Forest Rights Committee
Also called: FRC · Topic: Special Provisions, Scheduled and Tribal Areas · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
A Forest Rights Committee (FRC) is a small committee that the gram sabha elects to help it under the Forest Rights Act 2006. The gram sabha is the meeting of all the adult members of a village. The committee is set up under the FRA Rules of 2008. It receives claims to forest land and forest resources, checks them on the ground and reports back to the gram sabha. The process does not begin with the FRC. Under Section 6 of the Act, the gram sabha starts it, and the gram sabha decides which claims to pass on. The FRC matters because it keeps the checking of claims inside the village, with people who know the land.
Example
Suppose a tribal family's claim to its forest plot is turned down only because it has no papers. FRA guidelines do not allow this. The claim must be sent back to the Forest Rights Committee to be checked again, and the family must be told why it was rejected.
Don't confuse with
- Gram sabha: The gram sabha is the village assembly that holds the power under the FRA. It starts the process and passes the resolution on claims. The FRC is only its helper. It collects and checks claims but cannot decide them.
- Central Empowered Committee: This is an expert body for forest protection that answers to the Supreme Court. It works at the national level. It is not elected by villagers and has no role in checking individual claims.