While the forest rights for 413 tribal individuals in Palghar district have been approved under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, 6 beneficiaries have already been provided with the rights through their representatives. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered the district administration to complete the distribution of forest land rights for tribals to the rest of the eligible beneficiaries before August 15, 2025.
There are 7 to 8 thousand forest rights claims still to be addressed in the district. Instructions have been given to settle and distribute them as soon as possible, that is, by August 15. Special campaigns are being conducted in Palghar district to make the Scheduled Tribes aware of their traditional rights. Efforts are being made at the local level to ensure that the Scheduled Tribes’ land rights are distributed to the eligible tribal candidates in the region quickly. This is a positive step towards empowering tribal communities and granting them access to forest resources for their livelihood.
What are forest rights?
The Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who, for generations, have depended on forest land for their livelihood and agriculture have been granted forest rights for making occupations from forest lands and resources under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Act, 2006. Under this act, eligible forest-dwelling communities are given forest rights to use forest land for their occupation. As per the current official records, a total of 3,98,761 forest rights claims were filed, out of which 2,00,263 claims have been approved and 82,769 claims have been rejected. There are still 24,348 claims pending.
Distribution of forest rights to tribal brothers and sisters
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched the ‘Dharti Aaba Lok Sahabhag Mission under Pradhan Mantri Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan at Manor in Palghar. On this occasion, forest plots were distributed to tribal brothers and sisters in a representative manner by the Chief Minister. On this occasion, forest plots were distributed to Vilas Kashinath Kumbhare (Burhanpur, Palghar), Vinod Jana Tambda (Burhanpur, Palghar), Jano Kanha Palava (Nalivali, Palghar), Tulsi Ramesh Hinga (Sativali, Vasai), Dashrath Hirji Parade (Rajavali, Vasai), and Dayanand Ramchandra Harvate (Dhaniv, Vasai).
Palghar district leads in forest land allocation
In 2019, under the Devendra Fadnavis government, 44,384 forest land rights were approved from the Palghar district. The Fadnavis government had launched a special initiative during that time to lease the forest land rights by implementing the Forest Rights Recognition Act 2006, 2008 with the amended rules as per the Forest (Amendment) Act 2012. Under this initiative, a total of 44,384 rights (29,505 original approved claims and 14,879 approved appeals) were settled in the Palghar district. A total of 55,957 acres of land were leased towards this settlement. At that time, 441 cases of collective rights were also provided over 70,653 acres of forest land. The local district administration of Palghar had launched the Vanamitra campaign to ensure a speedy distribution of forest land parcels on lease to tribal individuals.
Meanwhile, according to the website data of the Palghar district administration, the rights of many tribals have been accepted after verifying the collective right applications submitted to the district-level forest rights committee. As per the data of 21 January 2025, the district administration published a list of 499 collective forest rights recipients. Also, a list was published on the website for the forest rights applications from Wada, Vikramgad, Vasai, Talasari, Palghar, Mokhada, Jawhar, and Dahanu talukas. This shows the transparency in the work of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Initiatives for good income opportunities from the allocated forest land
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently inaugurated the plantations of one crore bamboo-tree roots on the forest land of tribal farmer Raghu Wadkar. This government did not stop at just allocating forest rights to the tribal brothers but also launched various schemes to ensure lucrative income for them from that land. This shows the thoughts of this government are for the tribal community. Special efforts are being made to provide the benefits of all government schemes to the tribal brothers and the forest rights holders.
Meanwhile, the Devendra Fadnavis government has taken another big decision for the welfare of the tribals. In the state cabinet meeting held on June 3, 2025, the state government took a historic decision to establish the Maharashtra State Scheduled Tribes Commission. Through this commission, more focused and immediate measures can be taken on issues related to the tribal community. This commission will definitely benefit the process of allocating forest rights. With the effective implementation of the Forest Rights Act in Palghar district, rapid allocation of forest belts, and various initiatives underway for tribal development, a new chapter is being written in the all-around empowerment of the tribal community. These decisions of the Devendra Fadnavis government will definitely contribute to improving the living standards of thousands of tribal families.