Jammu Kashmir Shifts Forest Rights Act Implementation to Tribal Welfare Department, FRC Calls it Corrective Step | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: The Forest Rights Coalition Jammu and Kashmir has welcomed the Union Territory government’s decision to shift the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 from the Forest Department to the Tribal Welfare Department, describing it as a corrective step that addresses a long-standing structural contradiction in forest governance.

The Coalition said the move, which removes the Forest Department as the nodal agency and designates the Tribal Welfare Department as the new authority, aligns Jammu and Kashmir with the national framework for implementing the Forest Rights Act. Until now, Jammu and Kashmir was the only Union Territory where the Forest Department, often involved in eviction drives and forest offence cases, was tasked with implementing a rights-based welfare law.

In a statement, FRC J and K said the decision marked a new phase for forest dependent, pastoral and indigenous communities, many of whom have lived under prolonged uncertainty since the Act was extended to the region. The Coalition said it had consistently argued that placing the Forest Department in charge of the Act’s implementation undermined its spirit and led to systemic injustices.

The organisation expressed gratitude to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Forests and Environment Minister Javaid Rana, saying the leadership had demonstrated political will and administrative clarity in addressing a demand that forest communities had raised for years.

Welcoming the decision, Dr Shaikh Ghulam Rasool, founder of FRC J and K and a climate justice activist, said the change went beyond an administrative reshuffle. “For forest dependent communities, this decision feels like a long delayed breath of relief. It is not merely a transfer of files from one department to another. It is the restoration of dignity to people who have protected these forests for generations,” he said.

He said Himalayan pastoralists and indigenous communities had long been treated as outsiders in their own landscapes and lived under constant fear of eviction and criminalisation. The decision, he said, had rekindled hope and reaffirmed constitutional justice, particularly for nomadic and pastoral groups whose lives are shaped by seasonal movement through forests and alpine rangelands.

The Coalition said that under the earlier arrangement, the implementation of the Forest Rights Act had been deeply flawed. It alleged that Gram Sabhas were routinely misled, pressured or influenced, resulting in the rejection of nearly 84 per cent of claims filed under the Act. According to FRC J and K, many of these rejections were carried out without due process, proper verification or informed consent, in violation of the law.

Zahid Parwaz Choudhary, convenor of the Coalition, said the decision restored a welfare-oriented approach to forest governance. “The Tribal Welfare Department sees forest dwellers as rights holders, not as encroachers. That difference matters deeply on the ground. Our people need support, not suspicion,” he said, adding that the reform would make implementation of the Act more transparent and humane.

The Coalition said the change also sent a clear message that past injustices needed to be acknowledged and corrected. It said earlier rejected claims should now be reviewed, fresh claims accepted without fear or interference, and Gram Sabhas enabled to function independently and lawfully. Any continuation of coercion, misinformation or procedural violations, it said, would be unacceptable.

Vice Chairman Pir Sheikh Ghulam Mohideen described the order as a New Year gift for forest dependent communities and said it helped restore trust in governance. Other senior members of the Coalition also welcomed the decision, calling it a turning point for community-led conservation and democratic environmental governance in Jammu and Kashmir.

FRC J and K reiterated that recognising forest rights was not a threat to conservation but its strongest foundation. It said indigenous knowledge systems, pastoral mobility and community stewardship had protected Himalayan ecosystems long before modern conservation laws were introduced.

The Coalition urged the administration to ensure time-bound and transparent implementation of the Act under the Tribal Welfare Department, independent and empowered Gram Sabhas, recognition of community forest resource rights, review of rejected claims, acceptance of fresh claims, and capacity building and legal support for communities.

It said it remained committed to working with the administration to ensure that the Forest Rights Act is implemented in its true spirit, with forest communities placed at the centre of decision-making.