Mankidia Community Receives Habitat Rights in Odisha

On 23rd September 2024, Mankidia’s community was officially granted habitat rights over local forested areas under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, commonly known as the Forest Rights Act (FRA).

Mankidia’s community has historically relied on the forest for sustenance and cultural practices but lacked legal recognition of their rights until now.
The formal presentation of habitat rights was celebrated in a ceremony in Baripada, attended by Odisha’s urban development minister, Krushna Chandra Mohapatra, and forest minister, Ganesh Ram Singkhuntia.
Before this recognition, Mankidia and his community were restricted from accessing forest resources despite being classified as a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG).
With the newly acquired habitat rights, community members can now freely engage in their traditional activities, according to Y Giri Rao, executive director of Vasundhara, an organization focused on implementing the FRA in the state.
The FRA’s definition of "habitat" encompasses areas comprising customary habitats, including those in reserved and protected forests for PVTGs and pre-agricultural communities.
Mankidia’s recognition marks him as the second PVTG in Odisha to receive such rights, following the Paudi Bhuyan community in Deogarh district, which received habitat rights on March 7, 2024, covering 32 villages.
Additional PVTGs, including the Juang, Saora, Chuktia Bhunjia, and Hill Khadia, have also had their habitat rights approved at various stages across Odisha, making it the leading state in India for granting these rights to six PVTGs.