the goan I network
MARGAO
Perturbed by the huge pendency of forest rights cases, Tribal Welfare Minister Govind Gawde on Wednesday warned officials that they should either deliver by disposing of cases under the Forest Rights Act or brace up to sit a home as he mulled strict action, including suspension for non-performance.
The minister also disclosed plans to call a meeting with the District Collectors within 20 days and has called for a detailed report from them into the pendency of forest rights cases.
Speaking at the day-long workshop on SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, organised by the Goa Commission for SC/ST at the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao, on Wednesday, Gawde’s message to the concerned officials was simple “ either help dispose of the hundreds of pending forest rights cases or face action.
“The Forest Rights Act was enacted way back in 2006. In Goa, around 1064 applications were received from people inhabiting the forest areas claiming their rights. But the performance of the officials in disposing of the cases is dismal. What are the reasons behind the pendency? Who is responsible for the situation?” the minister questioned the officials.
Questioning the officials over the poor rate of granting sanads to the claimants, Gawde said the situation has not improved despite assurances handed out by the deputy collectors. “Don’t take the curses of the poor and the downtrodden. Even if 10 sanads are issued by one deputy collector every month, around 80 sanads can be issued to the claimants considering there are eight deputy collectors handling the cases,” he said.
“Leave the job and sit at home if you cannot deliver,” he further said, while asking the officials to do soul searching whether they are fit to occupy the posts when they cannot do justice to the downtrodden.
In his brief address, Ravindra Bhavan Chairman Prashant Naik called upon the bureaucracy to be sensitive towards the common man. “The scheduled tribes have already suffered injustices over the years and what is rightfully theirs should not be denied to them,” Naik said, while saying that reservations have indeed helped the STs to occupy various positions in recent years.
Chairman of the SC/ST Commission Prakash Velip lamented that the Forest Rights Act, 2006, has not been implemented in the state with the speed at which it was expected, denying rights to the thousands of people hailing from the poorer sections of society.
“These people have been the original inhabitants of the forest areas and it is their right to claim what is due to them under the Forest Rights Act,” he added.
