Vijayawada: The communication gap between the Union and the State Governments on the issues of finance and water resources seems to be widening.
The Central Government is not aware that the Forest Rights Act (FRA) is being violated in villages of Pydipaka, Chegondapalli, Deveragondhi, Mamidigondhi and Thotagondhi in West Godavari district as also in Devipatnam in East Godavari district. Evicted villagers are entitled to land-for-land and employment for one member of each family.
The State Government has failed to provide proper answers to queries posed by the Union Government.
According to the 2011 census, 24.56 lakh acres of forest land is located within the cadastral boundaries of 2,982 revenue villages in AP. Additionally, 91.55 lakh acres of forest land lies outside the boundaries of villages in the state. As per provisions of the Forest Survey of India (1999) and the Rights and Resources Initiative (2015), it has been estimated that the forest land within village boundaries rests under the jurisdiction of the gram sabhas as community forest resources (CFRs) and as individually occupied forest lands.
Individually occupied lands, as well as CFRs are located in forests outside village cadastral boundaries. A forest officer says that it is not possible to accurately estimate the area eligible to be recognised, without mapping the lands. As per estimates, at least 20 per cent of the forest lands which comes out to 18.31 lakh acres, falls within the jurisdiction of gram sabhas as per the FRA.
The total forest land that potentially falls under the jurisdiction of gram sabhas is 42.87 lakh acres. But because Individual Forest Rights (IFR) exist in the same lands, the Government of AP has subtracted 1.98 lakh acres, which has been recognised under IFRs, to calculate the minimum potential CFRs, which is estimated to be 40.89 lakhs acres.
This estimate is validated by the fact that the 4,695 Vana Samrakshna Samithis (VSSs), and Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) in the State covered 30 lakh acres at the time of enactment of the FRA.
