NAGPUR: Villagers who moved out of Tadoba Andhari Tiger reserve in 2007 are beginning to settle down with their feeling of well-being going up, a study has found. It has also found that this is not as a result of government effort and but due to the various survival strategies adopted by relocated families of Bhagwanpur in Mul tehsil of Chandrapur district.
The study, funded by Ashoka Trust, Bangalore, was conducted by Rucha Ghate and Suresh Ghate of Shodh, the Institute for Research and Development, Nagpur. It says difficulties imposed on the villagers in terms of food insecurity, non-availability of fuel wood and fodder, deprivation of income from sale of non-timber forest produce (NTFPs) had resulted in overall fall of their welfare. Recently, both presented a paper based on the study at a conference on climate change at the University of Michigan, USA.
In Bhagwanpur, welfare plummeted immediately after the relocation for 69 families of Botezari and 40 families from Kolsa inside TATR. This was evident in 2009 when over 17 villagers, tired of their difficulties, returned to Botezari in the hope of starting cultivation again on their old farms. The villagers were arrested and released but cases are still pending against them. Looking at the Bhagwanpur mess, other villages are reluctant to move out.
Shodh, which has been associated with the six villages Rantalodhi, Kolsa, Botezari, Palasgoan, Jamni and Navegaon inside TATR since 1999 when relocation was actually announced, made an attempt to compare the level of welfare and feeling of well-being as perceived by the communities in 2004, 2007 and 2011.
For this, the NGO identified 12 indicators that the community considers important determinant of wellness. These included housing, access to education, opportunities of employment, ownership of agriculture land, productivity of land, livestock, wealth indicators, and species diversity in adjoining forest, accessibility to forest products, crop depredation and threat of cattle lifting by wild animals.
"Our analysis clearly shows that people think they are better off now but it was not so immediately after relocation. The lowering of welfare is the cost borne by the community for protection of tigers," says Ghate.
The study reveals that, the two villages that moved out were poor in civic amenities compared to new location at Bhagwanpur.
For example, the primary health centre (PHC) was 26km from Botezari but it is just 4km from Bhagwanpur. Similarly, bank, school and colleges which were 30-45km away from both the villages are now between of 4-14km. The subdistrict headquarters is also at 14km from earlier 45-75km.
Ironically, villagers were relocated to create inviolate spaces for wildlife but threat to them from wildlife has increased as the relocation site is also surrounded by forests. Within the PA, a large number of herbivores ensured sufficient prey for the carnivores but in degraded forests near Bhagwanpur, spill over population of leopards and tigers from Tadoba finds easy prey in cattle.
The study also reveals that social and cultural fabric of the community has been broken after relocation.
Two major indicators are that Ganesh and Durga festival are not celebrated.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Tadoba-oustees-settling-in/articleshow/9145542.cms
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