Forest Rights Act has enhanced income basket of beneficiaries:  Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

• According to the Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Bishweswar Tudu, the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, has resulted in enhancing the income basket of the beneficiaries.
• The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has provided funds to various State Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs) to conduct studies on post implementation of the FRA Act, 2006.
• According to the study report, the income basket of the beneficiaries has increased due to the provisions of rights under FRA.
• This has resulted in improving the quality of life. Furthermore, the Act has empowered tribal women and also helped Gram Sabhas in managing and conserving their forest resources.
• It has enabled the need for capacity building of Gram Sabha members for their empowerment for forest governance, preparation of micro plans for the sustainable management of forest resources, improving livelihood opportunities, assessment of the biomass stock, and biodiversity conservation.

Forest Rights Act

• The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 also known as the Forest Rights Act, recognizes the rights of forest-dwelling tribal communities and other traditional forest dwellers to forest resources. These communities are dependent on a variety of needs, including livelihood, habitation, and other socio-cultural needs.
• The Act provides certain individual rights such as Rights of Self-cultivation and Habitation and community rights such as grazing, fishing, and access to water bodies in forests, community right to intellectual property and traditional knowledge etc.
• Moreover, it empowers the forest dwellers to access and use the forest resources in the manner that they were traditionally accustomed to, to protect, conserve and manage forests, protect forest dwellers from unlawful evictions, and also provides for basic development facilities for the community of forest dwellers to access facilities of education, health, nutrition, infrastructure, etc.
• As per Forest Rights Act, 2006 and rules made thereunder, the responsibility for implementation of the Act lies with State Governments/UT Administrations.