The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, is a vital tool for communities in India to claim restitution for the deprivation of forest rights and begin to undo the historic injustices done to these communities. Unfortunately, implementation of the Act has been limited. To support communities and their allies to proactively claim the rights granted to them by the Forest Rights Act, an Orissa-based non-profit, Vasundhara, has developed and launched a website on the Act.

The website, fra.or.in, includes well labelled links to general information on the Forest Rights Act and resources on how to use and understand the Act. The resources include a Citizen’s Report on the Act, national and state orders and circulars, guidelines, and background on community forest rights.

The Act can be accessed in English here and Odia here. The website can be accessed here.