To pave way for CWH, HC grants 3 months to settle FRA claims in Melghat

NAGPUR: Justices SC Dharmadhikari and RI Chagla at the Bombay High Court have directed the authorities concerned to take a decision on pending claims under Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, in Melghat in three months.
Due to pendency of FRA claims, tribal rights NGOs and civil societies organizations have stalled process to notify critical wildlife habitats (CWH). CWH are defined under the FRA as “areas of national parks and sanctuaries where it has been specifically and clearly established, case by case, on the basis of scientific and objective criteria, that such areas are required to be kept as inviolate for the purposes of wildlife conservation.”
The HC order comes in a PIL filed by NGO Vanashakti in 2014, demanding identification of CWH as mandated in the FRA, directing respondent-state government to determine CWH in Maharashtra and take immediate steps to prevent further degradation of forests and critical wildlife areas.
Even as implementation of FRA is in full swing, not even one hectare of forest area in the country has been notified as CWH. The next date of hearing is slated for March 11, 2020.
In this PIL, on September 9, 2019, a division bench headed by chief justice Pradeep Nandrajog had directed the state-level committee to notify the scientific data and the objective criteria, which it proposes to adopt before CWH are notified in Maharashtra.
The petitioners contend that while court ensures effective and proper implementation of FRA, it should not ignore the concerns of environmentalists and public-spirited citizens regarding protection of ecology and environment, particularly forests.
The state government has approved expert committees for 54 protected areas (PAs) to identify CWHs. Out of these 54, 22 areas are in Western Maharashtra, 23 under the jurisdiction of APCCF (wildlife), Nagpur East, and nine under field director Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR).
There are over 300 villages in Melghat. MTR also has been identified and declared as a critical tiger habitat (CTH) under the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA), 1972.
The bone of contention is 21 villages inside Melghat sanctuary currently inhabited by tribal communities. Over 7 villages were voluntarily relocated. Pournima Upadhyay of NGO Khoj working in Melghat, who tried to intervene in the PIL, argues that if these tribals are shifted they are not used to the way of life outside forest and therefore, they are suffering.
Upadhyay’s contention was that CWH would be recognized for all times to come after which the right holders would be resettled from the CWH and will not be able to ever come back to the same areas. Hence, before such a decision is taken, she urged the court to make her intervention in the PIL.
Hearing all the parties, the court granted three months’ time to decided pending claims. “If these applications are received and they are found to be in order, the claims raised shall be dealt with and decided strictly in accordance with law. Similarly, all claims already received and pending at the initial stage shall also be decided within this period,” the court ruled.
“We also expect the appellate authority, which may have been approached by those whose claims have been rejected partially or fully, to deal with the appeals expeditiously and take a decision thereon within the above-mentioned duration,” it said.
The court also asked to involve tribal development department and forest department so that the claims are dealt with comprehensively and properly. Both departments have been asked to upgrade and update their websites.
The court also allowed claims to be raised within three months and said they also shall be dealt with in terms of the directions issued aforesaid.