Tribals to protest denial of right to forests

NEW DELHI - Tribals from across India will hold protests Tuesday and Wednesday alleging the government is imposing illegal and dangerous afforestation programmes and sending police to repress the forest dwellers, an NGO said Monday.

The protests will be held in Delhi, Gandhinagar, Udaipur, Bhopal, Raipur and Bhubaneshwar, said a member of Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), a forum for some 200 NGOs working for the rights of tribals and forest dwellers.

According to CSD, the government is not serious about implementing the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, which was passed to recognise the rights of tribals and forest dwellers over their land, forest produce and community forests.