Srinagar: In a significant move aimed at safeguarding the rights of Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has issued a detailed circular directing authorities to expedite the verification and settlement of claims under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA), while reiterating that no eligible forest dweller can be evicted until the recognition and verification process is completed.
The circular, issued by the Department of Tribal Affairs on July 30, 2026, describes the department as the nodal agency for implementation of the Forest Rights Act and instructs all concerned stakeholders to strictly follow the statutory procedure laid down under Section 6 of the Act.
The circular states that the Gram Sabha shall remain the primary authority to initiate the process for determining individual and community forest rights by receiving claims, verifying and consolidating them, preparing maps of the claimed areas and passing resolutions before forwarding them to the Sub-Divisional Level Committee (SDLC).
It further reiterates the legal mechanism for appeals, stating that any person aggrieved by the resolution of the Gram Sabha may file a petition before the SDLC within 60 days. Similarly, decisions of the SDLC can be challenged before the District Level Committee (DLC) within another 60 days, while the decision of the District Level Committee shall be final and binding under the Act.
The Tribal Affairs Department has also incorporated provisions of a 2015 Office Memorandum issued by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, clarifying the implementation of the Forest Rights Act in municipal and urban areas.
According to the circular, references to the Gram Sabha in municipal areas shall be interpreted as the Ward Committee constituted under Article 243S of the Constitution. Where such committees have not been constituted, the assembly of adult residents of the settlement, Mohalla Sabha, Pada or Tola, as applicable, shall perform the functions assigned to the Gram Sabha under the Act.
The circular provides detailed guidelines on the composition and functioning of Forest Rights Committees, Sub-Divisional Level Committees and District Level Committees in municipal areas, including representation of Scheduled Tribes, traditional forest dwellers and mandatory inclusion of women members.
It states that representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions in SDLCs and DLCs for municipal areas shall be replaced by nominees from Municipal Councils, Municipal Corporations or Town Panchayats, with preference given to Scheduled Tribe members, particularly forest dwellers or members of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). Where ST representatives are unavailable, other traditional forest dwellers may be nominated. At least one woman member has been made mandatory in the committees.
The circular directs all Deputy Commissioners across Jammu and Kashmir to ensure that the claim verification, settlement and certification process is completed at the earliest through the three-tier mechanism comprising the Ward Committee or Gram Sabha, the Sub-Divisional Level Committee and the District Level Committee.
It also instructs that wherever the process has already been completed, authorities should issue certificates in the prescribed format without delay.
Importantly, the department has once again underlined the legal protection available under Section 4(5) of the Forest Rights Act, which provides that no member of a Scheduled Tribe or other traditional forest dweller shall be evicted or removed from forest land under his or her occupation until the process of recognition and verification of rights is complete.
The circular has been issued under the signature of Commissioner/Secretary to the Government, Tribal Affairs Department, Prasanna Ramaswamy G., IAS, and circulated to the Advisor to the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, Commissioners/Secretaries of the Housing & Urban Development and Forest Departments, Divisional Commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir, all Deputy Commissioners, and the Commissioners of Jammu and Srinagar Municipal Corporations for immediate compliance.
The development comes as the Omar Abdullah-led government, through the Department of Tribal Affairs headed by Cabinet Minister Javed Ahmed Rana, seeks to expedite implementation of the Forest Rights Act while reinforcing statutory safeguards against displacement of tribal communities pending settlement of their claims.
