NEW DELHI: The Centre will consult all state governments on March 6 to ensure effective implementation of the directions of the Supreme Court in the context of its interim order on the eviction of tribals whose forest claims were earlier rejected.
The apex court stayed its February 13 order on Thursday by which over 11 lakh tribals would have been affected, had the evictions been carried out.
“Principal secretaries of tribal development department of all 16 states, which are party to the case, have been called to discuss issues highlighted by SC,” said Deepak Khandekar, secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
While the order was stayed, the SC directive for a satellite survey by Forest Survey of India to record encroachments on forest land was retained at the request of the counsel for Wildlife Trust of India.
The meeting will deliberate on the SC direction that state governments file detailed affidavits by July 10 giving information on the constitution of review committees, details regarding the procedure followed on the claim applications and appeals filed against rejection cases.