Opinion and commentary

In February 2016, reports emerged of the startling and potentially illegal decision by the Sarguja district authorities in Chhattisgarh to revoke the community forest rights titles of Ghatbarra village. The reason stated in an official letter, dated January 8, 2016, was that the exercise of these rights was coming in the way of a coal mine that had been granted approval in 2012. The letter was jointly signed by the district collector, divisional forest officer and district level representative of the tribal affairs department. The rights they wished to take away were those the forest-dwelling community had historically exercised in the area for its livelihood, including the collection of non-timber forest produce (NTFP).

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