FRA Can Now Be Implemented In J&K

Before the semi-autonomous status of the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir was abolished by the Union government on August 5, 2019, the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (also known as the Forest Rights Act) was not implemented in the state. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Jammu unit had cited the erstwhile semi-autonomous status of J&K as the main reason for non-implementation. On August 5, 2019, the Union government passed the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act in the parliament. As per this Act, 153 Acts of the former state of Jammu & Kashmir have been repealed, 166 Acts have been retained from the former state and 106 new laws have been applied to Jammu & Kashmir. Among the new laws applied is FRA.