Context: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered all encroachments to be removed from Gujarat’s Banni grasslands within six months and directed a joint committee to prepare an action plan in a month.
Key Points

• Thet NGT said that the Maldharis (Pastoralists) will continue to hold the right to conserve the community forests in the area, granted to them as per the provisions in Section 3 of Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006.
• The region’s nomadic pastoralist community, the Maldharis, whose livelihoods are dependent on this protected shrub-savanna, welcomed the move.
• In 1955, the court notified that the grassland will be a reserve forest (the most restricted forests classified according to Indian Forest Act 1927).
• In 2019, the tribunal ordered to demarcate the boundaries of the Banni grassland and restricted non-forest activities.
• Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has identified this grassland reserve as one of the last remaining habitats of the cheetah in India and a possible reintroduction site for the species.

?About Banni Grassland

• Banni is the largest grassland of Asia situated near the Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat – and it accounts for almost 45% of the pastures in Gujarat.
• Two ecosystems, wetlands and grasslands, are mixed side by side in Banni and Vegetation in Banni is sparse and highly dependent on rainfall.
• Banni is dominated by low-growing plants, forbs and graminoids, many of which are halophiles (salt tolerant), as well as scattered tree cover and scrub.
• The area is rich in flora and fauna, with 192 species of plants, 262 species of birds, several species of mammals, reptiles and amphibians.

Who are Maldharis?

• Maldharis are a tribal herdsmen community in Gujarat, India.
• Maldhari community breeds Banni Buffaloes, a species endemic to the region. The buffaloes are adaptive to Kutch’s hot weather conditions.

About Forest Rights Act 2006

• Under this forest dwellers cannot be displaced unless the rights settlement process has been completed.
• The Act identifies four types of rights these are Title rights, Use rights, Relief and development rights and Forest management rights.
• It strengthens the conservation regime of the forests while ensuring livelihood and food security of the FDST (Forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribes) and OTFD (Other Traditional Forest Dwellers).