Rampur Bushahr (Bisheshar Negi):
A one-day awareness workshop was organized in Rampur, Shimla district, focusing on the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. The event was held with the aim of educating local residents about the benefits of the Act and ensuring that forest-dwelling communities can claim their legal rights over forest land.
The workshop was conducted by the Kisan Bagwan Union, Rampur, at the circuit House. It witnessed active participation from representatives of various panchayats of Rampur and Nankhari blocks, along with members of the intellectual and social activist community.
Addressing the gathering, Bihari Sevgi, President of the Kisan Bagwan Union, emphasized that this is a golden opportunity for forest-dependent people who have been using or residing on forest land prior to 2005 to legalize their holdings. He urged all panchayats to form Forest Rights Committees (FRCs) at the village level without delay and file claims under the Act in a timely manner to initiate the verification and legal ownership process.
Key Highlights from the Workshop:
Subject experts explained the entire process of forming Forest Rights Committees at the Gram Sabha (village assembly) level.
Detailed guidelines were shared on how individuals and communities can submit claims for forest land rights.
Attendees were educated about the documentation required, levels of scrutiny involved, and final steps towards legal ownership.
The session also covered how the Forest Rights Act provides not only individual rights over forest land but also community rights to use forest resources, which can significantly uplift the socio-economic conditions of tribal and traditional forest-dwelling populations.
Bihari Sevgi reiterated that if claims are submitted properly and within the stipulated time, people could soon secure legal titles to the land they have lived on or cultivated for generations.
This initiative marks an important step toward empowering marginalized forest communities and ensuring their constitutional and legal rights are realized on the ground.
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