India stands at a crucial juncture in redefining its approach to forest management. The ongoing debate revolves around shifting control from traditional state-centric models to empowering local communities, a move essential for sustainable forest management and rectifying historical injustices. 

The Core Issue: Community Rights vs. State Control 

• The Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006 was a transformative law, designed to correct the historical injustices of colonial forest consolidation. 
• For decades, the colonial mindset led to the dispossession of local communities from their traditional forest management roles, replacing them with centralised state control. 
• The FRA’s Community Forest Resource Rights (CFRR) provision specifically recognises the right of Gram Sabhas to manage their customary forests. 
• However, despite this legal framework, a persistent struggle exists to ensure these rights are genuinely implemented and respected.

The Chhattisgarh Incident

• Recently, the Chhattisgarh forest department issued a letter attempting to designate itself as the nodal agency for implementing CFRR under the FRA. 
• This action was a direct usurpation of the Gram Sabhas’ statutory authority, as the law empowers Gram Sabhas to implement locally developed management plans in their community forest resource (CFR) areas. 
• The department even insisted on a model plan from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) – which is not legally required – and prohibited other departments or NGOs from supporting Gram Sabhas in CFRR management planning. 
• This letter was eventually withdrawn following strong grassroots mobilisation by Gram Sabhas, local elected representatives, and Adivasi rights groups, highlighting the ongoing struggle for community autonomy.

Historical Roots of Forest Management

• Working Plans Reflect Colonial Legacy: Government-controlled forests (excluding protected areas) continue to be managed using colonial-era working plans devised by forest departments.
• Focus on Timber Production: These working plans are based on “scientific forestry,” a colonial concept that prioritized maximising timber output through systematic harvesting and replanting.
• Monoculture Plantations: Early working plans often encouraged clear-felling of diverse natural forests and replacing them with monoculture plantations, a practice later criticized by ecologists like Madhav Gadgil.
• Current Ecological Degradation: The ongoing spread of invasive species and expansion of degraded forest areas cast serious doubts on the long-term ecological soundness of these working plans. Despite ecological criticism, forest departments continue to rely on these plans for organizing field operations and securing financial resources.
• Timber-Centric Planning: In forest-rich regions like central India, the emphasis on timber extraction often at the cost of community access and ecological balance has met resistance since before Independence.
• Modern Plans: Although current plans incorporate restoration and wildlife conservation, they largely remain bureaucratic documents, disconnected from community needs and resistant to independent scientific review.
• Community-Centric Forest Management: The FRA envisions a paradigm shift by recognizing the vital role of local communities in the conservation and sustainability of forests.
• Community Forest Resource (CFR) Plans Should Replace Working Plans in CFR Areas: In areas with CFR rights, Gram Sabhas are expected to draft their own management plans, tailored to local priorities and replacing conventional working plans.
• CFR Implementation Lags : Although over 10,000 Gram Sabhas have received CFR titles, fewer than 1,000 have succeeded in preparing and implementing CFR management plans.
• Forest Departments Block CFR Plans: Forest departments frequently resist CFR implementation by delaying claim processing, rejecting community plans, revoking titles, and withholding financial support.
• ‘Lack of Scientific Capacity’ Argument: Departments often argue that communities lack the scientific expertise to manage forests, but this masks an effort to maintain colonial-era bureaucratic control.
• MoTA’s Support: The Ministry of Tribal Affairs initially supported community-led CFR plans with simplified formats but later changed its position under institutional pressure.
  • A 2024 joint circular by MoTA and the Environment Ministry mandated that CFR management plans adhere to the National Working Plan Code (NWPC), involving foresters, which directly contradicts the FRA’s intent.
• NWPC Templates: Although the NWPC claims to respect community interests, its complex, data-heavy templates continue to reflect a focus on timber yield rather than ecosystem-based or livelihood-oriented forest management.
  • The prevailing framework under the NWPC concentrates on managing “forest crop” rather than conserving the full forest ecosystem, thereby marginalizing broader ecological and community concerns.

Way Forward

• Empower Gram Sabhas: Their statutory authority must be respected, allowing them to implement locally developed management plans. Financial resources and protection should be provided by forest departments when needed.
• Reject Outdated Paradigms: The focus on “timber-oriented science” must be replaced with a “people-friendly forest management” approach.
  • The NWPC should not be misinterpreted to undermine the FRA. 
  • MoTA must firmly reject attempts to derail CFR management through rigid NWPC compliance.
• Foster Collaboration: The expertise of forest officials must be combined with the traditional knowledge and lived experience of forest dwellers. This symbiotic relationship is crucial for effective and sustainable management.
• Focus on Ecosystems: Forest management must consider the entire forest ecosystem, including flora, fauna, soil, and local communities, not just timber.
• Support Community Initiatives: Initiatives like the Central government’s Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan should be strengthened to provide flexible and iterative frameworks for CFR management plans.
• Promote Adaptive Responses: Gram Sabhas offer the most effective adaptive responses to challenges like climate change, given their intimate understanding of local scenarios and resources.

Conclusion

The time is ripe to move away from colonial control and empower local communities, ensuring the long-term health and sustainability of India’s forests. 

• This fundamental shift is not just about rights; it is about securing the ecological and social future of the nation.

DOWNLOAD PDF