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I. To empower and strengthen the local self governance
II. To address the livelihood security of the people
III. To address the issues of Conservation and management of the Natural Resources and conservation governance of India.
♤ For the first time Forest Rights Act recognises and secures
i. Community Rights in addition to their individual rights
ii. Right to protect, regenerate or conserve or manage any community forest resource which the communities have been traditionally protecting and conserving for sustainable use.
iii. Right to intellectual property and traditional knowledge related to biodiversity and cultural diversity
iv. Rights of displaced communities & Rights over developmental activities
♤ The Act recognizes the right of ownership access to collect, use, and dispose of minor forest produce which has been traditionally collected within or outside village boundaries.
♤ The Act has defined the term “minor forest produce” to include all non-timber forest produce of plant
origin, including bamboo, brush wood, stumps, cane, tussar, cocoons, honey, wax, lac, tendu or kendu leaves, medicinal plants and herbs, roots, tubers and the like.
♤ The Act provides for the forest right relating to Government providing for diversion of forest land for the purpose of schools, hospitals, anganwadis, drinking water supply and water pipelines, roads, electric and telecommunication lines, etc.
♤ The rights conferred under the Act shall be heritable but not alienable or transferable and shall be registered jointly in the name of both the spouses in the case of married persons and in the name of the single head, in the case of a household headed by a single person and in the absence of a direct heir, the heritable right shall pass on to the next of kin
♤ The Act provides that no member of a forest dwelling Scheduled Tribe or other traditional forest dwellers shall be evicted or removed from forest land under his occupation till the recognition and verification procedure is completed.
♤ As per the Act, the Gram Sabha has been designated as the competent authority for initiating the process of determining the nature and extent of individual or community forest rights or both that may be given to the forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers.