Video: Comprehensive Forest Rights Recognition in Forest Villages

Forest Villages represent an egregious form of historic injustice heaped on the Adivasis and other forest-dwellers of central India. These villages were created by the Imperial Forest Department by leasing out forest land for forest-dwellers to live on and cultivate, in return for providing guaranteed labour in forestry operations. But even 77 years after independence, and 16 years after the Forest Rights Act came into effect, the rights of the residents of these villages have not been properly recognized. The Baiga Chak region of Dindori district, Madhya Pradesh, is inhabited by the Baigas, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, as well as Gonds and other forest-dwellers, and they have been struggling to get their rights fully recognized. ATREE began work in July 2021 in this region, and worked on empowering the village-level Forest Rights Committees, using people-friendly geospatial technology, and educating the District administration. With help from NIWCYD, a local NGO, and the cooperation of the District Collector’s office, we have made a small beginning towards correction and comprehensive recognition of the forest rights in Forest Villages of Baiga Chak, a key step in their eventual transition to Revenue Villages.