This study examines the gap between legal recognition and practical realization of forest rights in India, focusing on the Forest Rights Act (2006) in tribal districts of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha. Using 181 household surveys, institutional analysis, and generalized linear modeling, it finds that claim approvals remain low, with women and Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups disproportionately excluded. Approval rates correlate more with economic utility and the presence of technocratic bodies such as Van Sanrakshan Samitis than with constitutionally mandated Gram Sabhas, indicating a shift from rights-based empowerment to bureaucratic legibility. Framed through legal pluralism, environmental justice, and postcolonial governance, the analysis reveals how procedural formalism and “documentary sovereignty” undermine the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA) redistributive ethos. Comparative insights from Brazil, Indonesia, and Africa situate India’s experience within broader Global South challenges. Policy recommendations include democratizing evidence protocols, strengthening Gram Sabhas, and embedding gender – and Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), inclusive outreach to realize the Act’s transformative intent.
Choudhary et al. (Mon,) studied this question.