Tribal Min to analyse progress of allotment of land titles

Tribal Ministry will analyse the progress of allotment of land titles to the tribals under Forest Rights Act, 2006, after the Parliament session, Union Tribal Affairs minister Jual Oram today said, underlining that some states were "lagging behind" in this regard.
"We will physically verify titles. Some states are lagging behind due to court cases, but in other states also its slow. We will study the reasons for it," the minister said at a workshop on Forest Rights Act organised as part of National Tribal Carnival held here.
More than 16 lakh tribals have been given land titles and over one crore hectare of land has been allotted which is an achievement but it needs to be further worked on, he said.

"Some states like Tripura have performed well in title allotments while performance of others has not been so good. We will go there after Parliament session and study it," Oram said.
The minister said that the rate of rejection of title claims was a matter of "concern" which needs to be looked into.
Over 40 lakh title claims were received out of which decisions were taken on 88 per cent cases while 12 per cent are pending. A total of sixteen lakh of 40 lakh claims were allotted titles, Ministry officials said.

"In some cases ineligible people have also got the titles as there are some elements who know how to manipulate things. It needs to be looked into. After Parliament session we will visit the states and make a 100 per cent review of progress of titles," the minister said.

The government is dedicated to ensure a dignified life for the tribals and save them from any kinds of sufferings" and preserve their "emotional attachment" with forests, he added.
Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, also attended the workshop.
The Forest Rights Act, 2006, and rights of tribals under it were discussed in detail by a panel of experts in the workshop.