Opposition leader Sharad Yadav said Monday the Centre should file a review plea in the Supreme Court against its order paving the way for the eviction of a large number of tribals from forests across several states.
Yadav hit out at the government for its "non-seriousness" in protecting the rights of tribals as mentioned in the Forest Rights Act, saying they had been living there for centuries and played a key role in conserving forests.
"It is high time the government filed a review petition in the Supreme Court without losing any time for the welfare of tribals in the country," the Loktantrik Janata Dal leader said in a statement.
The livelihood of tribals depend on non-timber forest produce and the government must ensure their rights. It is the respective state governments' duty to identify the tribals and issue them identity documents as most of them have never heard of caste certificates, Yadav added.
The apex court had on February 13 asked 21 states to apprise it about the action taken by them regarding eviction of tribals and forest dwellers whose claim for the forest land have been rejected.
A PIL had challenged the validity of the Forest Rights Act, passed in 2006 by the Parliament to give back to traditional forest dwellers their right to access, manage and govern forests within their village boundaries.
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