Consider the following statements: 1. As per recent amendment to the Indian Forest Act, 1927, forest dwellers have the right to fell the bamboos grown on forest areas. 2. As per the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, bamboo is a minor forest produce. 3. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 allows ownership of minor forest produce to forest dwellers. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Let's analyze each statement: 1. As per recent amendment to the Indian Forest Act, 1927, forest dwellers have the right to fell the bamboos grown on forest areas. This statement is incorrect. The Indian Forest (Amendment) Act, 2017, specifically removed bamboo from the definition of 'tree' under the Indian Forest Act, 1927, when grown on *non-forest land*. This amendment aimed to boost the bamboo industry by allowing its felling and transit without permits when grown on private land. However, it did not grant forest dwellers the right to fell bamboos grown on *forest areas*. Rights of forest dwellers over forest produce, including bamboo, on forest lands are primarily governed by the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA). 2. As per the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, bamboo is a minor forest produce. This statement is correct. The FRA, 2006, defines "minor forest produce" (MFP) to include, among other things, bamboo, brushwood, stumps, cane, Tendu leaves, etc. It vests the ownership of MFP collected by forest dwellers in the Gram Sabhas. 3. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 allows ownership of minor forest produce to forest dwellers. This statement is correct. A key provision of the FRA, 2006, is the recognition and vesting of forest rights, including community rights over minor forest produce (MFP), granting forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers the right to collect, use, and dispose of MFP.