Source: TH
Context: The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has released “A Policy Framework for Relocation and Co-existence in India’s Tiger Reserves” to safeguard forest-dwelling tribes’ rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 during relocation and promote community-inclusive conservation.
About A Policy Framework for Relocation and Co-existence in India’s Tiger Reserves:
What it is?
- A national-level policy framework developed by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) in 2025 to guide how forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers are to be treated during relocation from tiger reserves.
- It seeks to balance tiger conservation with constitutional and legal safeguards for tribal communities.
Organisations Involved:
- Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) – Nodal Ministry drafting the framework.
- Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) – To collaborate in implementing the framework.
- National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) – Existing regulatory authority for tiger reserves whose directives prompted the new framework.
Key Features:
- Last-resort Relocation Principle: Relocation of forest-dwelling communities to be undertaken only as a last option, and strictly after settling rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006.
- Consent-based Process: Mandates free, prior, and informed consent from every Gram Sabha and household before declaring any area as part of a tiger reserve.
- Co-existence Option: Recognises the right of communities to continue residing within tiger reserves, exercising FRA rights with State support for basic amenities and co-management roles.
- Collaborative Governance: Proposes a National Framework for Community-Centred Conservation and Relocation, co-led by MoEFCC and MoTA, to set procedural standards, timelines, and accountability.
- Transparency and Monitoring: Establishes a National Database on Conservation–Community Interface (NDCCI) to track relocations, compensation, and post-relocation outcomes.
- Independent Audits: Annual third-party audits of relocation projects to ensure compliance with FRA, Wildlife Protection Act (WPA), 1972, and human rights norms.
- Affirmative State Duty: Reiterates that the State has a constitutional duty to protect FRA rights, which may be curtailed only upon demonstrable ecological necessity.
- Joint Ministry Oversight: Encourages inter-ministerial coordination to ensure relocation is voluntary, rights-compliant, and scientifically justified.
Significance:
- Protects tribal rights: Reinforces the constitutional and legal safeguards under FRA, ensuring communities are not displaced without consent or rehabilitation.
- Balances conservation with justice: Marks a shift from exclusionary conservation models to community-inclusive, co-management approaches in tiger reserves.
- Prevents forced relocations: Responds to protests following NTCA’s 2024 directive prioritising village relocations, ensuring ethical and voluntary processes.
