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Decoding FRA 2006: Justice, Conservation, and Challenges

This editorial is based on “An uphill struggle to grow the Forest Rights Act” which was published in The Hindu on 18/12/2023. The article talks about the challenges and gaps in the implementation of the Forest Rights Act in India.

For Mains: FRA and its provisions, Rationale behind its implementation, Injustices faced by Foarest Dwellers, Issues in Implementation of the Forest Rights Act and Way Forward

On December 18, 2006, the Rajya Sabha endorsed the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, enacted by the Lok Sabha. This Act, commonly known as the Forest Rights Act, or FRA, marks a watershed in India’s socio-environmental legislation, as it attempts to put an end to the long-drawn conflict over supposed ‘forest encroachments’. Simultaneously, it seeks to create a much more democratic, bottom-up forest governance.

Hence, 17 years after it was enacted, the FRA has barely begun to deliver on its promise of freeing forest-dwellers from historic injustices and democratising forest governance.

What is Forest Rights Act, 2006 and its Provisions?