The Union Tribal Affairs Ministry has mandated that the relocation of forest-dwelling communities from tiger reserves must be an “exceptional, voluntary, and evidence-based measure”. The Ministry’s new policy framework also spells out the mechanisms that allow communities to continue living in the forests and the procedures to be followed for obtaining their consent for relocation.
The policy calls for a National Framework for Community-Centred Conservation and Relocation (NFCCR), through which the Environment Ministry and Tribal Affairs Ministry can jointly set procedural standards, timelines, and accountability. It also suggests a National Database on Conservation-Community Interface (NDCCI) to record and track relocations, compensation, and status post-relocation. It recommends annual independent audits of relocation projects by empanelled agencies that assess compliance with the Forest Rights Act, the Wildlife Protection Act, and human rights standards.
Communities may choose to continue living in the “traditional forest habitats” while exercising their Individual Forest Rights or Community Forest Rights under the FRA, the policy says, emphasising that this must be an option for villages located within the reserves. In such cases, authorities must ensure the in-situ development of basic infrastructure, include Gram Sabha members in Tiger Conservation Foundations and Eco Development Committees, and “generate evidence on sustainable co-habitation models for wider replication”, the policy adds.
