Chief Secretary Rajiv Gauba has asked all the Deputy Commissioners of the State to ensure disbursement of forest land patta to the forest dwellers by September 30. He also directed the officials to prepare a roster for conducting Gram Sabhas so that old as well as new applications could be sorted out in the presence of forest officials. The CS was reviewing the schemes under the Forest Rights Act with the DC s of all districts through video conferencing on Wednesday.
The Chief Secretary also directed the departmental secretary to monitor on his own the distribution of the pattas in the districts where the process has been extremely slow but at the same time also stressed on ensuring whether the pattas are given to the right person.
Jharkhand, despite having handsome tribal population, is faring low as far as issuing forest land rights in comparison of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Since the Forest Rights Act came into existence in 2006, only 22,419 pattas have been granted to the people of the State against the great figures achieved by neighbouring Odisha, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh. Chief Minister Raghubar Das had in June this year flagged off a special drive from June 1 to 14 for distribution of 'pattas' under the Forest Rights Act.
He directed the DCs to call a meeting of BDOs and work on the same model for community forest pattas. The exercise is being done as Chief Minister Raghubar Das on October 2 would review the distribution of pattas started in May. The CS said that by then all DCs should prepare the report regarding pattas, scholarship, cycle distribution and health services etc.
Two NGOs are propagating benefits of schemes regarding forest pattas in all the districts of Jharkhand. DCs have been directed to contact the representatives of these NGOs and run the programme in the areas where people are not aware. The Act enables legal rights over forest land to original and traditional dwellers for earning their livelihood coming from the minor forest produces and also allows farming on the land. The empowerment, it is thought, would help in safeguarding existing forest cover along with the dependents who are earning their livelihood since time immemorial.