Margao: The newly constituted district-level committee of Kushavati district convened its first meeting on Wednesday to review Forest Rights Act, 2006 claims. This marked a significant milestone since the third district came into being.Collector Egna Cleetus chaired the session, which examined 37 claims forwarded by the Sanguem sub-divisional committee. The claims originated from four villages in Sanguem taluka—Bhati, Portem, Naiquinim, and Villian.However, the committee faces substantial obstacles in processing these applications. The most pressing challenge is meeting the mandatory gram sabha attendance requirements. The FRA stipulates a 50% quorum for gram sabha meetings, with at least one-third participation by women. This threshold emerged as a major bottleneck, significantly hampering the speed at which claims can be validated and processed.Additionally, inadequate documentation supporting claims caused further delays in the approval process. The committee must carefully verify each application, but incomplete paperwork complicates timely resolution.
