19 Baiga tribal villages get Habitat Forest Rights in Chhattisgarh

The Baiga community in Chhattisgarh became the second Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) in the state to be awarded Habitat Forest Rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006. The rights have been given to 19 Baiga villages belonging to the Gaurela block of the Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi district. The award comes a month after the recognition of rights for 22 villages of the Kamar tribe in August. 

A population of 6,483 people from the villages’ 2,085 households is expected to benefit from the rights. The villages/para/tola received the rights in a special event organised by the district administration of Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi (GPM) on Monday, the Indian Express reported. 

Who are the Baigas? 

The Baiga community is one of the 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) recognised by the central government. As per the Chhattisgarh Tribal Research and Training Institute, Baigas were erstwhile nomadic hunter-gatherers, who primarily practise shifting agriculture even now. The community’s life is closely connected with the forests.

Baigas are also known to be extremely skilled with medicinal and healing practices, using various species of plants and trees found in the forests of the region.

The tribe primarily resides in the Kawardha and Bilaspur districts of the state. However, a large section of the Baiga population resides in the Dindori, Mandla, Shadol and Jabalpur districts of Madhya Pradesh. It must be noted that Baigachak- comprising seven villages of Baigas, was the first area to receive Habitat Rights in the Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh in 2015. 

What are Habitat Forest Rights?

Section 3(1)(e) of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, stipulates explicitly the recognition of “habitat rights” for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). 

The term “habitat” is defined under Section 2 (h) of the FRA as the areas traditionally inhabited by primitive tribal groups and pre-agricultural communities. It includes their customary habitat and other such habitats of community rights in reserved, protected, and other types of forests. Furthermore, to clarify the term “habitation,” the Ministry of Tribal Affairs issued a directive in 2015 which said that

the right to community tenure to habitat and habitation may be recognised over customary territories used by the PVTG for habitation, livelihood, social, economic, spiritual, sacred, religious and other purposes.

In simpler terms, the habitat rights for PVTGs acknowledge the traditional and customary rights of these communities over their homes, lands, and way of life. These rights extend to various aspects such as their culture, economy, livelihoods, and even their knowledge of the environment and biodiversity.

Accordance of Habitat Rights in Chhattisgarh

As per a report by the United Nations Development Programme, the decision to implement habitat rights in Chhattisgarh was undertaken through a pilot project initiated in a State-Level Monitoring Committee meeting chaired by the state’s Chief Secretary in 2021. After that, based on the draft guidelines issued by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, the community of Kamar PVTG, residing in the district of Dhamtari, was accorded habitat rights in August this year. Interestingly, the process has gained rapid momentum in the run-up to the assembly elections in the state. 

It's important to note that, among the 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) eligible for habitat rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) since its implementation in 2006, only selected portions of the Baigas and Bharias tribes in Madhya Pradesh, and now the Kamar tribe in Chhattisgarh, have received these rights. Unfortunately, even within these tribal communities, the rights distribution process only includes a limited number of villages.

Why are Habitat Rights so essential? 

Scholars in forest governance argue that alienation from forests and resources is pushing PVTG communities towards further vulnerability. In such a scenario, the determination of their habitat rights would not only involve understanding their past and present practices and systems but also reconstructing their habitat. This will stop further alienation and deprivation and provide these communities with an opportunity to pave their way for development. The rights would also restore many of PVTGs’ social, cultural, livelihood and religious rights, which form the essence of the Forest Rights Act of undoing ‘historical injustice’.

Conclusion

Significantly, only three out of the 75 PVTGs (Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups) have been granted Habitat Forest Rights to date. Recognizing these habitat rights is undoubtedly complex. But, this complexity is amplified by factors such as the lack of detailed socioeconomic data about these communities. Scholars have highlighted the absence of political will to disseminate these rights, particularly in mineral-rich areas. The situation is further aggravated by the insufficient awareness among tribal communities and government agencies regarding the occupancy and importance of these rights.

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