Udaipur, April 12: Thousands of tribal families in Udaipur district remain deprived of the benefits of the Forest Rights Act, even after 18 years of its implementation. Despite residing and farming on forest land for years, they have not received their entitlement certificates, adversely affecting their livelihoods and access to government schemes. The situation is particularly dire in the Kotda area, where a significant number of claims are still pending.
According to reports, around 2,300 individual and 77 community forest rights certificates have been issued in Kotda, but the entire process has been stalled for the past three years. Currently, over 1,350 individual claims are still pending, with many files stuck in the Panchayat and Forest Department.
The Tribal Development Forum has noted that approximately 350 claims are unable to progress due to the lack of GPS and physical verification. Additionally, the sub-block level forest rights committee has not convened for two years, preventing any cases from reaching the district level. In response to the issue, hundreds of villagers submitted a memorandum to the Tehsildar, demanding that all claims be made online, the process be expedited, and community rights certificates be issued.
Moreover, many farmers are also missing out on central government schemes as their names have not been recorded in the revenue records, despite receiving forest rights certificates.