Thu Mar 27 23:29:00 UTC 2025: ## Slow Progress in Granting Habitat Rights to Vulnerable Tribal Groups in India

**New Delhi, March 28, 2025** – Over two decades after the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006 was implemented, only 10 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) have been granted habitat rights across three Indian states, according to government data revealed in Parliament on Thursday.

The revelation highlights significant delays in protecting the traditional habitats of these vulnerable communities. The FRA aims to safeguard the forest rights of Scheduled Tribes and other forest-dwelling groups, including recognizing community tenures of habitat for PVTGs. While the government has designated 75 communities as PVTGs, with an estimated population of 4.55 million spread across 19 states and union territories, the number of granted habitat rights remains strikingly low.

The information was disclosed by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in response to a query from Tiruvallur MP Sasikanth Senthil. The Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Durgadas Uikey, stated that the 10 PVTGs granted rights were located across 14 districts in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. The ministry cited the state governments’ responsibility for land management as a reason for lacking specific data on PVTG displacement due to mining or development projects.

This slow progress mirrors concerns raised in a 2020 draft report by an internal panel of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The report, made public recently, highlighted the misinterpretation of “habitat” as “awaas” (housing) in Hindi, leading officials to confuse habitat rights with housing schemes. The report also noted that many officials involved in granting habitat rights also oversee mining projects or sanctuary management, creating a conflict of interest. As a result, many habitats in proposed mining areas and sanctuaries are not being recognized.

The continued slow implementation of the FRA raises serious questions about the effectiveness of government efforts to protect the rights and livelihoods of India’s most vulnerable tribal communities.

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