Independent People’s Tribunal on the status of implementation of Forest Rights Act (2006): a report
Adivasis who seek their constitutional rights are being criminalised by the state, and the Forest Rights Act, 2006 is being rampantly violated, said several adivasi community groups that deposed before the Independent People’s Tribunal on the Status of Implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA) in New Delhi on 15 December, 2016. The people’s tribunal was organised by Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) and Community Forest Rights–Learning and Advocacy (CFR-LA), on the eve of the tenth anniversary of the landmark FRA, which gives forest-dwelling adivasis the legal right to use, manage, govern, and protect forest land and resources. Adivasis groups from several states, including Maharashtra, Uttaranchal, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Kerala, Rajsathan, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal deposed before the tribunal, sharing their experiences of trying to get their rights under the FRA.