The Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006 aimed to recognise the rights of at least 150 million indigenous and rural people to inhabit and live off about 40 million hectares of forest land. "We welcome the decision to implement FRA in Jammu and Kashmir after all these years. It will give tribal people more legal rights," Rahi, General Secretary of Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "Many are illiterate and do not know their rights, but they have some form of documentation, dating back decades, when they were granted grazing rights by kings," said Rahi. "We now have to make sure their rights are recognised under FRA," he said.

Source: bd News24 November 19, 2020 10:07 UTC