Srinagar: Jammu & Kashmir doesn’t have any primitive tribal group while no survey has been undertaken to ascertain pre-agricultural communities in Jammu & Kashmir.
Official documents possession of news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) lay bare that the department of Tribal Affairs has communicated to the Forest department that there is no primitive tribal group in J&K.
“The Tribal Affairs Department of J&K Government was requested to intimate the details of the Primitive Tribal Groups and Pre-Agricultural Communities (PAC), residing in Jammu & Kashmir, which has been notified by the J&K Government, Government of India, Ministry of Tribal Affairs. That Department has conveyed that there is no primitive tribal group in Jammu & Kashmirnotified by the J&K government or Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India,” reads the documents.
“As regards pre-agricultural communities, no survey has been yet conducted in Jammu & Kashmir.”
These details were sought by the department to ensure compliance of the Schedule Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2008 while diverting forestland for non-forestry purposes.
According to the 2011 Census, Scheduled Tribes form 11.9 per cent of Jammu and Kashmir’s population.
It is worthwhile to mention that Jammu & Kashmir has set the ball rolling for implementation of Forest Rights Act in Jammu and Kashmir
Under the Act, members of the Scheduled Tribes dwelling in forests along with other traditional residents will have the right over forest land
