Forest Department: Ensure Forest Rights Act Compliance for Podu Pattas Distribution

Hyderabad: In a surprising development, just a day before Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao is expected to start distributing podu pattas as per the original schedule, the state forest department has warned its officials to ensure that all approved claims for podu pattas meet the requirements of the Recognition of Forest Rights (RoFR) Act.

In a letter addressed to its officials in the districts, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (head of forest force) R.M. Dobriyal, said all department officials should ensure that “no forest land under encroachment, which is not qualifying to be allotted under the RoFR Act is regularised without obtaining forest clearance under the Forest Conservation Act (FCA).”

The missive cited the June 5 letter the PCCF received from the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) on the issue of podu patta distribution in the state. The CEC had said that there should be no violation of the RoFR Act in determining the eligibility for patta on forest land.

According to sources in the forest department, the PCCF’s letter could well mean that some of the claims that had been approved and readied for podu patta distribution could be held back. Though officials are not clear at this point on how many claims might be held back, they said the letter puts a question mark on the beneficiary selection process even as the state is preparing to give land use rights on 11.5 lakh acres of forest land in the form of podu pattas.

The sources said that most of the district officials were planning to forward the PCCF’s letter to the state tribal welfare department and the district collectors for their information so everyone is on board with the forest department’s instructions.

Interestingly, the subject of the PCCF’s letter says, “Proposed distribution of 11.5 lakh acres of forest land in violation of Forest Conservation Act 1980 by the Telangana State Government Under disguise of Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (RoFR) Act 2006…”

The PCCF’s letter, signed on June 22, was learnt to have been circulated to the officials on Friday. As per an earlier announcement by the state government, the Chief Minister was to start podu patta distribution by kicking off the process in Asifabad on June 24.

The forest department chief also “requested” his officials to “closely coordinate with the tribal welfare department in the districts and ensure proper implementation of the Act.”

It may be recalled that the CEC set up by the Supreme Court had on June 5 written to the Telangana Chief Secretary and the PCCF (HoFF) to ensure the Act’s provisions were implemented strictly, and any podu land claim that does not fall under its ambit, cannot be approved until the state first seeks clearance. As per the FCA, unless compensatory afforestation land is provided by the state, forest land cannot be diverted for any purpose.