Tribal rights groups accuse MoTA of undermining Gram Sabha authority in forest governance

By A Representative 

A coalition of over 150 tribal rights organizations, people’s movements, researchers, and activists has submitted a strongly worded representation to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) accusing it of undermining the constitutional and statutory framework of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006. In a joint statement dated August 21, 2025, the groups alleged that MoTA has been systematically subverting the democratic authority of Gram Sabhas in the governance and conservation of community forest resources (CFRs) by issuing new guidelines and joint advisories that hand over powers to bureaucratic structures, particularly the forest department.

The collective submission cites the 2023 MoTA guidelines on conservation and management of community forest resources, which replaced the statutory 2015 guidelines that had recognized the Gram Sabha’s primacy in forest governance. The new framework, the groups argue, reduces CFR management to a state-controlled scheme, with the Panchayat Secretary convening Gram Sabha meetings, the forest department integrating plans, and district-level committees overseeing financial and administrative decisions. The representation describes this as “a re-designing of JFMC structures” that strips Gram Sabhas of their statutory autonomy under FRA.

Equally contentious is the joint advisory issued by MoTA and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on March 14, 2024, which mandates that model scientific CFR management plans be developed in line with the Working Plan Code 2023, with forest officials serving as trainers and advisors to Gram Sabhas. The signatories argue that MoTA has abdicated its sole legal mandate under the FRA by sharing responsibility with MoEFCC, a ministry they accuse of historically displacing and evicting forest dwellers, obstructing rights recognition, and prioritizing conservation projects over community rights. “By declaring and adopting the principle of joint responsibility on matters of FRA, MoTA, in effect, abdicated its responsibility in violation of the law,” the representation states.

The organizations further point to the “PM-JUGA” and “DA-JGUA” missions launched in 2024, under which FRA implementation has been transformed into a technocratic, beneficiary-style scheme. They contend that digitization, technical expertise, and civil society partnerships are being privileged over the Gram Sabha, turning community forest governance into a bureaucratic exercise rather than a democratic one. The groups warn that such frameworks will “enhance injustices that FRA aims to rectify” and entrench the dominance of the forest department, which they describe as “the biggest anti-FRA and anti-forest dweller force.”

Specific instances of conflict on the ground are also highlighted, including a May 2025 letter by the Chhattisgarh Forest Department claiming itself to be the nodal agency for CFR implementation, citing MoTA-MoEFCC guidelines. Though later stayed after protests, the letter created confusion among communities and underscored how the forest bureaucracy has been emboldened by the joint advisories.

The signatories demand that MoTA immediately withdraw its September 2023 guidelines and the March 2024 joint advisory with MoEFCC, reinstate the 2015 guidelines that placed Gram Sabhas at the center of CFR governance, and assert its sole statutory authority under the FRA. They also call for strict directions to state governments that Gram Sabhas are the only legally recognized authority for forest resource governance, and for accountability to be fixed on MoEFCC and its institutions for continued violations of FRA.

Among the signatories are the Campaign for Survival and Dignity, All India Forum of Forest Movements, Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch, Gondwana Ganatantra Party, Bharat Jan Andolan, and numerous regional and grassroots tribal organizations across Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Gujarat, and other states. Individual researchers, academics, filmmakers, and human rights defenders have also endorsed the statement.

The memorandum concludes that the ongoing interventions represent a “historic reversal” of the FRA’s intent to remedy injustices faced by Adivasi and other forest-dwelling communities. It warns that unless MoTA reasserts its statutory role and revokes the contested guidelines, the very foundation of democratic, community-led forest governance envisaged under FRA will be dismantled.