India, Feb. 25 -- Adivasis from the Konkan region on Tuesday shared their bleak experiences of claims under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, at a public hearing organised by the People's Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) at the YB Chavan Centre. The Act grants individual ownership rights and community forest rights to tribals.

A panel comprising retired high court judge Abhay Thipsay, ex-bureaucrat Lakshmikant Deshmukh and ex-tribal minister Vasant Purke will compile an audit report on two decades of implementation of the FRA to be submitted to the state government.

About 40 Adivasis from padas in various parts of the Konkan region spoke on their experiences over two decades of implementation of the Act. The public hearing, jointly host...