The Hindu Editorial • September 09, 2026 • Read Original

Gram sabhas must have a veto on issues relating to tribal land

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The Hindu Read Original

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Analysis of editorial from The Hindu newspaper on September 09, 2026

Perilous retreat: On gram sabhas, tribal land issues

Gram sabhas must have a veto on issues relating to tribal land

Politics and Governance Forest Rights ActGram Sabha ConsentTribal Land RightsScheduled AreasPESA Act

Sentences

Sentence 1 of 13

English Original

Tribal organisations should recognise the Indian state’s attempt to lower the legal barriers erected by the Forest Rights Act (FRA) as a threat to their survival.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

Tribal organisations should recognise the Indian state’s attempt

Tribal groups must understand what the Indian government is trying to do

Part 2

to lower the legal by the Forest Rights Act (FRA)

To reduce or weaken the legal protections set up by the Forest Rights Act

Part 3

as a threat to their .

As a danger to their continued existence and traditional way of life

Context and Background

The Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006

Enacted in 2006, the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act recognizes the pre-existing customary land, livelihood, and resource rights of forest-dwelling communities, aiming to redress historical injustices committed during colonial and post-independence forest governance.

Sentence 2 of 13

English Original

The Committee on Public Undertakings’ suggestion that a project require the consent of only most, rather than all, gram sabhas affected by that project, as the FRA intends in spirit, portends a significant jurisprudential change.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The ’ suggestion

The recommendation made by the parliamentary committee that monitors government-owned companies

Part 2

that a project require the of only most, rather than all, affected by that project,

That a development project should only need approval from a majority of affected village assemblies instead of every single one

Part 3

as the FRA intends ,

As was originally aimed and intended by the Forest Rights Act

Part 4

a significant change.

Signals a major and serious shift in legal principles and judicial philosophy

Context and Background

COPU Report on Hydroelectric Projects (2026)

In August 2026, the Parliamentary Committee on Public Undertakings (COPU) tabled a report examining delays in NHPC hydropower projects. It recommended easing the 100% Gram Sabha consent mandate to a 70%–75% super-majority threshold to expedite delayed infrastructure projects like Teesta-IV in Sikkim.

Sentence 3 of 13

English Original

A regime that deems the acquiescence of 70%-75% of affected gram sabhas to suffice will reduce gram sabhas from democratic bodies protecting the constitutional rights of its specific inhabitants to corporate stakeholders.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

A regime that the of 70%-75% of affected gram sabhas to

A system of rules that considers passive agreement from 70% to 75% of affected village assemblies as enough

Part 2

will reduce gram sabhas

Will downgrade the status of village assemblies

Part 3

from democratic bodies protecting the constitutional rights of its specific

From being self-governing local institutions that safeguard the constitutional rights of local residents

Part 4

to corporate .

To mere business participants with a financial interest in a company

Sentence 4 of 13

English Original

If the rule enters force, a project developer may bypass the consent of a village located directly within a proposed reservoir, say, while ensuring that less affected villages have provided their no-objection certificates.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

If the rule ,

If this new regulation becomes officially valid and implemented

Part 2

a project developer may the consent of a village

A company building a project could ignore the required approval from a village

Part 3

located directly within a proposed , say,

For example, a village that would be completely submerged under a planned dam or water basin

Part 4

while ensuring that less affected villages have provided their .

While making sure that other villages that face little damage have given their written approval

Sentence 5 of 13

English Original

The matter is of a piece with the political fight over classifying tribal communities: by altering the demographic composition of who qualifies as a community member, the state will have an easier time splitting a village assembly and engineering consent.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The matter is the political fight over classifying tribal communities:

This issue is very closely related to the ongoing political battle regarding who is counted as part of a tribal community

Part 2

by altering the composition of who as a community member,

By changing the population makeup and rules regarding who gets counted as a valid village resident

Part 3

the state will have an easier time

The government will find it much simpler

Part 4

a village assembly and .

Dividing the village members into opposing groups and artificially manufacturing agreement

Context and Background

Tribal Community Classification in India

In India, defining Scheduled Tribe (ST) status and community membership determines eligibility for customary land titles under the FRA and autonomy under PESA. Altering these criteria or village voter rolls can dilute traditional tribal majorities in Gram Sabhas, facilitating approvals for industrial land acquisitions.

Sentence 6 of 13

English Original

The refusal of the Tribal Affairs Ministry to claim jurisdiction over this issue creates a dangerous regulatory vacuum that leaves the Centre and State governments unchecked to rewrite the rules by which forested land is diverted for non-forest use.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The refusal of the Tribal Affairs Ministry to claim over this issue

The fact that the Ministry of Tribal Affairs declined to take official legal authority over this matter

Part 2

creates a dangerous

Creates an alarming absence of clear legal rules and oversight

Part 3

that leaves the Centre and State governments

Which leaves both national and regional governments completely free from limits or monitoring

Part 4

to rewrite the rules by which forested land is for non-forest use.

To change the legal procedures used to reallocate forest lands for industrial and construction purposes

Context and Background

MoTA vs MoEFCC Jurisdiction over Forest Clearances

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) is the nodal authority for implementing the Forest Rights Act, while the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) administers the Forest (Conservation) Act. A major jurisdictional dispute exists over whether MoTA or MoEFCC has the statutory power to verify Gram Sabha consent before forest land is diverted for infrastructure projects.

Sentence 7 of 13

English Original

While the FRA does not include a clause requiring a no-objection certificate from every affected gram sabha, it is untrue that there is at present no legal requirement that gram sabha decisions can be bypassed.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

While the FRA does not include a

Even though the Forest Rights Act does not contain a specific written section

Part 2

requiring a no-objection certificate from every affected gram sabha,

Demanding a written approval letter from each and every affected village assembly

Part 3

it is that there is at present no legal requirement

It is completely false to claim that current laws have no rules stopping the government

Part 4

that gram sabha decisions can be .

From ignoring or overriding the official decisions of village assemblies

Context and Background

The Niyamgiri Judgment and Gram Sabha Consent

In the landmark 2013 Odisha Mining Corporation (Niyamgiri) judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that Gram Sabhas hold decisive authority to approve or reject industrial projects on customary and religious forest lands, establishing that forest diversion cannot proceed without genuine local consent.

Sentence 8 of 13

English Original

The government has been rapidly scaling up energy infrastructure, including the long-stalled Teesta-IV project, to meet macroeconomic goals while, in a previous avatar, having passed the FRA to undo “historical injustices” meted out to forest-dependent communities.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The government has been rapidly energy infrastructure,

The government has been quickly expanding power generation and utility systems

Part 2

including the Teesta-IV project,

Including the Teesta-IV hydroelectric project in Sikkim that has been stopped for many years

Part 3

to meet goals

In order to achieve broader national economic growth and power supply targets

Part 4

while, in a previous , having passed the FRA

Even though, during a past administration or era, it enacted the Forest Rights Act

Part 5

to undo “” to forest-dependent communities.

To correct centuries of unfair deprivation and wrongs inflicted upon traditional tribal communities

Context and Background

Teesta-IV Hydroelectric Project

The 520 MW Teesta-IV Hydroelectric Project in North Sikkim, developed by NHPC, has remained stalled for over a decade due to strong resistance from the indigenous Lepcha community and the absence of mandatory Stage-II Forest Clearance and Gram Sabha consent under the FRA.

Sentence 9 of 13

English Original

But the path the state seems willing to pursue, hewing to the notion that the consent requirement was never part of the FRA, is plainly ignoble.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

But the path the state seems willing to pursue,

However, the approach that the government appears ready to follow

Part 2

the

Strictly clinging to and arguing the belief

Part 3

that the consent requirement was never part of the FRA,

That obtaining village approval was never an official requirement under the Forest Rights Act

Part 4

is .

Is completely dishonorable and morally unjustifiable

Sentence 10 of 13

English Original

If the Environment Ministry entertains the idea, it must change the relevant rules or legislation openly and democratically.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

If the Environment Ministry the idea,

If the Ministry of Environment considers or accepts this proposal

Part 2

it must change the relevant rules or

It must modify the applicable regulations or statutory laws

Part 3

openly and .

In a transparent way through open debate and democratic processes

Context and Background

Forest Conservation Rules and Gram Sabha Approvals

Under the Forest Conservation Rules, 2022, the Ministry of Environment allowed the Centre to grant initial (in-principle) forest clearance before verifying Gram Sabha consent, leaving the final consent verification to State governments. This sparked nationwide criticism for diluting tribal veto powers prior to project approvals.

Sentence 11 of 13

English Original

The Tribal Affairs Ministry resorting to a technicality, between the FRA and the Environment Ministry’s rules, to recuse itself is hardly better as the bureaucratic manoeuvre could strip forest-dependent communities of their most potent legal instrument.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The Tribal Affairs Ministry resorting to a ,

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs making use of a legal loophole or fine detail

Part 2

between the FRA and the Environment Ministry’s rules, to itself

Arising from gaps between the Forest Rights Act and environmental rules, in order to step aside and avoid responsibility

Part 3

is better

Is not any better and is equally unacceptable

Part 4

as the could strip forest-dependent communities

Because this tricky administrative tactic could take away from tribal communities

Part 5

of their most legal instrument.

Their strongest and most powerful legal protection and tool

Sentence 12 of 13

English Original

The foundation of these communities’ livelihoods, culture, identity, and political autonomy is land, so they have fought to resist displacement and dispossession and to secure customary collective ownership.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The foundation of these communities’ livelihoods, culture, identity, and political

The core base that supports these tribal groups’ earnings, tradition, unique identity, and self-governance

Part 2

is land,

Is their ancestral land,

Part 3

so they have fought to resist and

Which is why they have actively struggled to prevent being forced out of their homes and losing their properties

Part 4

and to secure .

And to legally guarantee their traditional, community-wide property rights

Context and Background

Customary Forest Rights and Collective Ownership

Under the FRA, 2006, Community Forest Rights (CFR) recognize traditional boundaries and collective ownership over forest resources, giving Gram Sabhas statutory authority to manage and protect community forests against alienation and forced displacement.

Sentence 13 of 13

English Original

In recognition of the social and environment services ST communities continue to render in India and their contribution to national development, including helping meet India’s climate commitments, the Centre and States must also strengthen the powers conferred by the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement and Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Acts to gram sabhas in Scheduled Areas.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

In recognition of the social and environment services

To officially acknowledge and respect the vital community and ecological benefits

Part 2

communities continue to in India and their contribution to national development,

That Scheduled Tribe communities consistently provide in India and their help toward national progress

Part 3

including helping meet India’s ,

Including their role in protecting forests to fulfill India’s international climate and environmental promises

Part 4

the Centre and States must also strengthen the powers

Both the central and state governments must reinforce the legal authority and rights

Part 5

by the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement and Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Acts

Granted by the land acquisition legislation (LARR Act) and the PESA Act

Part 6

to gram sabhas in .

To local village assemblies in constitutionally protected tribal regions

Context and Background

PESA Act, 1996 and LARR Act, 2013

The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), 1996, and the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Act, 2013, mandate mandatory consultation with or consent from Gram Sabhas before land acquisition or involuntary displacement in Fifth Schedule tribal areas.

Sentence 1 of 13

Sentences Breakdown

Editorial Summary

5-Point Summary

1 Tribal organisations face a serious threat as the government attempts to dilute legal safeguards established under the Forest Rights Act (FRA).
2 A parliamentary committee suggested requiring consent from only 70% to 75% of affected gram sabhas rather than all, undermining local democratic veto powers.
3 Lowering consent thresholds allows project developers to bypass directly submerged or affected villages by securing approvals from less impacted surrounding areas.
4 The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has stepped aside over technicalities, creating a regulatory vacuum that enables unchecked diversion of forest land for projects.
5 The editorial concludes that governments must protect customary tribal land rights and reinforce powers granted under FRA, PESA, and land acquisition laws.

Tone of the Editorial

Critical

Why this tone?

The editorial strongly criticizes the government and parliamentary committee for attempting to dilute the consent powers of gram sabhas under the Forest Rights Act. Words and phrases like “perilous retreat”, “threat to their survival”, “plainly ignoble”, and “dangerous regulatory vacuum” reflect sharp disapproval of weakening constitutional tribal safeguards.

Sentence 1 of 13

Tribal organisations should recognise the Indian state’s attempt to lower the legal barriers erected by the Forest Rights Act (FRA) as a threat to their survival.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

Tribal organisations should recognise the Indian state’s attempt

Tribal groups must understand what the Indian government is trying to do

Part 2

to lower the legal barriers erected by the Forest Rights Act (FRA)

To reduce or weaken the legal protections set up by the Forest Rights Act

Part 3

as a threat to their survival.

As a danger to their continued existence and traditional way of life

Sentence 2 of 13

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The Committee on Public Undertakings’ suggestion

The recommendation made by the parliamentary committee that monitors government-owned companies

Part 2

that a project require the consent of only most, rather than all, gram sabhas affected by that project,

That a development project should only need approval from a majority of affected village assemblies instead of every single one

Part 3

as the FRA intends in spirit,

As was originally aimed and intended by the Forest Rights Act

Part 4

portends a significant jurisprudential change.

Signals a major and serious shift in legal principles and judicial philosophy

Sentence 3 of 13

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

A regime that deems the acquiescence of 70%-75% of affected gram sabhas to suffice

A system of rules that considers passive agreement from 70% to 75% of affected village assemblies as enough

Part 2

will reduce gram sabhas

Will downgrade the status of village assemblies

Part 3

from democratic bodies protecting the constitutional rights of its specific inhabitants

From being self-governing local institutions that safeguard the constitutional rights of local residents

Part 4

to corporate stakeholders.

To mere business participants with a financial interest in a company

Sentence 4 of 13

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

If the rule enters force,

If this new regulation becomes officially valid and implemented

Part 2

a project developer may bypass the consent of a village

A company building a project could ignore the required approval from a village

Part 3

located directly within a proposed reservoir, say,

For example, a village that would be completely submerged under a planned dam or water basin

Part 4

while ensuring that less affected villages have provided their no-objection certificates.

While making sure that other villages that face little damage have given their written approval

Sentence 5 of 13

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The matter is of a piece with the political fight over classifying tribal communities:

This issue is very closely related to the ongoing political battle regarding who is counted as part of a tribal community

Part 2

by altering the demographic composition of who qualifies as a community member,

By changing the population makeup and rules regarding who gets counted as a valid village resident

Part 3

the state will have an easier time

The government will find it much simpler

Part 4

splitting a village assembly and engineering consent.

Dividing the village members into opposing groups and artificially manufacturing agreement

Sentence 6 of 13

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The refusal of the Tribal Affairs Ministry to claim jurisdiction over this issue

The fact that the Ministry of Tribal Affairs declined to take official legal authority over this matter

Part 2

creates a dangerous regulatory vacuum

Creates an alarming absence of clear legal rules and oversight

Part 3

that leaves the Centre and State governments unchecked

Which leaves both national and regional governments completely free from limits or monitoring

Part 4

to rewrite the rules by which forested land is diverted for non-forest use.

To change the legal procedures used to reallocate forest lands for industrial and construction purposes

Sentence 7 of 13

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

While the FRA does not include a clause

Even though the Forest Rights Act does not contain a specific written section

Part 2

requiring a no-objection certificate from every affected gram sabha,

Demanding a written approval letter from each and every affected village assembly

Part 3

it is untrue that there is at present no legal requirement

It is completely false to claim that current laws have no rules stopping the government

Part 4

that gram sabha decisions can be bypassed.

From ignoring or overriding the official decisions of village assemblies

Sentence 8 of 13

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The government has been rapidly scaling up energy infrastructure,

The government has been quickly expanding power generation and utility systems

Part 2

including the long-stalled Teesta-IV project,

Including the Teesta-IV hydroelectric project in Sikkim that has been stopped for many years

Part 3

to meet macroeconomic goals

In order to achieve broader national economic growth and power supply targets

Part 4

while, in a previous avatar, having passed the FRA

Even though, during a past administration or era, it enacted the Forest Rights Act

Part 5

to undo “historical injustices” meted out to forest-dependent communities.

To correct centuries of unfair deprivation and wrongs inflicted upon traditional tribal communities

Sentence 9 of 13

But the path the state seems willing to pursue, hewing to the notion that the consent requirement was never part of the FRA, is plainly ignoble.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

But the path the state seems willing to pursue,

However, the approach that the government appears ready to follow

Part 2

hewing to the notion

Strictly clinging to and arguing the belief

Part 3

that the consent requirement was never part of the FRA,

That obtaining village approval was never an official requirement under the Forest Rights Act

Part 4

is plainly ignoble.

Is completely dishonorable and morally unjustifiable

Sentence 10 of 13

If the Environment Ministry entertains the idea, it must change the relevant rules or legislation openly and democratically.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

If the Environment Ministry entertains the idea,

If the Ministry of Environment considers or accepts this proposal

Part 2

it must change the relevant rules or legislation

It must modify the applicable regulations or statutory laws

Part 3

openly and democratically.

In a transparent way through open debate and democratic processes

Sentence 11 of 13

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The Tribal Affairs Ministry resorting to a technicality,

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs making use of a legal loophole or fine detail

Part 2

between the FRA and the Environment Ministry’s rules, to recuse itself

Arising from gaps between the Forest Rights Act and environmental rules, in order to step aside and avoid responsibility

Part 3

is hardly better

Is not any better and is equally unacceptable

Part 4

as the bureaucratic manoeuvre could strip forest-dependent communities

Because this tricky administrative tactic could take away from tribal communities

Part 5

of their most potent legal instrument.

Their strongest and most powerful legal protection and tool

Sentence 12 of 13

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The foundation of these communities’ livelihoods, culture, identity, and political autonomy

The core base that supports these tribal groups’ earnings, tradition, unique identity, and self-governance

Part 2

is land,

Is their ancestral land,

Part 3

so they have fought to resist displacement and dispossession

Which is why they have actively struggled to prevent being forced out of their homes and losing their properties

Part 4

and to secure customary collective ownership.

And to legally guarantee their traditional, community-wide property rights

Sentence 13 of 13

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

In recognition of the social and environment services

To officially acknowledge and respect the vital community and ecological benefits

Part 2

ST communities continue to render in India and their contribution to national development,

That Scheduled Tribe communities consistently provide in India and their help toward national progress

Part 3

including helping meet India’s climate commitments,

Including their role in protecting forests to fulfill India’s international climate and environmental promises

Part 4

the Centre and States must also strengthen the powers

Both the central and state governments must reinforce the legal authority and rights

Part 5

conferred by the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement and Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Acts

Granted by the land acquisition legislation (LARR Act) and the PESA Act

Part 6

to gram sabhas in Scheduled Areas.

To local village assemblies in constitutionally protected tribal regions

Reading Comprehension

Practice questions based on this editorial

Reading Comprehension - Gram Sabhas and Tribal Land Issues

Practice reading comprehension questions based on the editorial about the dilution of Gram Sabha consent under the Forest Rights Act.

7 Questions Passing: 50%

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