Reconsider decision to close forest rights cells
Last week, the Odisha government dissolved Forest Rights Act (FRA) cells across 12 districts of the state. A letter to the integrated tribal development agencies and district welfare officers instructed closure of 50 such sub-divisional cells and clearance of all dues by March end. These cells, created under the Centre’s flagship Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA), aid processing and verification of forest rights claims while assisting in record mapping and digitisation. A key responsibility of these units is also to link beneficiaries to government welfare schemes. Given the extremely critical role these cells play, the decision of the state SC & ST development department is baffling.
Rights activists believe the move will weaken the crucial support system for tribal and other forest-dwelling communities. What’s doubly concerning is that Odisha has historically been a leader in recognising forest rights. By the end of December 2025, the state had received 7.69 lakh claims, 80 percent of which were disposed of with titles distributed to 61.5 percent of the rightful claimants. After Chhattisgarh, Odisha comes second in terms of the disposal rate of forest rights claims. The latest decision puts a speedbreaker on this remarkable drive.
The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 was a pathbreaking legislation that sought to address centuries of injustice meted out to those who had traditionally lived on and depended on forest land for survival. For Odisha, the Act holds special significance given that 22 percent of its population comprises tribal communities. At least 13 of the state’s 30 districts are either fully or partially notified as Fifth Schedule areas. However, the state has been systematically shutting down FRA cells funded by itself over the last few months. The 50 cells that face imminent closure were set up under DAJGUA, launched in 2024 by the Centre to deliver maximum welfare benefits to tribal communities across the country. The decision for their closure comes when an estimated 16 percent of the FRA claims in the state are awaiting clearance. For the Mohan Charan Majhi government, shutting down the FRA cells might have followed financial considerations. But its consequences on tribal rights will be so retrogressive that it must be revoked at once.