The Odisha government, after hearing several appeals, has rejected more than 10,000 claims under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. It filed an affidavit with the Supreme Court, specifying the number on July 3, 2019.At least 45,000 forest dwellers’ livelihood is at risk (10,000 claims X 4.5 average family size in Odish), but the state doesn’t seem to have followed the process of appealing against rejection of claims.
One such example of this is 53-year-old Charulata Singh, who lives in Ambapadiya hamlet, just 15 kilometres from state capital Bhubaneshwar. She stands to lose an acre, on which she lives and grows vegetables on, because she was not given a proper chance to appeal against rejection.She claims to be a Santhal, but doesn't have a certificate to prove it because to get that she would require a land title that she doesn't possess.