Why in the News?

The Mankidia community has become the sixth Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) in Odisha to receive habitat rights over forests, making it the second PVTG to be formally recognized in the state. This recognition, sanctioned under the Forest Rights Act of 2006, highlights the approval of district-level committees for four other communities seeking similar rights.

Mankidia Community

• They are a semi-nomadic hunter/gatherer community.
• They are found mainly in many districts of Odisha, particularly in Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur, Kalahandi and Sundergarh.
• They speak a form of Mundari language.
• Origin
  • They are an ethnic offshoot of the Birhor Tribe.
  • They specialize in catching monkeys (called Mankada in Odia); hence their name was derived from the name that neighbouring tribes called them.
• It is one of the 13 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) and is a marginalised group that critically depends on making rope with small fibre that’s richly available in Similipal.
• They move around forests in small bands and stay at different temporary makeshift settlements called tanda/tandia.
• The tandia comprises a temporary dome-shaped leaf hut known as Kumbhas.

Forest Rights Act, 2006

• It is also known as the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.
• Aim: To recognize and secure the rights of indigenous and traditional forest-dwelling communities over forest land and resources.
• Types of Rights
  • Ownership rights over land occupied for cultivation or habitation (up to 4 hectares).
  • Rights to collect minor forest produce, including medicinal plants, fodder, fuelwood, and grazing animals.
  • The right to manage and protect forests, biodiversity, and cultural heritage.
  • Protection against eviction from forest lands without recognition of their rights under this Act.
• Gram Sabha [Article-243 (b)] is the authority to initiate a process to vest rights on all and tribal commarginmunities after assessment of the extent of their needs from forest lands.
• Forest is a subject mentioned in ‘State List’ of Indian Constitution.