Farmers continue protest against changes in FRA

Mumbai: Farmers in Palghar and Dahanu continued to protest the changes made in the Forest Rights Act, 2006, as they held a demonstration against the amendment Monday.

They said that the amendments made were only for the benefit of corporations and builders while indigenous communities had been deprived of their rights.

Hundreds of tribals gathered in front of the SDO office in Dahanu Monday and protested what they claimed were anti-adivasi and pro-corporate changes in the Indian Forests Act.

As per amendments made by the NDA government, state governments will have the power to take away lands from forest dwellers if they feel that the objectives of conservation are not being met in those lands.

One of the leaders of the protest said that they would also oppose those people who had filed cases in the Supreme Court challenging the Forest Rights Act, 2006.

"The Dahanu demonstration was led by Radka Kalangda, Edward Vartha, Vinod Nikole, Lahani Dauda, Ramdas Sutar and other leaders of the AIKS, CITU, AIDWA, DYFI and AARM,” read a statement by the tribals. It further added that the government was proposing an increase in policing powers which was an infringement of forest dwellers’ rights.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ordered eviction of tribals and forest dwellers whose claims under the (Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, had been rejected, which would affect over two million tribals in the country.

Following outrage on the matter, an interim stay was ordered while the matter was scheduled for hearing on Wednesday, July 24.