Tadoba Tiger Reserve evacuees allege lack of amenities

PTI | 08:12 PM,Dec 19,2011 Chandrapur (Maha), Dec 19 (PTI) Majority of the villagers evacuated from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in the district are unhappy over new settlements allotted to them over alleged lack of amenities. Maharashtra government decided to relocate six villages, namely Kolsa, Botezari, Rantalodhi, Palasgaon, Jamni and Ramdegi, situated inside the tiger reserve, for which 550 hectares of forest land was allotted by the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM). However, only villagers from Botezari village agreed to the proposal and moved to the new settlement named as Bhagwanpur while a few from Kolsa also shifted to the new place. The villagers from Palasgaon refused to shift on the grounds that the new place offered to them was not suitable following which they were offered an alternate place at Salori in Warora tehsil of the district and the modalities for relocating them are being worked out, said Arun Tikhe, RFO, Waora Forest Range. However, only four our of 97 families at Kolsa have accepted the proposal to shift to Bhagwanpur. The state government is now paying Rs 10 lakh and an additional amount of Rs 50,000 as mobilisation charges to them. Meanwhile, the villagers at Bhagwanpur under the banner of 'Punarvasan Va Kalyankari Sanstha' have demanded setting up of a Primary Health Centre (PHC) with a permanent Medical Officer at the village, among other demands. The villagers also alleged that they were not given residence proofs by Gram Panchayat of Tolewahi under whose jurisdiction Bhagawanpur falls. The villagers even submitted a memorandum in this regard to Minister for Environment and Cultural Affairs Sanjay Deotale. They argued that life in the new settlement has become difficult for there is no scope for work or earning and the farm land allotted by the government has negligible yield in absence of irrigation facilities.