Assam-Meghalaya border meeting calls for urgent formation of Forest Rights Committees
Tribal communities in forest villages along the border have been urged to apply for land rights under the 2006 Act.
A public meeting organised by the Assam Peace Forum was held on Saturday at an auditorium in Ukiam, along the Assam-Meghalaya border in South Kamrup. The meeting focused on the border issue and the formation of Forest Rights Committees (FRCs) in forest villages.
According to The Sentinel, the meeting was chaired by Assam Peace Forum functionary Rajani Kanta Boro. The discussions stressed that forest-dwelling tribal communities must form FRCs and apply for land rights in accordance with the law.
Boko-Chaygaon Co-District Commissioner Ramen Deuri told the gathering that tribal communities were deprived of land rights and harassed during British rule. He said successive governments after Independence failed to take adequate measures to address these concerns.
Deuri noted that the Central government enacted the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act in 2006 to recognise the rights of eligible communities. He urged villages in the Ukiam area where FRCs are not yet constituted to form them and submit applications.
Bamunigaon Forest Range Office forest officer Debabrata Sarma alleged that some people supporting Meghalaya are influencing villagers against forming FRCs. He urged villagers not to be misled and to complete the process.
Sarma warned that if the FRC formation process is not completed by December, the Forest Department will take steps to declare the villages illegal and initiate eviction proceedings.