India has received over 51 lakh claims under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) as of January 31 this year, but more than one-third of these claims have been rejected, according to official data.
The majority of these claims came from five states—Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra—which together account for more than 66% of all claims filed nationwide.
Chhattisgarh led with the highest number of claims at 9.41 lakh, followed by Odisha with 7.2 lakh, Telangana with 6.55 lakh, Madhya Pradesh with 6.27 lakh, and Maharashtra with 4.09 lakh.
Chhattisgarh also tops the list in terms of rejections, having dismissed over four lakh claims. Madhya Pradesh rejected more than 3.22 lakh claims, while Maharashtra denied 1.72 lakh, Odisha 1.44 lakh, and Jharkhand over 28,000. The FRA, enacted in 2006, aims to recognise the rights of tribal and forest-dependent communities over land they have traditionally inhabited and safeguarded. These rights can be claimed individually or as a community.
Despite the FRA’s intent, policy experts and activists have consistently pointed out systemic violations in its implementation, leading to wrongful rejections. In 2019, the Supreme Court, acting on a plea by a wildlife NGO, ordered the eviction of over 17 lakh families whose claims under FRA had been denied.
However, after widespread protests across the country, the court stayed the order in February 2019 and mandated a review of rejected claims. Yet, many tribal groups argue that this review has been ineffective and accuse both central and state governments of lacking commitment to the proper enforcement of the FRA.
In Madhya Pradesh, more than half of all claims were rejected. Out of the 6.27 lakh claims filed in the state, 6.17 lakh were processed—a disposal rate of 98.37%.
However, only 2.94 lakh titles were actually issued, amounting to less than 47% of the total claims. Nationally, 43.57 lakh out of 51.03 lakh claims have been disposed of, showing a disposal rate of 85.38%. Yet, just 24.98 lakh titles have been distributed, meaning fewer than half the applicants have received formal recognition of their rights.
Some states have fared better in terms of title distribution. Odisha, Kerala, Tripura, Jharkhand, and Gujarat reported relatively higher proportions of titles issued. Odisha has distributed titles in over 65% of cases, followed by Kerala at 64.69%, Tripura at 63.79%, Jharkhand at 55.95%, and Gujarat at 54.24%.
In contrast, states like Karnataka, Bihar, and Uttarakhand reported extremely low title distribution rates. Karnataka issued titles for only 5.54% of claims, Bihar for 1.51%, and Uttarakhand for 2.77%.
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States such as Uttar Pradesh and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir have reportedly disposed of nearly all the claims received—99.93% and 99.68% respectively—but distributed titles in only a fraction of the cases, 20.17% and 13.06% respectively.
Meanwhile, the Union environment ministry has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that as of March 2024, 13,05,668.1 hectares—or over 13,000 square kilometres—of forest land were classified as encroached across 25 states and Union Territories that submitted data. Ten states are yet to provide their figures on forest encroachment.
This information was shared with the NGT on March 28, just before a scheduled Supreme Court hearing on a petition challenging the constitutionality of the FRA. However, the hearing did not proceed as the required three-judge Constitution bench has not been formed.
Tribal organisations have strongly criticised the environment ministry’s submission to the NGT, claiming it reflects a contradictory stance by the central government on protecting the rights of forest-dwelling communities.
The Campaign for Survival and Dignity, a national coalition of tribal and forest-dweller groups active in ten states, warned that the NGT case could lead to another wave of mass evictions, putting the livelihoods and homes of millions at risk.
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