New Delhi, July 31 -- Summary In Chhattisgarh, the Forest Department's use of 'scientific forest management' is seen as a strategy to undermine Gram Sabha autonomy and indigenous knowledge.

The vague concept lacks clarity and appears to be a bureaucratic tool to bypass community-led governance, contradicting the Forest Rights Act 2006.

The FD's actions have sparked protests, demanding transparency and respect for tribal stewardship.

In the dense forests of Chhattisgarh, a new battle is brewing-one that pits bureaucratic control against the hard-won rights of tribal communities. The Forest Department (FD) has draped its latest interventions in the respectable cloak of "scientific forest management," invoking the National Working Plan Co...