In order to ensure forest land to the deserving locals, Deputy Commissioner (DC), Ranchi Manoj Kumar flagged off three vehicles for spreading awareness on the claims and affiliations under the Forest Rights Amendment 2006 on the occasion of Environment Day on Friday.
The promotional vehicle will reach out the villagers of 17 circles till June 7. RTDA Project Director Jagjit Singh associated with the campaign informed the administration is presently organising a Gram Sabha in several villagers wherein rural residents are learning the exact process of presenting their claim for a piece of forest land.
It was started on June 1 and will be continued upto June 14. “The villager has to prove that his or her livelihood is dependent on the forest land. The Forest Rights Committee (FRC) at the Gram Sabha will initially forward the application to Sub-Divisional Committee and then to the District level Committee comprising DFO, DWO, DC and tribal representatives,” Singh said. “If the claim is justified as per the Forest Rights Amendment 2006, we will allow the villager to posses the claimed forest land,” he added.
Officials mentioned that the effort is not new and the initiatives taken are meant to implement the forest laws strongly. According to the forest laws, there are basically three types of riyati land. “1,093 applications have already been submitted among which we have distributed around 545.52 acres land to 109 families. It is a continuous process,” Singh added.