Context: The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) has submitted a policy brief titled “Reconciling Conservation and Community Rights” to the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The brief proposes a structured Policy Framework for ensuring humane, rights-based relocation and coexistence of forest-dwelling communities within India’s Tiger Reserves.
Background
India’s tiger conservation success—with tiger numbers rising to over 3,000 (as per the 2022 census)—owes much to strong legal frameworks such as the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (WLPA) and the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA).
However, conflicts arise when conservation goals lead to forced or poorly managed relocations of indigenous and forest-dependent communities.
The proposed framework seeks to balance ecological integrity with social justice, ensuring both tiger habitats and human rights are protected.
Key Recommendations from the Policy Framework
1. National Governance and Oversight
- National Framework: Jointly developed by MoTA and MoEFCC to standardise relocation procedures, establish timelines, and ensure accountability.
- Public Database: A National Database on Conservation–Community Interface will track relocation cases, compensation details, and post-relocation outcomes.
- Independent Audits: Accredited agencies will conduct annual compliance audits under FRA 2006, WLPA 1972, and human rights norms.
2. Relocations as an Exceptional Measure
- Voluntary and Last Resort: Relocation must only occur with verified ecological necessity and community consent.
- Rights Verification: All Individual and Community Forest Rights (CFRs) must be recognised at the Gram Sabha level before relocation.
- Consent Safeguards: Implementation of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) with oversight by civil society observers.
3. Co-existence as the Preferred Option
- Right to Remain: Communities can continue living inside traditional forest areas while exercising rights under FRA 2006.
- In-situ Development: Provision of essential services—healthcare, education, housing, and water—to make coexistence sustainable.
- Shared Governance: Gram Sabha members to be included in Tiger Conservation Foundations and Eco-Development Committees.
4. Legal Safeguards and Grievance Redressal
- Compliance Officer: Every tiger reserve must appoint one to monitor FRA and WLPA compliance.
- Grievance System: A three-tier redressal mechanism (district–state–national) will address rights violations or compensation disputes.
- Legal Recourse: The SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 will apply in cases of coercion, forced eviction, or denial of rights.
Challenges in Relocating Forest Dwellers
- Livelihood Collapse: Forest-based economies are replaced by insecure, debt-prone livelihoods.
- Example: 2019 study on Sahariya Adivasis (Kuno NP, MP) – over 90% fell into debt post-relocation.
- Compensation Deficit: The ₹15 lakh NTCA package ignores provisions of the LARR Act, 2013, which ensures higher and fairer compensation.
- FRA Coercion: Cases like Baiga communities of Achanakmar TR show relocation without granting Community Forest Rights.
- Health Decline: Post-relocation diets rely on PDS food, reducing nutrition diversity and increasing malnutrition (e.g., Kanha TR, MP).
- Conflict Shifting: Moves from core to buffer zones increase human–wildlife conflicts, as seen in Tadoba-Andhari TR, Maharashtra.
Way Forward
A people-centric conservation model must integrate ecological sustainability with human dignity. The proposed framework emphasizes voluntariness, transparency, and shared governance, aligning conservation with constitutional principles of justice and inclusivity.