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?

The correct answer is 1 and 2 only.

Let us analyze each statement step-by-step to understand why statement 1 and statement 2 are correct, while statement 3 is incorrect:

1. Statement 1 is correct:
The term “Critical Wildlife Habitat” is defined under Section 2(b) of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, commonly known as the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006. These areas are defined as such areas of National Parks and Sanctuaries that are required to be kept as inviolate for the purposes of wildlife conservation, as determined and notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on a case-by-case basis.

2. Statement 2 is correct:
In 2016, for the first time in India, habitat rights were officially granted to a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG)—the Baiga community in the Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh.

3. Statement 3 is incorrect:
The Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) is the nodal agency at the Central Government level responsible for the overall implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, including the recognition and declaration of Habitat Rights for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), not the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

Therefore, statements 1 and 2 are correct, making 1 and 2 only the correct option.