The state Tribal Development Department (TDD) has initiated a proposal to synergise the functioning of the Forest Rights Committees constituted by it and the Forest Protection Committees constituted by the Forest and Environment Department, in rural Gujarat. The move has come a day after The Indian Express had reported on September 23 on the Forest Rights Act causing “bureaucratic confusions” in state.

T L Patel, Joint Director, TDD, said: “We have decided that both government departments must work in tandem to resolve this issue. According to the proposal, the TDD will constitute Forest Conservation Committees in villages, in line with Section 5 of the Forest Rights Act that will perform three main functions of protection, conservation and development of forest areas. And these Conservation Committees would be assisted by Protection Committees of the Forest department to carry out such tasks.”

The modalities of such an arrangement will be worked out later after discussions with the Forest Department officials, Patel added.

The Indian Express report had highlighted the issue of both these locally constituted committees perceiving their interests as conflicting in nature.

It had mentioned about 200 such incidents reported in the Devgadh Baria taluka of Dahod district, where the members of the Protection Committees had vehemently opposed the land claims submitted by the Rights Committees to the gram panchayat.

As already reported, the Rights Committees are the first stage of verification of land claims by the tribals or traditional forest dwellers. They are then screened and approved at the taluka and district levels.

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