Bhatkal: Strongly opposing the eviction of long-settled forest encroachers and other forest-dwelling families from government forest land, activists of the Forest Rights movement organised a district-level “Forest Dwellers Legal Awareness Rally” in Bhatkal. Led by Ravindra Naik, State President of the Committee for Forest Land Rights, the rally began from the Circuit House on Wednesday and proceeded up to the Mini Vidhana Soudha (Taluk Administration Building). Protesters urged the authorities not to dispossess families who have been residing on forest land for decades.
At the Mini Vidhana Soudha, a memorandum was submitted to Bhatkal Tahsildar Nagendra Kolashetty in the absence of Assistant Commissioner Kavya Rani. Speaking on the occasion, Ravindra Naik said that demanding three generations of documents from traditional forest dwellers to establish their habitation and cultivation rights is illegal under the Forest Rights Act. He stated that such requirements are not only unnecessary but have also been explicitly declared unlawful through amendments made in 2012.
Naik added that various legal references, including observations from the Gujarat High Court, clearly state that traditional forest dwellers cannot be compelled to produce rigid documentary evidence to prove their rights. The Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs has also clarified in its official guidelines that applications cannot be rejected merely due to lack of documents. The Ministry has further stated that proof of habitation spanning three generations is required only to establish that a particular area has been traditionally inhabited, and that strict documentary evidence for the same cannot be imposed as a mandatory condition.
Expressing concern, Naik said that due to such illegal scrutiny, 88.90 percent of claims across the state and 83.50 percent of claims in Uttara Kannada district have been rejected—figures he described as deeply troubling.
Speaking to reporters after the protest, Naik said that to spread legal awareness among forest-dwelling families, programmes will be held across all 132 Gram Panchayat jurisdictions in the district as part of the awareness drive. He said the initiative is expected to significantly strengthen understanding of legal rights among the community. He further stated that under this campaign, three lakh pamphlets will be distributed among forest encroachers and other dwellers. These pamphlets will contain a list of the nine documents that forest dwellers may submit for their claims, along with clear explanations that demanding old or multi-generation records is not legally valid.
Before submitting the memorandum, District Convenor Pandurang Naik delivered the welcome address and introductory remarks. Devaraj Gonda delivered the vote of thanks. Several activists were present in the protest rally.