India, Sept. 10 -- Adivasi groups under the Campaign for Survival and Dignity denounce the Tribal Affairs Ministry's claim that Gram Sabha consent is outside its purview in forest diversion cases.

They say this abdicates statutory responsibility under the Forest Rights Act, aids corporate projects, defies Supreme Court precedent, and undermines decades-old legal safeguards for forest dwellers' rights and democratic participation.

Adivasi and forest dwellers organisations have condemned the latest stand taken by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) stating that it has no role and no stand on whether the consent of Adivasis and forest dwellers is required prior to the diversion of forest land and the destruction of forests.

The or...