The Jammu and Kashmir government has rejected over 39,000 land ownership claims filed under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) but has granted more than 65,000 kanals of forest land to 6,020 Scheduled Tribe (ST) families, including Gujjars, Bakerwals, and other traditional forest dwellers.
According to senior officials from the forest department, a total of 46,090 claims were submitted by Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) under the Individual Forest Rights (IFR) and Community Forest Rights (CFR) categories.
Of these, 39,906 claims were rejected due to the applicants’ inability to provide the necessary documents and evidence required under the FRA guidelines.
Additionally, 126 claims remain pending for review. A significant portion of the rejections—35,924 claims—occurred at the gram sabha level due to a lack of supporting documents. Another 3,982 claims were rejected by sub-divisional and district-level committees after further scrutiny.
Officials emphasised that the FRA requires a structured approval process, with claims undergoing evaluation at multiple levels, including gram sabhas, sub-divisional committees, and district-level committees, to ensure compliance with established procedures and legal norms.
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Applicants whose claims were denied have the right to appeal at higher levels, with the district-level committee serving as the final appellate authority. The Forest Rights Act, enacted nationwide in 2006, was implemented in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 following the abrogation of Article 370.
Since then, the J&K government has distributed 65,497.21 kanals of forest land, out of which 784.19 kanals have been allocated to Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs).
The distribution has been carried out under 4,803 cases, which include 430 individual forest rights (IFR), 4,277 community forest rights (CFR), and 96 cases of other community forest rights.
Among the 6,020 land titles issued, the Jammu region received the majority share, with 5,195 land titles granted across ten districts.
In contrast, only 825 land titles were issued to Gujjars and Bakerwals in Kashmir. No forest land was allocated to ST communities in Srinagar district, and Baramulla saw only one land title issued.
Other districts recorded minimal allocations, with five land titles issued each in Ganderbal and Udhampur districts, and seven in Kulgam. Rajouri recorded the highest number of land titles at 2,852, followed by Poonch with 1,902.
Officials stated that the implementation of the FRA in Jammu and Kashmir is a significant step toward recognizing the rights of tribal communities while maintaining legal and administrative oversight. They reiterated that the government remains committed to ensuring a transparent and structured process for land allocation under the provisions of the Act.
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