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Give tribals the right to forests-VK Bahuguna
-The Pioneer

The land rights given under Forest Rights Act should be used to make these lands so productive that the people become self-sufficient for their daily needs. Government departments must facilitate the change, says VK Bahuguna

Land-based resources in areas affected by Maoist violence are the backbone of tribal livelihood. But, population pressure and degradation coupled with poor investment has led to the gradual reduction in the income of the people from forest-based utilities. This has led to migration of the tribals and growing frustration among them.

About 100 years ago, in tribal areas of the country, 60 million ha of dense and good forests were available for the livelihood of around 15 million tribal people. Today, 60 million tribals ( 2011 Census) jostle for livelihood, being dependent on 40 million ha of forests — half of which is degraded. The disparities in growth between the rural and the urban areas has fuelled frustration and led  to tension. In turn, all this has  converted these areas into a fertile ground for anti-national elements to misguide the youth.

The Institute of Forest Productivity, Ranchi, under the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, took up the challenge and has shown that forestry-based enterprise in Maoist-affected areas can succeed. The situation thereafter in the Maoist-affected villages in Khunti district of Jharkhand is a good example of how proper policies can bring about changes in the lives of people in the tribal belt.

The community based natural resource management project funded by the United Nations Development Programme is being implemented by the Ranchi institute over the past three years in 10 forest fringe villages.

The successful implementation of the programme has shown that Maoism can be tackled through developmental activities focussed on forests, community mobilisation and soil and water conservation.

In this case, the cultivation of lac on palash, kusum, ber and Flemengia trees have written an unbelievable success story in Bari, Jiwri, Kotna, Rutasih, Janumpiri, Gutuhatu, Kitahtu, Kudda, Kudapurti and Anirdih villages in the district. The district has around 100 sq km of forest with very less agricultural land with very little irrigation facility and water scarcity.

Traditionally, non-timber forest produce like lac, karanj, tendu and mahuwa have been the source of livelihood of the tribal people. The dominant tribe in the region is the Munda that worships nature and has scared groves known as ‘Sarna Sthal’.

The scientists of the Ranchi institute planned integrated land-use planning and focussed on the regeneration of lac cultivation on palash and kusum tress and the shrub, Flemengia. First of all, they built up the capacity of the people by training them in scientific tenets of lac cultivation, planted trees and conserved biodiversity on the common forest land, formed village-level committees and self-help groups for economic activities by providing loan of Rs 2500 to each family for business / alternative livelihood purposes, took steps for creation of soil and water conservation.

The project began in 2008 and was monitored by the project officers. During the visit to Bari and other villages the writer found a sea change in the attitude of the people as they extended an unprecedented welcome to government officials. A village youth, who was once a Maoist activist, is now a village panchayat chairman and has been guiding the destiny of his people. Most of the residents have crossed the poverty line well above the benchmark and their children go to schools and are satisfactorily healthy.

This example shows that the country’s planning process and rural development in forested areas need a focussed change based on a landscape approach. It is necessary that forest-based activities should be converged and planned on these lines at the national level to ensure economic development of people and also to promote forest and biodiversity conservation in an integrated manner.

It is necessary that such activities are also integrated in the planning process by the three-member committee constituted at the district level to ensure development of Maoist-affected areas.