Public Hearing
On Forest Rights and COVID-19
Date: 25 May 2025
Venue: Janta Inter College, Shakumbhari Road, Behat, District Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh
Time: 11:00 AM onwards
Day: Sunday
Friends!
It is the constitutional responsibility of every community to be aware of its rights, and it is the responsibility of the government to take the basic spirit of the Constitution to the last person in society. But all the governments elected since independence have failed to fulfill this duty towards forest-dependent communities.
There are many communities like the nomadic Van Gujjar , Forest villages Van Tangiya community, and hundreds of Haqdari villages associated with the forests, which have remained deprived of the basic spirit of the Constitution since independence and could not be freed from the slavery of the Forest Department—an institution created by the colonial British Government.
Finally, in 2006, the Parliament of the country passed the historic law “Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006,” and the forest-dependent communities felt their freedom for the first time when they received recognition of their constitutional rights in the forests.
This recognition was definitely granted, but due to the lack of political will by the governments, this law has not been effectively implemented on the ground to this day. As a result, the atrocities of the Forest Department are increasing day by day.
In such a situation, the Covid period began in 2019–20, during which the democratic rights of common citizens were attacked by the government machinery. Under the guise of Covid, not only were the jobs of all laborers snatched away, but atrocities also increased beyond limits. Forest-dependent communities were driven out of the forests without notice, incited by the Forest Department. The Forest Department and police personnel began evicting forest-dependent communities from the forests. Violating all the instructions issued during Covid, these communities were deprived of forest rights—even though the Forest Rights Act of 2006 had already been implemented in the country. People’s livelihoods were attacked, communication was restricted, and even farming-dependent communities had to go to their fields secretly.
In the Shivalik Forest Division, where historically large numbers of the Van Gujjar nomadic community reside, the Forest Department sent a report to the government containing false information that there were no settlements in the forests. Based on this false report, the Indian Army received permission to establish a training camp in the Shivalik forests.
Due to the Army’s firing training, many fatal accidents have occurred, causing significant loss of life and property to the forest-dependent Van Gujjar community living in the area. For instance, Van Gujjar Ghulam Mustafa of Barkala Khol (forest block) died, and two buffaloes from this animal-husbandry-dependent community also perished. Earlier, in 2017, 28-year-old woman Fatima also died in Chapdi Khol due to similar firing.
The deaths of wild animals in the forest area due to this firing are beyond count. Moreover, the damage caused to trees and plants in the forest is immeasurable. Despite these numerous incidents, the area designated for firing has expanded and is now very close to villages around the forest. Yet, this firing training has not ceased, and the Indian Army is now using the entire forest for firing practice—even though permission was originally granted only for a limited area.
The Army is issued a No Objection Certificate by the Forest Department for such tests. However, the Forest Department falsely reported to the Army that no people reside in the forest.
Our laws do not permit the Indian Army to conduct lethal weapons training in any inhabited area. It is a core principle of the Indian Army that it is deployed to protect the borders of the country—not to harm common citizens. Had the Forest Department not provided false reports to the government denying the presence of citizens in these areas, these accidents could have easily been prevented.
In these Shivalik hills, where there is a sizable population, many bombs remain unexploded during Army tests. When people go to graze cattle or when women and children go to collect grass, these bombs sometimes explode, resulting in loss of life.
The debris from these weapons is collected under contracts issued by the Forest Department, which has become a source of huge income for the department. In this way, the local people living in the forests and surrounding villages are being deprived of their forest rights, and the Forest Department is disobeying a law made by Parliament.
Similarly, during the Covid period, people’s democratic rights were violated, depriving them of their right to health and subjecting them to widespread discrimination. During this time, the Forest Department forcibly evicted many Van Gujjar families from the forests. Likewise, the basic rights of the Van Tangiyas and villages located near forests are also being crushed.
In view of all these matters, we are organising a Public Hearing on 25 May 2025 in Behat, Saharanpur, where elected public representatives—MP Kairana Ms. Iqra Hasan, MP Saharanpur Mr. Imran Masood, MLA Behat Mr. Umar Ali, Municipal Council President Mr. Abdul Rehman, along with Adv. Jan Nisar Chaudhary (Saharanpur), Adv. Dilnisar Chaudhary (High Court Allahabad), Adv. Aman, Adv. Tariq, and Adv. Fawaz (Supreme Court), Ms. Bhasha Singh (independent journalist), and Advocate M. Ahmed Kazmi (Behat)—will serve as judges of the public court.
In this investigative committee, cases of human rights violations will be presented by the victims themselves. We request your presence—let us all participate in this public hearing in large numbers.
Revolutionary greetings,
Organizer
All India Union of Forest Working People
People’s Commission and Public Inquiry Committees