The Congress government in Himachal Pradesh has filed a petition before the Supreme Court challenging the consent powers of tribals under the Forest Rights Act. The move could take the sheen off the Congress central leadership’s recent attempts to burnish its pro-tribal credentials in and outside the Parliament.
A petition by Himachal government’s power corporation is set to be heard on Monday in the apex court, challenging a National Green Tribunal (NGT) judgment, which requires the state government and the power corporation to seek consent of 19 tribal gram sabhas (village councils) before going ahead with the 130-Mw integrated Kashang hydropower project on their forestlands.
