PM Awas houses on forest land: Centre tells SC about safeguards, duties under FRA

The apex court is examining an appeal and a contempt petition in relation to construction of houses under PMAY-G on a forest land for a small community from the particularly vulnerable Sahariya tribe, in Binega village of Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri.

In September 2025, the SC directed the two ministries to explain how dwelling houses could be built on forest land while respecting the mandate of forest conservation under the Van Adhiniyam.

In February, the Centre, in an affidavit, stated that once individual rights are recognised under FRA, the need for a prior approval under Van Adhiniyam does not arise. To this, a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe had sought to know the regulatory measures on the issue of convergence of these two laws.

The community of 63 families has appealed against an NGT order, which held the PMAY-G constructions as violative of the Forest Conservation Act. The contempt petition was filed by one Swami Pathranand of the Paramhans Ashram, the petitioner in the NGT case, on grounds of non-compliance of the NGT’s orders.

Swami Pathranand had alleged that PMAY-G houses were sanctioned on community forest land. He had also moved the Gwalior bench of Madhya Pradesh HC to halt the construction, but the court disposed of the plea while directing forest officials to examine the issue. In fact, the ashram came under cloud for building a large bhawan and double- fencing nine hectares of Community Forest Resource (CFR) land from all sides.

On the Binega village issue, the Centre had submitted in February that the question fell in the domain of the Madhya Pradesh government since they are the competent authority implementing FRA, it was learned.

Multi-tier process, on-site verification, duties

In the affidavit, the Centre is learned to have detailed about eight to nine different kinds of safeguards under FRA, ranging from a three-tier gram sabha verification process, mandatory evidence requirements, on-site physical verification by forest and revenue officials, non-transferability of titles and oversight by a state-level committee.

It was submitted that the gram sabha and forest rights committee initiate the process of calling for and receiving title claims under FRA, and that a quorum of 50% members is required for gram sabha proceedings. All resolutions pertaining to claims, it said, are to be passed through deliberation and voting, to ensure transparency and collective decision-making.

On the role of the forest department, the Centre is learnt to have submitted that Rule 12A (1) of the Act mandates that forest and revenue department officials must be present during on-site verification of claims and evidence. The officials are also part of the sub-divisional-level, district-level and state-level monitoring committees, having statutory roles in decision-making in vetting, approval, and rejection of claims, as well as monitoring.

The ministries have also pointed out, it was learned, that under the Act, the rights-holders and gram sabha are bound to protect wildlife, forests and biodiversity and prevent activities adverse to forest ecosystems.

According to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs’ monthly progress report for the period ending February 28, 2026, over 54 lakh claims have been filed under FRA across states, of which over 25.38 lakh titles have been distributed. Around 80.56% of all claims have been disposed of, while 18.12 lakh claims have been rejected.

An award-winning journalist with 14 years of experience, Nikhil Ghanekar is an Assistant Editor with the National Bureau [Government] of The Indian Express in New Delhi. He primarily covers environmental policy matters which involve tracking key decisions and inner workings of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He also covers the functioning of the National Green Tribunal and writes on the impact of environmental policies on wildlife conservation, forestry issues and climate change. Nikhil joined The Indian Express in 2024. Originally from Mumbai, he has worked in publications such as Tehelka, Hindustan Times, DNA Newspaper, News18 and Indiaspend. In the past 14 years, he has written on a range of subjects such as sports, current affairs, civic issues, city centric environment news, central government policies and politics. ... Read More

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