Claims and pending approvals under FRA
Claims and pending approvals under FRA
Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Shri Durgadas Uikey informed in Rajya Sabha today that as per the provisions of ‘The Scheduled Tribes And Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006’ and Rules made thereunder, the State Governments are responsible for implementation of various provisions of the Act and are being implemented in 20 States and 1 UT. Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) monitors the Monthly Progress Reports (MPR) submitted by States/UTs.
As per the latest information reported by the States and collated under MPR as on 31.12.2025, a total of 44,33,940 (85.40%) claims have been settled (decision taken), comprising 42,56,845 individuals and 1,77,095 community claims. Further, during the last three years, i.e. from 01.01.2023 to 01.01.2026, a total of 4,43,247 claims have been settled (decision taken), comprising 4,10,135 individual and 33,112 community claims. A statement showing state wise details of claims settled along with details of claims filed, titles distributed and claims rejected during the last three years is at Annexure.
As reported by States/UTs, cumulatively till 31st December 2025, a total of 18,90,360 (36.41%) claims have been rejected, comprising 18,36,594 individual and 53,766 community claims. And during the last three years, a total of 1,60,715 claims have been rejected.
Based on the information received from the State Governments of Odisha, Karnataka, West Bengal, the primary grounds for rejection of claims are – claimed land not occupied before 13th December 2005, duplicate claims filed on the same land, claims on Non-Forest Land, lack of evidence, OTFD could not prove 3 generations of residence, etc.
(c) & (d): Ministry of Tribal Affairs has asked states in various review meetings and through letters to consider the claims under FRA in a time bound manner and engage with districts to resolve bottlenecks, if any, in settling of claims. Further, to enhance the comprehensive implementation of the FRA, MoTA has been providing support to the districts by setting up dedicated FRA cells at the State and District/ Subdivision levels, for a period of two years. Further, States have been encouraged to fast-track the processing and disposal of pending claims in Multiple National level consultation/meetings/workshops with States/UTs, which are held from time to time. Details of such consultation/meetings/workshop held recently are as follows:
(i) DC/DM National Conference was held in January, 2025, where DC/DMs of 87 districts, officials from States/Line Ministries participated. The district wise progress of FRA implementation was reviewed and participant DM/DC were requested to dispose of all pending FRA Claims.
(ii) From 28.05.2025 to 05.06.2025, the progress of FRA was reviewed in the regional workshops conducted by State Governments.
(iii) On 6th June 2025, a meeting was held to discuss the plan of action for providing a sustainable form of livelihood for FRA patta holders and to discuss the field level issues in FRA implementation with State Governments and expert CSOs were invited.
(iv) On 9th and 10th September 2025, during the National Conference, the status of FRA implementation and issues were discussed with State Government officials. CSOs were also invited.
(v) On 19th December 2025, a National Consultative Workshop on the FRA was conducted to facilitate dialogue for effective implementation of the FRA. Representatives of Government departments, civil society organizations and academicians were invited.
(e): The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, being the Nodal Ministry for Monitoring and administering the legislative matters of FRA, by exercising power under Section 12 of the Act, has been issuing directions and guidelines from time to time on various aspects to ensure uniform interpretation and effective implementation of the provisions of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) by the States. The Ministry has been exhorting all State Governments to abide by the provisions contained in the FRA and ensure that all eligible claimants are provided the rights which are due to them. MoTA has asked states in various review meetings and through letters to inter alia have the meetings of the State Level Monitoring Committee (SLMC), to be chaired by Chief Secretary, at least once in three months, to monitor the process of recognition, verification and vesting of forest rights, consider and address the field level problems.
(f): FRA provides provisions for a safeguard against eviction through the provisions contained in Section 4(5) and also provision of petition by the aggrieved to SDLC and DLC (Section 6(2) and 6(4)). State Governments have been advised to ensure that the interests of the Scheduled Tribes are properly safeguarded in accordance with constitutional provisions and various laws designed to provide safeguards for the STs.
Annexure
Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) & (b) of Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1427 to be answered on- 11.02.2026 regarding “Claims and pending approvals under FRA”:
State wise details of claims filed, titles distributed, rejected and settled claims during last three years period (01.01.2023 to 01.01.2026), as per information received from States/ UT:
S. No.
States/UT
No. of Claims filed during 01.01.2023 to 01.01.2026
No. of Titles Distributed during 01.01.2023 to 01.01.2026
No. of Claims Rejected
Total No. of Claims Disposed off
Individual
Community
Total
Individual
Community
Total
1
Andhra Pradesh
3,684
0
3,684
8,686
0
8,686
3,040
11,726
2
Assam
32,000
1,501
33,501
27,536
1,098
28,634
16,379
45,013
3
Bihar
-3,326
0
-3,326
70
0
70
281
351
4
Chhattisgarh
13,047
6,271
19,318
24,287
6,671
30,958
7,745
38,703
5
Goa
200
10
210
556
6
562
1,248
1,810
6
Gujarat
186
0
186
7,046
195
7,241
-56,966
-49,725
7
Himachal Pradesh
3,185
589
3,774
754
113
867
8
875
8
Jharkhand
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
9
Karnataka
3,362
78
3,440
572
1
573
15,467
16,040
10
Kerala
566
74
640
1,785
92
1,877
633
2,510
11
Madhya Pradesh
0
0
0
292
0
292
-292
0
12
Maharashtra
35,218
-778
34,440
34,635
1,584
36,219
127,106
163,325
13
Odisha
102,953
21,347
124,300
9,875
1,646
11,521
4,109
15,630
14
Rajasthan
1,877
2,516
4,393
700
1,958
2,658
2,840
5,498
15
Tamil Nadu
-636
466
-170
7,298
616
7,914
3,218
11,132
16
Telangana
447,646
619
448,265
133,301
619
133,920
0
133,920
17
Tripura
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
18
Uttar Pradesh
395
32
427
4,488
32
4,520
-4,025
495
19
Uttarakhand
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
20
West Bengal
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
21
Jammu & Kashmir
33,233
12,857
46,090
429
5,591
6,020
39,924
45,944
TOTAL
673,590
45,582
719,172
262,310
20,222
282,532
160,715
443,247
(Certain States reported negative FRA progress during the period but have submitted clarifications and rectified figures)