The Tribal affairs ministry recently constituted a committee on Community Forest Resources (CFR Guideline) under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA).
The ministry created a committee headed by NC Saxena, former member of the Planning Commission of India and of the National Advisory Council.
The CFR right under the FRA empowers Gram Sabha to conserve and manage their forest.
In 2016, CFR guidelines were prepared by MoTA, in consultation with the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
Earlier the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) appointed committee to facilitate legal recognition for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG).
It was headed by former MoTA secretary Hrusikesh Panda.
These committee members decided to visit Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Under FRA, habitat rights are given to PVTGs and pre-agriculture communities and it gives them access to the resources in the area recognized as their habitat.