JAIPUR: The tribal groups of Rajasthan have termed the Supreme Court’s order of forced eviction of tribals “provocative’’ and threatened to launch an agitation against any such move by the government.The court on February 13, acting on a wildlife group petition, had directed the Central government to evict tribals, who didn't possess any rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006, before July 27. Rajasthan has close to 37,000 such families who claim ancestral rights but rights were rejected under the FRA. These include 16,000 in Banswara alone, who are now facing the danger of eviction. Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) has threatened the central and state government that this might have an impact on the Lok Sabha Polls, if the matter is not resolved timely.Vela Ram Ghogra, state president of BTP told TOI, “PM Narendra Modi and his government failed to defend the case in the honourable Supreme Court. The mala-fide intention of the BJP is quite clear that they wanted to sell our land to the corporates. They have posted a serious threat on our constitutional rights leaving us with no choice to unite and stand against the oppressor.”The BTP has secured two seats in recently held Vidhan Sabha polls in Banswara is reaching out to all tribal leaders in the country to decide nation-wide stir. They have threatened to use all democratic means to protest even if it causes inconvenience to others.The tribal bodies have been accessing the impact of the order on the families and claimed that the number of affected families could be in lakhs. The FRA act grants land rights to tribal on two grounds: primarily residing in the forest and depending on the forest for livelihood in the last 75 years from the year 2006.Jayesh Joshi of Vaagdhara, an advocacy group works for the tribal population has held the flawed methodology of FRA responsible for the rejection of tribals land rights."Thousands of families are still in the process of acquiring the rights of the land under the FRA. The applications are so high in the number against the empowered bodies like Gram Sabhas that it will take years to complete the process," said Joshi.Noted social activist Nikhil Dey of Suchna Evum Rozgar Abhiyan fears that this decision would start a series of harassment of the country poorest people. “This is bound to create social unrest. The central government should bring an ordinance to nullify the order and take steps to expedite the process of granting them land, land use and protection and conservation rights,” said Dey, who claimed that the FRA act doesn’t have a provision of evicting forest land dwellers.

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