MINISTER OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI V. KISHORE CHANDRA DEO)
(a) & (b) : Yes Madam. Section 6(7) of the Scheduled Tribe and Other Traditional Forest
Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (In short FRA) provides for constitution of
State Level Monitoring Committees by the State Governments to monitor the process of recognition
and vesting of forest rights and to submit to the nodal agency such returns and reports as may
be called for by that agency. Further Section 6(8) of the Act inter-alia provides that the
State Level Monitoring Committee shall consist of officers of the departments of Revenue,
Forest and Tribal Affairs of the State Government and three members of the Panchayati Raj
Institutions at the appropriate level, appointed by the respective Panchayati Raj Institutions,
of whom two shall be the Scheduled Tribes members and at least one shall be a woman, as may be
prescribed. Further, Rule 9 of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers
(Recognition of Forest Rights) Rules, 2008
provide that the State Government shall constitute a State Level Monitoring Committee with the
following members namely:-
(a) Chief Secretary - Chairperson;
(b) Secretary- Revenue Department - Member;
(c) Secretary Tribal or Social Welfare Department - Member;
(d) Secretary, Forest Department - Member;
(e) Secretary, Panchayati Raj - Member;
(f) Principal Chief Conservator of Forests - Member;
(g) three Scheduled Tribes member of the Tribes Advisory Council, to be nominated by the
Chairperson of the Tribes Advisory Council and where there is no Tribes Advisory Council,
th ree Scheduled Tribes members to be nominated by the State Government;
(h) Commissioner, Tribal Welfare or equivalent who shall be the Member Secretary.
(c) & (d): As per the information available with the Ministry, as on 31.3.2013, all the
State/UT Governments except Manipur, Nagaland and A&N Islands Administration have constituted
the State Level Monitoring Committees. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has been constantly
persuading with the State Governments/UT Administrations to implement the provisions of the
Act in a time bound manner, including constitution of State Level Monitoring Committees as
required under the Act.
Further to strengthen the monitoring of the implementation of FRA, FR Rules have been amended on
6.9.2012 to include that SLMC is mandated to meet at least once in each quarter to take stock of
the field level problems and submit Quarterly Progress Report (QPR) to the Ministry. The Ministry
also organized five Regional Workshops and a national meeting in the year 2012-13, in order to
explain and discuss the amendments in the FR Rules and the guidelines to the officials of the
key State Government Departments and further make them aware to constitute SLMC and furnish QPR
on regular basis.
