Chhattisgarh leads India in distributing most numbers of land titles under the Forest Rights Act, Panchayat and Rural Development Minister T.S. Singh Deo said on Sunday, adding locals must be the first to get the benefit of forest produce.
The Minister spoke in All India Radio programme Hamar Gramsabha on the occasion of the state Foundation Day.
According to government records, around 4.50 lakh land titles have been distributed so far in the state.
“FRA ensures participation of forest dwellers in management of forest, land and water resources,” Singh Deo said.
He said forest dwellers depend on forest for their livelihood. This Act has been made to make forest dwellers an important stakeholder in the management of forests.
Local residents must be provided benefits of the forest produce in the first place, he emphasized.
He said that along with the Forest Department, the Gram Sabha should jointly take care of forests and forest resources including the management, monitoring and conservation of the forests.
The government is reviewing the claims of those people whose forest rights claims were rejected, he said. In distribution of Van Adhikar Patta, Chhattisgarh is a pioneering state in the nation, he added.