Tribal Acts and Land Rights

• Tribal Rights Act, 1356 Fasli (1946 A.D.): Marked the beginning of legal frameworks to protect tribal lands and rights.
• Hyderabad Notified Tribal Areas Regulation Act, 1949: Established special administrative setups and prohibited land pattas to non-tribals, granting civil, criminal, and revenue powers to Collectors.
• Scheduled Areas Ordinance, 1950: Classified tribal lands in Telangana as Scheduled Areas under the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
• A.P. Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation Act, 1959: Provided a legal framework to protect tribals in Telangana and Coastal Andhra from exploitation by non-tribals.
• Regulation II of 1963: Applied the 1959 regulation to Adilabad, Warangal, and Khammam districts, further protecting tribal lands from alienation.
• Regulation I of 1970: Nullified land transfers in Agency areas by both tribals and non-tribals and empowered the government to take ownership of such lands.
• Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006: Recognized the forest rights of tribals and restored their access to land and resources in Telangana, termed Community Forest Management (CFM).
• Forest Rights Act (2006) Implementation: As of March 2015, Telangana’s Agency Courts restored 81,829 acres to tribal people across 22,695 cases.
• Tardy Implementation: Although courts ruled in favor of tribals in 31,135 cases covering 1,05,361 acres, only 81,829 acres were effectively restored.
• Supreme Court Ruling (2018): Court rulings stated that non-tribals cannot continue occupying tribal lands under long-standing stay orders beyond six months unless extended.
• Forest Rights Act (2006) in Telangana (2020): 1,86,679 claims were received, with 94,360 titles distributed covering 7,54,339 acres. However, 44.86% of claims were rejected.