VANASHAKTI'S DISTORTIONS AND UNTRUTHS
Home Page on the Forest Rights Act
A group called Vanashakti has been running a campaign against the
Forest Rights Act through websites and TV advertisements. Most of
their campaign is founded on misconceptions about the nature and
purpose of the Act and the current situation in forests. Some of
these misconceptions are:
"The Forest Rights Act will gift land to tribals and forest
dwellers"
The Act is not about "gifting" land to anyone but about recognising
rights to lands and other resources that are already under cultivation
or being used for a livelihood, but have not been recorded as their
right. Please see here
for more information. .
"The Forest Rights Act removes all protection from forests"
The Act does not remove forest protection. In fact it enhances it
by providing for people to also have powers to protect forest and
wildlife. See here for
more information.
"The Forest Rights Act will promote land grabbing"
The Act provides a clear three step procedure for recognising
rights. See here for more
information.
The Campaign for Survival and Dignity wrote an open letter to
Vanashakti regarding their
campaign against the Act. You can see the letter here
and
Vanashakti's reply on their website here.
Their open letter goes into a number of details that they had not
previously discussed, but unfortunately continues to be factually
inaccurate and self-contradictory. Our response can be found here.