The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is discussing with the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change to secure funding for managing community forest resources. These forests have rights given to gram sabhas of tribal communities under the Forest Rights Act (FRA). Officials from both ministries recently met, and the Tribal Affairs Ministry plans to formally write to the Environment Ministry about this. A top official said this step is to “correct the perception” that forest authorities oppose community-led forest management. For almost 20 years, the FRA has given Scheduled Tribes and forest dwellers legal rights over their forests. Gram sabhas can manage areas they have traditionally protected, conserved, and used sustainably. In 2023, the Tribal Affairs Ministry made guidelines to help gram sabhas manage these forests through Community Forest Resource Management (CFRM) committees. These committees draw up conservation plans with community approval before involving the Forest Department. Now, the government wants the Environment Ministry to fund these committees. A senior official said, “The CFRM committees will need resources and help in functioning. They will need the funds to hire officials, prepare plans, and even train their own community’s people in running the day-to-day operations.” In 2025, the Forest Department in Chhattisgarh tried to stop the 2023 CFRM guidelines, insisting plans align with the Environment Ministry’s codes first. But after protests by many gram sabhas, the department withdrew its opposition. Last month, secretaries of both ministries met to explore Environment Ministry funding for CFRM committees. Officials expect more talks soon. An official said, “If needed, safeguards can be built in to ensure that the planning of forest conservation and management remains community-led and is not necessarily taken over by the forest department.” The 2023 guidelines allow CFRM committees to get funds from Forest Departments for forest work directly into their bank accounts. The official also noted that the idea forest officers and local communities are always in conflict is wrong. Usually, they cooperate to protect forests, and this misconception needs to be fixed. Although the FRA has been active for nearly two decades, precise data on the number of community forest rights titles issued is not available. Monthly reports estimate over 1.2 lakh community rights titles have been granted, including but not limited to community forest resource rights.