Revitalization of Rivers in India Draft Policy - Isha Guru Jaggi Vasudev

Revitalization of Rivers In India
Draft Policy Recommendation
communities and officials on how to determine and verify CFR; (vi) omission of
the right to protect or manage community forest resources in the claim form; and
(vii) open-access status of community forest resources (MoEF and MoTA, 2010).
Community Rights, and development rights under Section3(2), have been reported
as CFR rights due to lack of clarity at all levels of implementation agencies.
Even where Gram Sabhas have filed large numbers of CFR claims, these are not
mentioned in the official reports or are pending at SDLCs and DLCs without any
response. Customary boundaries delineated by the Gram Sabha are not accepted or
are arbitrarily changed by Government functionaries during field verification. CFR
claims are pending due to objections raised by SDLC or DLC. Where recognized,
the CFR rights are yet to be incorporated in the Record of Rights as required by
law. No guidance and support systems exist for CFR management and governance
by the Gram Sabha, except in areas where civil society organizations are working
(CFR-LA, op. cit.).
CASE STUDIES OF SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT
Community Forest Resource rights have been recognized in a few pockets of
the country where civil society organizations and local district administration
have taken initiatives. These include Gadchiroli and Nandurbar districts in
Maharashtra; Kandhmal and Mayurbhanj districts in Odisha and Narmada district
in Gujarat. Implementation in districts like Gadchirolli and Kandhmal provides
real time substantiation of the potential of CFR rights recognition, with large areas
of forests being recognized as CFRs (RRI et al., op. cit.). Maharashtra has emerged
as a leading state in the recognition of CFR rights in the country. By November
2016, a total of 5741 CFR rights claims had been recognised over an area of 7260.58
sq km in the state. This is largely due to Gadchiroli, where over 60 percent of the
potential CFR rights area has been recognized (Maharashtra CFR-LA, 2017).
Dramatic examples of major livelihood improvement arising out of CFR rights
recognition are emerging. Villages in Gadchiroli district have traded in bamboo
from their forests, creating large community incomes (Box 3). Similarly, over 20
villages who have received titles under the FRA in Narmada District, Gujarat, have
Annexures
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