How do I get a forest rights patta in Odisha under the Forest Rights Act 2006?

What a forest rights patta in Odisha is

A forest rights patta in Odisha is the title issued under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (the Forest Rights Act, or FRA), recognising rights that forest-dwelling families and communities already held over forest land they have lived on, cultivated or used. In villages it is often called a jungle patta or jangala jami patta. The Act does not grant new land; it recognises and records rights that existed but were never written down, and once recognised, the land and rights are entered in the record of rights.

Odisha has a large forest-dwelling population and has issued titles on a significant scale. The ST & SC Development Department is the state's nodal department for the Act, working through District Welfare Officers, ITDA Project Administrators and the Sub-Collectors and Collectors who chair the committees.

Who can claim under FRA 2006

• Forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes: members of a Scheduled Tribe who primarily reside in and depend on forest or forest land for their livelihood, in the area where they are scheduled.
• Other Traditional Forest Dwellers: any person or community that has for at least three generations (75 years) before 13 December 2005 primarily resided in and depended on forest land for livelihood. This is the harder test, and many OTFD claims fail on proof of the 75 years.

For land rights, the land must have been occupied before 13 December 2005. An individual title covers only the area actually under occupation, up to a maximum of 4 hectares.

Individual forest rights and community forest rights

Section 3(1) of the Act lists the rights that can be recognised. The main ones:

• Individual forest rights (IFR): the right to hold and live on or self-cultivate forest land occupied by the family.
• Community rights (CR): nistar rights, ownership and the right to collect, use and dispose of minor forest produce such as kendu leaf, sal seed, mahua and bamboo traditionally collected, and rights of grazing and fishing.
• Community forest resource (CFR) rights: the right of the Gram Sabha to protect, regenerate, conserve and manage the community forest it has traditionally protected.
• Habitat rights for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). Odisha has recognised habitat rights for several PVTG communities.
• Conversion of old forest leases or pattas into titles, and conversion of forest villages and unsurveyed settlements into revenue villages.

The 2012 amendment to the Rules made collection of minor forest produce free of fees and allowed its transport by any means, and raised Scheduled Tribe representation on the Forest Rights Committee to two-thirds.

How to apply for a forest rights patta: step by step

1. Gram Sabha and Forest Rights Committee. The Gram Sabha (at village or hamlet level) elects a Forest Rights Committee (FRC) of village members. The Gram Sabha is, in the words of Section 6(1), "the authority to initiate the process".
2. File the claim with the FRC in the prescribed form: Form A for individual rights, Form B for community rights, and Form C for community forest resource rights. Claims are filed with evidence and the FRC gives a receipt.
3. Attach evidence. Rule 13 lists the kinds of evidence that can be relied on, and it is wise to give more than one kind: government records such as gazetteers, census and settlement reports, old maps, satellite imagery and forest working plans; old forest receipts or court orders; physical features on the land such as houses, bunds and check dams; traditional structures like sacred groves or burial grounds; and statements of village elders and genealogy.
4. Field verification. The FRC verifies the claim on the spot, with notice to the claimant and to Forest and Revenue officials, and prepares a map of the claimed area.
5. Gram Sabha resolution. The Gram Sabha considers the FRC's findings and passes a resolution. The quorum is half of all members, at least one-third of those present must be women, and at least half the claimants concerned must be present.
6. Sub-Divisional Level Committee (SDLC), chaired by the Sub-Collector, examines the resolution and prepares the draft record of forest rights.
7. District Level Committee (DLC), chaired by the Collector, finally approves the record. Its decision is final and binding under Section 6(6), and the title is then issued and signed.
8. Record and map correction. The Odisha department has issued instructions for entering FRA titles in the Record of Rights and maps, so the land appears in the revenue record. Check that your title has been entered and that the area and plot match (see RoR correction if it does not).

If the claim is rejected: petitions to the SDLC and DLC

• A person aggrieved by the Gram Sabha's resolution can petition the SDLC within 60 days of the resolution (Section 6(2); Rule 14).
• A person aggrieved by the SDLC's decision can petition the DLC within 60 days of that decision (Section 6(4); Rule 15). A petition cannot go to the DLC against a Gram Sabha resolution unless the SDLC has first considered it.
• No petition can be decided against you without a reasonable opportunity to be heard, and the committees give at least 15 days' notice of the hearing.
• Reasons for rejection or modification must be communicated to the claimant in person, a claim cannot be rejected merely on technical or procedural grounds, and old fine receipts or encroacher lists cannot be the only basis for rejection (Rule 12A).

In 2019, following Supreme Court orders in the FRA litigation, the Odisha department directed a review of all rejected individual claims in mission mode, with suo-motu review by the SDLC and DLC even where no petition was filed. If you believe your claim was rejected without following the Rules, ask for the reasons in writing; an RTI application can obtain the FRC report and committee proceedings. A DLC decision taken in breach of the Act can be challenged by a writ petition in the Orissa High Court, but courts generally expect the SDLC and DLC remedies to be used first.

Mo Jungle Jami Yojana

In July 2023 Odisha announced Mo Jungle Jami Yojana, a state scheme run by the ST & SC Development Department to speed up FRA implementation across 30 districts. Its stated focus includes titles for single women and PVTGs, correction of records for existing title holders, community and CFR rights, conversion of forest and unsurveyed villages into revenue villages, and digitising title records, with Forest Rights Cells in the districts. Implementation figures are published on the scheme portal.

What you can and cannot do with the land

• Heritable, not transferable. Under Section 4(4), the rights are heritable but not alienable or transferable, and are registered jointly in the names of both spouses (or in the name of a single head of household). A forest rights patta cannot be sold, gifted or mortgaged to an outsider. Anyone offered such land should treat it as unsaleable; see title search report and tribal land transfer rules.
• Protection from eviction. Section 4(5) says no forest dweller shall be evicted or removed from forest land under their occupation until the recognition and verification procedure is complete.
• Development schemes. Title holders become eligible for convergence schemes for land development, irrigation and housing; ask the block office or the District Welfare Officer.

Related work handled is listed under land and property. Eligible people can get free legal help through the District Legal Services Authority.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (India Code)
• ST & SC Development Department, Odisha: instruction on review of rejected FRA claims (2019)
• ST & SC Development Department, Odisha: FRA executive instructions
• ST & SC Development Department, Odisha: correction of RoR and maps for FRA titles
• Mo Jungle Jami Yojana portal, Government of Odisha
• PRS summary of the Forest Rights Amendment Rules, 2012

General information, not legal advice. Every matter turns on its own facts and documents, and the law and official procedures change. Check the current position with the concerned office, or take advice on your own facts, before acting.