Rough weather in four reserves on Forest Rights Act rollout - TNN

In the recent meeting of the apex National Tiger Conservation Authority, members pointed out seven specific instances where Forest Rights Act has been violated in an attempt to hastily declare an area free of people. Environment minister Jairam Ramesh said he would investigate each claim and allegation of violation of FRA. TOI highlights four such reserves. Will he now send a fact finding team to these sites?

BRT Tiger reserve, Karnataka

The establishment of the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple wildlife sanctuary in 1974 displaced the Soliga tribals from their shifting cultivation sites to settled colonies. The collection of NTFP (non-timber forest products ) was banned in 2005, affecting their livelihood. Under FRA, 787 Soligas families have received land titles and 400 are awaiting them. Soligas are also in the process of receiving formal community rights shortly. But the state government has declared it a tiger reserve without discussing the proposal with the Soligas. Wildlife scientists have suggested that BRT not be turned into a tiger reserve but could be the first experiment of community management. The state government has paid no heed.

Sunabeda sanctuary, Orissa

There are 64 villages within this sanctuary in Nuapara district of Orissa. Of these, 42 are revenue villages and the rest are termed "encroached villages" by the forest department . These are actually villages that haven't been surveyed and for which no revenue settlement has been done to date. The sanctuary consists of 22,000 people and 87% comprises tribes such as the Gonds and Bhunjia . The forest department has claimed that gram sabhas have agreed to declaring it a tiger reserve and to be relocated. Through RTI, it was found that no village had agreed. The villages have now passed resolutions against the move. Meanwhile, Maoists have moved in and NTCA has given "in-principle" approval for declaring it as tiger reserve.

Mudumalai, Tamil Nadu

Mudumalai was declared as a critical tiger habitat in December, 2007 without any scientific study or evidence. Numerous protests by the local communities from 2009 and on December 30 that year, more than one lakh people held a demonstration. Relocation attempts have been made but no family has actually moved. FRA has not been implemented to date. Tamil Nadu says only 271 claims have been received from the entire Niligiri district and none has been decided yet (as of May last year, whereas relocation funds were allocated in 2009). No consent of gram sabha has been taken for relocation.

Melghat, Maharashtra

The declaration of the critical tiger habitat was done without the inclusion or knowledge of the local communities. They got to know of the changed status only when forest officials told them they would have to move out. Five villages are being relocated in the first phase, consent for which has been obtained on an individual basis and not from gram sabhas. The Korku tribe did not want to move out while other tribes and pastoralists took the offer.
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