Raipur
The Chhattisgarh Forest Department has clarified its position on the implementation of Community Forest Resource Rights (CFRR) following recent media coverage and public discussions. The department reiterated its commitment to empowering local communities and ensuring sustainable forest management.
The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force (PCCF & HoFF), Chhattisgarh, stated that the department has played a proactive role in recognising and distributing both Individual and Community Forest Resource Rights under The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.
The department has recognised 4,78,641 individual rights and 4,349 CFRR (covering 20,06,224 hectares) under the Act. Chhattisgarh is a leading state in CFRR recognition, empowering local communities with legal rights over forest resources and enabling them to play a key role in forest conservation and management.
The Forest Department had issued an advisory to its field officers due to the absence of model Community Forest Resource (CFR) management plans and corresponding guidelines. This step was necessary as field-level implementation of CFRR was inconsistent. There was also confusion regarding procedural compliance and coordination between Gram Sabhas, NGOs, and forest officials.
The department stated that without this advisory, there was a strong possibility that ad hoc management plans would be implemented without considering working plan prescriptions. This could have jeopardised the ecological integrity of forests, conflicted with existing MoEF&CC-approved working plans, and created inter-departmental and community-level disputes.
The department clarified that opposition from some NGOs and Gram Sabhas stemmed from a misunderstanding. The advisory was not intended to restrict community rights but to safeguard against mismanagement and ensure future CFR management plans are scientifically sound, law-compliant, and nationally harmonised.
A letter issued by the PCCF & HoFF on 15 May 2025, directing that only approved CFRR management plans be implemented until model plans are issued, was an interim procedural measure. The letter inadvertently referred to the Forest Department as the “Nodal Agency” for CFRR in Chhattisgarh. The correct designation was “Samanvyak“, meaning facilitator or coordinator.
This typographical error was formally corrected via a corrigendum on 23 June 2025. Given the confusion caused by this error, Forest and Climate Change Minister Kedar Kashyap directed the withdrawal of both the letter dated 15 May 2025 and the subsequent clarification. These letters were withdrawn through office letter number 536, dated 3 July 2025.
The Chhattisgarh Forest Department has formally written to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) with the following requests:
- Issue model CFR management plans in consonance with the National Working Plan Code, 2023.
- Provide detailed implementation guidelines for the Tribal Welfare and Forest Departments.
- Publish a comprehensive training module/handbook for capacity building of master trainers and all stakeholders, including Gram Sabha representatives, as envisaged under the joint letter.
The Forest Department remains committed to implementing CFRR in a transparent, scientific, and participatory manner, integrating traditional knowledge, and continues to be a dedicated partner in facilitating the rightful recognition and sustainable management of community forest resources in Chhattisgarh.
