As Govt intensifies anti-encroachment drives, forest dwellers start seeking relief under FRA

As the  Department of Forests has intensified the anti-encroachment drives across J&K, the forest dwellers have started seeking relief from eviction under Forest Rights Act.
A top official told local news agency  that they have regard for Forest Rights Act and whenever people feel their rights are violated in eviction drives, they approach concerned authorities and seek relief.
” We stop anti- encroachment processes there and study their cases whether they can claim relief Under Forest Rights Act ( FRA),” he said.
In response to a question, he said that their different departments own land, forest department, state and corporation also own land.
“The forest department has around 2161 forests in Jammu and Kashmir. Over the period of time, people encroach on the forest land for cultivation and other purposes. To stop this the eviction process is a continuous job to recover the forest land,” he said.

The Jammu Kashmir high court has also directed us to document the encroachment and explain the steps that are being taken to evict the forest land, he added.