, a SDLCs with tahsildars, rangers and tribal representatives will check the authenticity of the land claim and forward it to district-level committee headed by the Collector.

Meanwhile, the state-level committee is also in place to check the effective implementation of FRA.

Commenting on the rejection of land patta, S Thanaraj, State coordinator of Ekta Parishad (a non-violent people’s movement for land rights) said that SDLCs should act as a supporting role with the grama sabha, however, the condition currently is contrary.

“The SDLC should provide an acceptance letter while receiving applications, but it is not done. Moreover, if the SDLCs are not satisfied with the application, they have to resend the application to grama sabha with reason for rejection,” explained Thanaraj of Ekta Parishad.