J&K settles 38000 out of 42000 Forest Rights claims, sets May deadline for all pending claims

JAMMU, APRIL 17: Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta today chaired a meeting to review the implementation of Forest Rights Act, 2006 here in J&K.

The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, Forests, Dheeraj Gupta; PCCF, Mohit Gera; Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Ramesh Kumar besides District Officers of the Department through video conferencing.

Dr Mehta discussed the pace and procedure of claim resolution, in accordance with rules, in consultation with villagers, Gram Sabha and other stake holders. He called for preparing concrete check list of steps for resolution within prescribed timelines so that all claims received by the Department are resolved within stipulated period.

He directed that all the pending claims be addressed and closed by the end of May this year. He also stressed on creating necessary awareness among the eligible population for submitting their applications successfully so that none of them struggle to obtain their due.

The Chief Secretary directed the DFOs to prepare a detailed action plan with the requisite records and maps and coordinate with Deputy Commissioners and Sub Divisional level Committees for conduct of verification by the Forest Rights Committee in order to put these before the concerned Gram Sabha for its decisions. He asked them to expedite its putting before district level committees after taking the necessary resolution from Gram Sabhas.
During the meeting the Chief Secretary was presented with district wise list of pendency of claims. He spoke with participating district heads in this regard and took stock of pendency at various levels, like Sub Division Level Committee and District Level Committee. The meeting was informed that around 38000 out of 42000 applications received have been disposed of.

He also had a discussion with district heads regarding drug menace and measures to curb it, besides deliberations on awareness activities and rehabilitation of those affected by it.
He called for identification of drug hotspots, carrying out awareness activities in collaboration with education institutes, and eradication of the menace.