The Forest Rights Act (FRA) was established in 2006. As we approach 20 years of its existence as a tool for empowering tribes, the United Nations Development Programme or UNDP has come out with a comprehensive new report titled “Securing Rights, Securing the Future: The Politics of Forest Rights Act and Pathways to the Future.”
We know that the Forest Rights Act aims to redress historical injustices against forest-dwelling communities, who have paid the heaviest price for “development” through displacement and expropriation. This Act restores the rights of these communities to live on forest land and use forest resources.
While this sounds great in principle, in practice it has faced many challenges, including resistance from the forest bureaucracy itself. In a shocking development, thousands of forest rights disappeared from the records of the Chhattisgarh government recently. And in a move that is likely to alarm forest-dwelling communities, the UNDP report has proposed a consensus on a “sunset clause” that provides an “end date” for the recognition and allocation of rights under the FRA—what does that mean? Why do we need a sunset clause for forest rights?
How can thousands of forest rights titles suddenly disappear? More broadly, how effective has the implementation of the FRA been so far, and what is needed to make it more effective?
Guests: Kanchi Kohli, a renowned expert on environment and forest policy who co-authored the UNDP report, and Abhinay Lakshman, who covers FRA The Hindu. Host: G Sampath
Shot, edited and produced by Jude Francis Weston
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Published – September 15, 2025 05:59 PM IST
