Draft Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Amendment Rules, 2012
The Ministry is proposing to make some amendments in the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Rules, 2008 to: lay down a procedure for identification or hamlets or settlements and process of consolidation of their lists; increase the mandatory tribal membership of Forest Rights Committees from the present one-thirds to two-thirds; reduce the present requirement of quorum of two-thirds in the gram sabha meetings to one-half; clarify that the term ‘sustenance’ includes fulfilment of livelihood needs of self and family, including the sale of any produce; allow transportation of minor forest produce within and outside forest area through ‘locally appropriate means of transport for use of such produce or sale by forest rights holders or their cooperatives/federations for livelihood; lay down process for recognition of rights, including community rights; insert new Claim Forms for Rights to Community Forest Resource and Title Form for Community Forest Resources etc. The draft Rules titled “The Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Amendment Rules, 2012, have been published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II - Section 3 - Sub-section (i), dated 19.7.2012 in this regard.