A four-year-old landmark law that was supposed to bring profound changes in the lives of India’s tribal and forest-dwelling peoples has failed to deliver on that promise.

According to activists and government officials alike, the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act – better known as the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006 – has remained nothing more than ink on paper as general confusion, corruption, and an intransigent forest department ...
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Already declared a Ramsar wetland site, the Bhitakanika National Park with its rich bio-diversity and a unique eco-system is set to receive an even more exalted position being shortlisted for a World Heritage site. The Bhitarkanika National Park has been shortlisted from among 27 additional sites by the UNESCO, official sources said.

The only World Heritage site in Orissa is the architectural wonder Konarak temple. P K Behera, divisional forest officer, Rajnagar mangrove & wildlife forest divi...
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