Consider the following statements:
- 1.The definition of “Critical Wildlife Habitat” is incorporated in the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
- 2.For the first time in India, Baigas have been given Habitat Rights.
- 3.Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change officially decides and declares Habitat Rights for Primitive and Vulnerable Tribal Groups in any part of India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only
Statements 1 and 2 are correct; statement 3 is wrong. The Forest Rights Act, 2006 defines 'critical wildlife habitat' itself, and provides habitat rights for primitive tribal groups. But habitat rights are recognised under the Act through the Gram Sabha and district-level process, with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs as nodal agency, not by the environment ministry.
- ✓ 1. Section 2(b) of the Forest Rights Act defines 'critical wildlife habitat' as areas of National Parks and Sanctuaries that must be kept inviolate for wildlife conservation, notified by the Central Government after expert consultation.
- ✓ 2. UPSC's key treats this as correct. The Baiga are a very vulnerable tribal group of Madhya Pradesh (Dindori district page), and the Act provides habitat rights for primitive tribal groups: Section 2(h) defines 'habitat' to cover their customary habitat, and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs lists habitat rights for PVTGs among the Act's community rights. No official page was found stating that the Baiga were the first community to receive them.
- ✗ 3. Section 11 makes the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, not the environment ministry, the nodal agency for the Act. Rights are initiated by the Gram Sabha and settled through the Sub-Divisional and District Level Committees. The environment ministry's role is in notifying critical wildlife habitats.
Remember · Forest Rights Act, 2006: it defines 'critical wildlife habitat' and 'habitat'; habitat rights for PVTGs are part of the Act; the Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal agency.
Sources
- Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, Section 2(b) (Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Act and Rules book) ↗ “"critical wildlife habitat" means such areas of National Parks and Sanctuaries where it has been specifically and clearly established, case by case, on the basis of scientific and objective criteria, that such areas are required to be kept as inviolate for the purposes of wildlife conservation … "habitat" includes the area comprising the customary habitat and such other habitats in reserved forests and protected forests of primitive tribal groups and pre-agricultural communities and other forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes … The Ministry of the Central Government dealing with Tribal Affairs or any officer or authority authorised by the Central Government in this behalf shall be the nodal agency for the implementation of the provisions of this Act.”
- Ministry of Tribal Affairs: Forest Rights Act (habitat rights for PVTGs) ↗ “Habitat Rights for PVTGs, Traditional Seasonal Resource access of Nomadic and Pastoral community, access to biodiversity”
- District Dindori, Government of Madhya Pradesh: About District (Baiga tribe) ↗ “The Baiga tribe is a very pre-dominant tribe in this district. They are very vulnerable tribal groups which can only be found in the district.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·