A letter by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to 19 tiger habitat states has caused a stir among forest rights and conservation groups after it called for expediting the progress of relocating forest villages from core habitat areas which it said has been slow.
The June 19 letter said that “around 591 villages comprising 64801 families are still residing in the core area. The progress of village relocation is very slow and it poses a grave concern in tiger conservation”.
Following the letter, activists have flagged that the direction for relocation is in “flagrant violation of all relevant laws”, highlight that the rights and role of indigenous communities are “integral to sustainable and just model of conservation”.
NTCA member secretary GS Bhardwaj wrote the letter to Karnataka chief wildlife warden, which has been circulating among conservationists and forest rights groups. Similar letters were sent to all 19 tiger habitat states, according to the groups.
“It will be highly appreciated if the process of village relocation may be taken up on a priority basis and also timeline may be framed for smooth relocation of villages from core/critical tiger habitat areas of tiger reserves under your jurisdiction,” the letter stated
“I would also request you to kindly intimate this authority about your action plan and thereafter the progress may be reviewed regularly,” it said.
{{/usCountry}}“I would also request you to kindly intimate this authority about your action plan and thereafter the progress may be reviewed regularly,” it said.
{{/usCountry}}According to rights groups, there are around 89,808 families from 848 villages belonging to the Adivasi and other forest dwellers communities who are forest rights holders under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006. These families, according to the Wildlife Protection Act, 2006, live inside the critical tiger habitats (CTHs) or the core area of the 54 tiger reserves.
Since the inception of Project Tiger in 1973, 257 villages with 25,007 families have already been relocated. Around 591 villages with 64,801 families remain inside the notified core.
The NTCA letter directs the expeditious relocations of these 591 villages from the core areas of the 54 tiger reserves.
About 154 activists including several conservationists made a submission to Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Thursday, saying: “We are appalled at the step taken by NTCA directing the relocation of the forest dependent communities in flagrant violation of all relevant laws. The rights and role of local and indigenous communities are integral to any kind of sustainable and just model of conservation, and is duly recognized in both domestic and international laws. The step taken by NTCA and these relocation orders are in complete violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (2006), the Forest Rights Act 2006, the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (LARR) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities), 1989, exhibiting a complete lack of compliance with the laws and the spirit of conservation.”
The submission said that Section 38(O) of the WLPA prohibits NTCA from issuing any directions that will “interfere with or affect the rights of local people particularly the Scheduled Tribes”.
It states that the Tiger Conservation Authority may, in the exercise of its powers and performance of its functions, issue directions in writing to any person, officer or authority for the protection of tiger or tiger reserves and such person, officer or authority shall be bound to comply, provided that no such direction shall interfere with or affect the rights of local people particularly the Scheduled Tribes.
Further, the FRA 2006 provides the statutory rights to communities to protect, conserve and manage Community Forest Resources and the legal powers to the Gram Sabhas to protect the ecologically important areas.
“Relocations must be ‘voluntary’ and on ‘mutually agreed terms and conditions’ and ensure the recognition of the rights following Wildlife Protection Act as amended in 2006, Forest Rights Act 2006 and Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act (LARR 2013). Any relocation without recognizing all the forest rights vested under FRA, without exploring the possibility of co-existence, without settling and compensating all the forest rights, without providing ‘secure livelihood’ and without obtaining the due and informed consents as mandated by WLPA read with FRA 2006, from Tiger Reserves is illegal,” the submission has said.
The success of Project Tiger is contingent on support among local communities, said Ghazala Shahabuddin, ecologist and conservation policy expert.
“Active benefit-sharing of proceeds from tourism, fair compensation for loss of crops, enlistment as guards, watchers, researchers and guides and even controlled forest produce extraction, are effective ways to make tiger conservation more effective,” said Ghazala.
“Forest Rights Act and Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Act 2006 marked a paradigm shift in wildlife conservation by making it a statutory provision to ensure that the notification and management of the tiger reserves are based on ‘recognition of forest rights of STs and OTFDs’, ‘governance and management of the forests and wildlife areas by the Gram Sabhas emphasizing a coexistence based conservation approach’. Further, it required that the proposal for ‘voluntary relocation’ is based on terms and conditions that require the authorities to ensure ‘completion of the process of recognition of rights,” said Tushar Dash, independent forest rights researcher.
The NTCA letter said that Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and further amendment in 2006, stipulates that “the core or critical tiger habitat areas are required to be kept as inviolate for the purposes of tiger conservation. It also states that requirements have been laid down for voluntary relocation of people on mutually agreed terms and conditions” for the purpose of creating inviolate areas for tiger conservation.
There was no response from NTCA on HT’s request for comment.