Eviction of Encroachments in Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve

The Supreme Court orders time-bound eviction of forest encroachments in the Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve (ABR). It also orders removal of non-forestry activities within critical protected areas like the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve and Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve, and prohibits diversion of forest land or the start of new non-forest activities within the ABR until all encroachments are removed.

Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve - Orders and Provisions:

Dimension	Key Details
Administrative action	The Forest Department has issued eviction notices to thousands of households on the Tamil Nadu side alleging encroachment of forest land.
Forest Rights Act (FRA)	The Parliament enacts the Forest Rights Act in 2006.
FRA: eligible right-holders	The FRA recognises and vests forest rights in forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who have occupied forest land before December 13, 2005.
FRA: claims process	The FRA provides for a transparent process to claim individual and community rights, to be verified and approved by gram sabhas.
FRA: committees	Six-member subdivision-level and district-level committees, with representatives from the Revenue, Tribal, and Forest Departments and the elected members of panchayats, have to examine claims and issue titles.
FRA: occupation requirement	The FRA does not require that traditional forest-dwellers have to have occupied the land they are claiming for three generations before 2005 (75 years).
FRA: commercial activities and livelihood	The FRA does not prohibit commercial activities on all forest lands, and defines “bonafide livelihood needs” to include the “sale of surplus produce arising out of exercise of such rights”.
FRA: protection from eviction	The FRA prohibits authorities from evicting people who have allegedly encroached on forest land till the recognition and verification procedure is complete.
SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 linkage	Violating forest rights has been described as an atrocity under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 since 2016.
ABR: state coverage	The ABR spans Kerala, including parts of Pathanamthitta, Kollam, Idukki, and Thiruvananthapuram, and Tamil Nadu, including Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Tenkasi, Theni, and Dindigul.
ABR: protected areas covered	ABR covers protected areas: Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve; Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve; Nellai Wildlife Sanctuary; Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary; Periyar Tiger Reserve; and Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary.
UNESCO listing	The ABR has been added into UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves in 2016.
Tribal community	Kanikkarans are the original tribal settlers in the Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve.