Jairam Ramesh. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Slamming the Tribal Affairs Ministry’s recent assertion that the Forest Rights Act “has no provision” for seeking Gram Sabha consent while diverting forest land for non-forest purposes, the Congress on Tuesday (September 8, 2026) asked if the Centre was “under pressure from the Modani conglomerate” and other mining interests, in a reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Adani group.Rajya Sabha MP and Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that this “shocking stance” of the Tribal Affairs Ministry reflected a “serious misunderstanding of the law and an abdication of the Ministry’s statutory responsibility”. Mr. Ramesh added that this position contradicted the Ministry’s own earlier guidelines and communications and the procedure currently in place to divert forest land.“The FRA clearly designates the Tribal Affairs Ministry as the nodal Ministry for implementing the law, and therefore, for protecting the rights it guarantees,” Mr. Ramesh said, in his statement. The Ministry’s attempt to distance itself from its responsibility would “make a mockery of the law and of the communities it was enacted to protect”, he said.‘Bottleneck for government projects’This comes a day after The Hindu reported that the Tribal Affairs Ministry had told the Power Ministry that the 2006 law has “no provision for obtaining consent of the Gram Sabha for forest clearance”, adding that “such matters” related to Gram Sabha consent “do not fall under the purview of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs”. This was conveyed to the Power Ministry on August 31, during deliberations over how Gram Sabha consent had become a “bottleneck” for government projects.Mr. Ramesh, however, pointed out that the requirement of complying with sections of the Forest Rights Act for any diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes has been repeatedly reiterated by both the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change.He cited a 2012 communication from the Tribal Affairs Ministry to the States, a 2018 dialogue it had with the Environment Ministry, replies in Parliament by the Environment Ministry, and the government’s own Van Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan Rules, 2023 to show that FRA compliance and a no-objection certificate from the concerned Gram Sabha have long been considered as mandatory requirements to divert forest land.Rules and regulationsWhile the FRA itself does not specifically mention the need for Gram Sabha consent for such diversions, the Union government’s rules and regulations governing the diversion of forest land specifically requires that all processes under the FRA be completed before the concerned government authority can issue a certificate to formally divert forest land. These guidelines, under the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, require the identification of potential FRA claimants, the recognition of their rights where applicable, the vesting of these rights, and then obtaining an NOC from the Gram Sabhas concerned. This process is what has come to be known as Gram Sabha consent.Mr. Ramesh said that the FRA read with the Supreme Court’s 2013 Niyamgiri judgement clearly establish the “central role of Gram Sabhas in decisions affecting forest rights and resources”. He added: “These safeguards are not technicalities. Tribal and forest dwelling communities have relied on the FRA, 2006 and other protections to defend their jal, jangal, zameen rights.” Published - September 08, 2026 09:07 pm IST
