Implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act 2006 in Jharkhand: Problems and Challenges

The purpose of this article is to examine the nature and process of implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act 2006 and the challenges at the enforcement level in the state of Jharkhand. To this end, this article assesses the status and trend of forest rights recognition in the state by reviewing the existing forest rights claim database and unravels the challenges of forest rights enforcement based on information from 12 villages in 3 districts—Ranchi, Godda and Hazaribagh. The analysis indicates that recognition of forest rights claim is uneven, non-transparent and stagnant in Jharkhand. Some of the major factors for this state of affairs are: the ambiguous role of implementing agencies, lack of financial and human resources at the district and sub-divisional levels, absence of a dedicated tribal department, no horizontal integration within and among implementing agencies and failure of state administration to provide an opportunity for participation in recognising forest rights claimants.