326 forest rights holders in Wardha to get names on land records
Wardha district administration is updating village records so forest land holders are listed as principal owners, not under a separate rights column.
After verification from all sides, the Wardha district administration has already granted land titles to 412 traditional forest dwellers under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. Of these, 326 have completed the e-KYC process. As per government guidelines, work is currently under way to prepare village forms 7-E and 12-E. Once this work is complete, the names of these 326 forest dwellers will be directly recorded as forest title holders on their land records. The remaining forest dwellers will also get the same benefit once their e-KYC is completed.
Under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, land titles are given to tribal and traditional forest dwelling families for farming and residence. The entire process for this is carried out by a committee set up at the district level, which verifies all aspects. Until now, such land was recorded on land records only in the "other rights" column, meaning these families' names appeared not as the main owner but in a separate rights column. However, separate village forms 7-E and 12-E have now been introduced for forest rights holders. As a result, instead of remaining in the "other rights" column, the name of the forest rights holder person or family will now be directly recorded in village form 7-E as "main account holder/occupant".
The land record will clearly state that the land was received under the Forest Rights Act. This land cannot be sold or transferred to anyone, meaning it cannot be used for transactions such as sale or mortgage. It can only pass to the family through inheritance, that is, transferred to the next generation within the family.
Preparation of village form 12-E for land received under the Forest Rights Act is under way on a war footing. Once this work is complete, farmers will be able to have an accurate record in village form 12-E of exactly which crop they are growing on this forest land. Such a separate crop record was not available earlier. This record is expected to give forest title holders official legal recognition as farmers.
These separate records will make it easier for forest rights holder farmers to directly access the PM Kisan scheme, crop insurance, government agricultural subsidies, loans and assistance during natural disasters. Until now, because the land record carried the "other rights" entry, these families faced difficulties getting official recognition as farmers, but the new registration will remove this difficulty.
