To maintain sustainability, gram sabhas have to be empowered

The supremacy of the gram sabha must be maintained while preparing governance models under the umbrella of national and state government policies, regulations and judicial orders. The bureaucracy must share authority with gram sabhas and the state forest department must perform the regulatory and monitoring role. The gram sabha-based forest governance has to be implemented in a large way to maintain sustainability of forests and improve their quality, along with implementation of community forest resource rights under the Forest Right Act, 2006.