Claims of forest rights face challenges as Dec deadline looms

Margao: Sixty-five-year-old Mahadev Velip clutches weathered papers outside his mud house at Morpirla, in Quepem taluka — documents that could secure his family’s future under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act.

Like thousands of others, he waits as chief minister Pramod Sawant’s Dec 19 deadline to clear all pending claims faces mounting challenges.

With 10,500 claims filed across the state, only 871 families have been cleared to be issued sanads (title deeds) so far. Another 949 claims have been rejected, leaving 8,680 families in limbo — including Velip’s.

Sanads will be issued to 150 families at a function to be held on Monday at Ponda. Also, a special camp will be held on June 14 across six talukas to fast-track pending cases.

“This land has been our home for generations,” said Velip, his eyes scanning the foliage around his dwelling. “Without official recognition, we have always lived in fear.”

Sources in the tribal welfare department reveal three critical obstacles threatening the Dec 19 timeline. The most pressing is a severe shortage of skilled personnel for spot verification and demarcation of claimed land — the crucial step in the validation of each claim.

Survey teams currently manage only three to four verifications per day, a pace that appears insufficient given the massive backlog.

The monsoon compounds these difficulties. Heavy rain triggers extensive vegetation growth and waterlogging, making forest sites virtually inaccessible and bringing verification work to “almost a standstill”, officials said.

A forest department official said, “We are racing against time and nature. The monsoon window severely limits our working months.”

A third challenge involves ensuring adequate gram sabha attendance to validate claims — the requirement of 50% quorum at gram sabhas, with a third of them women, has turned out to be a major impediment in the speedy processing of the claims.

Further, processing claims that are not supported by adequate documentation is fraught with delays.

With the Dec 19 deadline only six months away, sources said the fulfilment of the promise depends on navigating these formidable challenges.