By IANS
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has written to all chief ministers for the speedy implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Traditional Forest Dwellers Act, which will enable distribution of land rights to tribals.
According to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office, Manmohan Singh has written to all states, seeking their cooperation and commitment for the effective implementation of the act.
The act requires state governments to constitute committees that will process the cases and ensure distribution of land rights.
He has urged the state governments to set up, at the earliest, the state and district-level monitoring committees and the local, below district level, committees so that the work can be commenced promptly, the statement underlined.
He has also stressed the need to ensure wide publicity of the provisions of the act at the local level. He pointed out that while implementing the act, it should be ensured that adequate protection is provided to critical wildlife habitats as provided for in the act.
“This is a landmark legislation in independent India that seeks to provide rights over land in their occupation to forest-dwelling scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who have been residing there for generations but whose rights could not be recorded,” the prime minister said in his letter.
The letter has mentioned that the ministry of Panchayati Raj would be “writing separately to you to organise gram sabhas across the country on an appointed day to ensure that the provisions of this act are made widely known”.
“Needless to stress, while implementing the act, it should be ensured that adequate protection is provided to critical wildlife habitats as provided for in section 4 of the act.”