The Prayas ePathshala

Exams आसान है !

Q1. Discuss the importance of the Recognition of Forest Rights Act, 2006. Describe the obstacles to the act’s implementation as well.

GS II – Government Policies and Interventions

Importance of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006 Recognition:

Individual Forest Rights (IFR): As long as she has inhabited and relied upon the land as of December 13, 2005, each member of a Scheduled Tribe is entitled to live on and work up to four hectares of land.
Community Forest Rights (CFR): In the case of pastoral groups, the Act recognises a gramme sabha’s rights over forest land within the customary village bounds or for the seasonal usage of the surrounding area. In addition to the right to use grazing land and water bodies, this grants the villages the ability to possess, gather, use, and dispose of minor forest produce.
Conservation Rights: Under the Act, any community forest resource may be preserved, restored, conserved, or managed for long-term, sustainable usage.

Obstacles to putting the act into effect:

Lack of coordination: When it comes to carrying out the Act, there is a lack of collaboration between the revenue, forest, and tribal departments.
Multiple Laws: New laws and regulations, like the Compensatory Afforestation Act, village forest rules, and draught forest policy, have been passed recently and contain measures that weaken or go against the FRA.
Ignorance of Community Forest Resource rights: Ignorance of Community Forest Resource rights is another significant problem with FRA. The Forest Department is fiercely opposing the recognition of CFR Rights and the delegation of authority to Gramme Sabha for the preservation and administration of forest resources.
State government role: Many states have serious constitutional problems with the Forest Rights Committee (FRC) at the grassroots level, which plays a vital role in helping the Gramme Sabha (GS) determine individual claims by gathering, compiling, and field-verifying them.
Functional barriers: Claims are being denied for lack of proof or “absence of GPS survey,” or they are being denied based on incorrect interpretations of the “OTFD” term and the “dependence” clause.
Lack of knowledge: In the districts, there is a deficiency in the education of gramme sabhas, forest rights committees, and IFR/CFR claimants regarding FRA and its guidelines.

Way ahead:

Recognising and upholding the FRA’s provisions, which give Gramme Sabhas more authority throughout the entire process, is essential.
Better outcomes and better enforcement of the Forest Rights Act will come from improved collaboration across government ministries at the federal and state levels.
Reviewing some of the most recent laws, regulations, and presidential orders that have weakened certain FRA protections is necessary, as is suggesting appropriate remedies.
It is vital to increase the ability of tribespeople and other forest inhabitants to make correct claims and quickly have their rights documented.
In addition to using contemporary technology to map and track the application of FRA, the forest bureaucracy needs to be reorganised to support Gramme Sabhas with services.
By utilising the right institutions, technology, and policies, secure forest rights can open up enormous unrealized potential for the social and economic well-being of tribes and other groups that live near forests. Thus, the Forest Rights Act, 2006 should be implemented in accordance with its true spirit by the Centre in collaboration with State governments.

Q2. Describe the seismic vulnerability profile of India. Also talk about the approach for mitigating earthquakes as well.

GS I – Geography related issues

Introduction:

An earthquake is a natural disaster that shakes the earth violently and everything on it without notice.

Strategy for Mitigating Earthquake Risk:

Knowing the Risk of Disaster:

As soon as an earthquake is detected, estimate its parameters.
Provide national and international scientific, academic, and research and development institutes with seismic activity data.
Zoning and microzoning are used in the earthquake hazard and risk assessment process.
studies on vulnerability that address issues related to gender, equity, ecology, economy, and society.

Coordinating Across Agencies:

To improve catastrophe risk governance, interagency coordination is essential. In the areas of overall disaster governance, response, warnings, information and data sharing, and non-structural measures, it is necessary for both federal and state organisations.

Putting Money Into Structural DRR Measures:

It is imperative to incorporate earthquake-resistant characteristics into the development and implementation of social housing schemes.
Verify adherence to pertinent construction codes.
All lifeline structures and essential infrastructure should be constructed, strengthened, and retrofitted with hazards resistant features.

Creating Awareness:

Implement media campaigns.
Encourage a culture of greater risk management, mitigation, and prevention of disaster risk
Enhancing the network of civil society organisations to raise awareness of DM and DRR.

Community-Based Response to Disasters:

bolster local communities’ capacity to prevent, mitigate, and recover from disasters using a multihazard strategy.
Training for youth, local community organisations, panchayats, SHGs, NCCs, and NSSs.
Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, cannot be prevented, in contrast to man-made ones. However, these risks can be kept from becoming catastrophes by taking mitigation measures and carefully planning any development activity in the high-risk area. Therefore, it is imperative that the mitigation strategy be implemented in letter and spirit, with the federal and state governments cooperating effectively.