Foremost priority is to ensure forest lease holders receive entitlements: Chhattisgarh CM

Even as joint security forces continue operations across several States to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s resolve on a ‘Naxal-Mukt Bharat’ by March 2026, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said that his government’s “foremost priority is to ensure that every forest land lease holding family received their rightful entitlements”. 

An official told The Hindu that this flows from the government’s thinking that “there is a clear correlation between FRA (Forest Rights Act) enforcement and reduced Naxal activity”. The Forest Rights Act, 2006, recognises and vests forest rights with Scheduled Tribes and forest-dwelling communities.  

“The approach is holistic, combining rights recognition, economic empowerment, and security measures to strengthen tribal self-governance and counter extremism,” the official said, adding, “Reports from the ground indicate that in districts with robust FRA implementation, Naxal recruitment has dropped. Gram Sabhas now resolve many local disputes without Maoist interference, showcasing the positive impact of tribal self-governance.” 

In response to questions on FRA implementation in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled State, the Chief Minister told The Hindu that his government had streamlined the ‘fauti naamantaran’ — the process of transferring ownership of land after the death of the leaseholder as well, “so that legal heirs face no hurdles”.  

“By simplifying and streamlining the process of ‘fauti naamantaran’, we have made sure that after the demise of a lease holder, their legal heirs face no hurdles in claiming their rightful ownership,” Mr. Sai said.  

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“With their names now officially recorded, they not only become the lawful owners of the land but also gain easier access to various government schemes and benefits,” he said, adding that the streamlined process had “provided forest rights holders with a new foundation of economic, social, and familial security”. “It has boosted the confidence of our rural and tribal communities and strengthened their trust in the government,” the CM said. 

This thinking is also reflected in the State government’s 2025 policy for the surrender and rehabilitation of Naxals and victims of violence, which has provisions to give land titles, financial aid, and livelihood assistance to surrendered Naxals and victims, the State government official further said.  

“By recognising land and forest rights, the government has addressed long-standing tribal grievances, which Naxals previously exploited for recruitment. In conflict-prone areas such as Abujhmad, granting habitat rights has strengthened trust between tribal communities and the administration,” the official said.  

The State government has especially focused on granting community rights titles under the FRA, data showed, with officials adding that Chhattisgarh had been granted over 4,300 Community Forest Resource Rights (CFRR) titles in the past 1.5 years.  

Public data from FRA implementation further showed that while, as of 2018, individual rights titles under the FRA were more than twice the number of community titles granted, the dataset for the last one year showed community titles outnumbering individual titles. 

This comes in the backdrop of the Union government trying to give a fresh push to the implementation of the FRA across the country by funding the setting up of over 300 FRA cells to facilitate the law’s implementation. This effort is the first time the Union government is setting up mechanisms to help in the implementation of the law, which was hitherto largely in the domain of State governments.