J-K govt rejects over 39,000 land claims under FRA, grants over 65,000 kanals of land to ST families

Jammu, March 26: The Jammu and Kashmir government has rejected over 39,000 claims for land ownership under the Forest Rights Act but has distributed more than 65,000 kanals of forest land to over 6,020 Scheduled Tribe (ST) families, including Gujjars, Bakerwals, and other forest dwellers.

A total of 46,090 claims were submitted by Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) under Individual Forest Rights (IFR) and Community Forest Rights (CFR), according to senior officials from the forest department.

"Of these, 39,906 claims were rejected due to applicants' inability to provide the requisite evidence and documents, while 126 claims are still pending," an official said.

The majority of the rejections—35,924 claims—occurred at the gram sabha level, primarily due to a lack of supporting documents, officials said. Additionally, 3,982 claims were rejected at the sub-divisional and district-level committees.

The Forest Rights Act mandates a structured process for claim recognition, with approvals granted by gram sabhas, sub-divisional committees, and district-level committees based on prescribed procedures and norms.

"Applications that fail to meet these criteria are not considered," the official said. However, applicants whose claims are rejected have the right to appeal at higher levels, with the final appeal heard by the district-level committee, officials added.

The Forest Rights Act, 2006, was implemented in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 following the abrogation of Article 370.

Of the 65,497.21 kanals of forest land distributed by the J&K government, 784.19 kanals were allocated to Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs), officials said.

These land grants were made under 4,803 cases, including 430 Individual Forest Rights (IFR), 4,277 Community Forest Rights (CFR), and 96 additional community forest rights cases.

Among the 6,020 land titles issued to ST families, the Jammu region received the majority, with 5,195 land titles distributed across 10 districts.

However, in Kashmir, only 825 land titles were issued to Gujjars and Bakerwals.
"No forest land was allocated to ST communities in Srinagar district, and only one land title was issued in Baramulla," the data revealed.

Additionally, five land titles each were issued in Ganderbal and Udhampur districts, while seven were issued in Kulgam. Rajouri district recorded the highest number of land titles at 2,852, followed by Poonch district with 1,902, officials said.

The implementation of the Forest Rights Act in J&K remains a crucial step toward recognizing the rights of tribal communities while ensuring compliance with legal and administrative norms, officials added.