Fear of
relocation has triggered resentment among tribals living in Atharamura
and Baramura hill ranges of Tripura, where a survey has been ordered to
identify critical wildlife habitats.
Political party Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT), tribal
social organization Borok Peoples’ Association and the National
Conference of Tripura (NCT), an anti-Left socialist political force,
have threatened to launch a mass movement against the plan.
The eviction threat gained momentum when the sub-divisional magistrate
of Teliamura in West Tripura, constituted a committee on July 15 for
conducting a survey for the proposed Baramura Bird Sanctuary under the
Baramura and Deotamura reserve forests and an elephant conservation
reserve under the Atharamura reserve forest.
The committee comprises a revenue inspector, tribal welfare supervisor
and a forest range officer.
The Tripura forest department plans to declare parts of forests as
critical zone for wild animals and shift the people living there to
colonies along NH 44. The move comes at a time when the government is
in the process of implementing the Scheduled Tribes and Other
Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006,
which recognizes tribals’ right to live inside protected forests.
According to INPT general secretary Rabindra Debbarmma, executing the
plan will evict about a lakh people from Atharamura, Deotamura and
Kalajhari hill ranges, where they have been staying for decades and
practicing jhum (shifting cultivation by slash and burn).
Debbarmma said about 13,500 tribal families were ousted in 1976 by
Dumbur hydel project on the Gumati river, about 3.5 km upstream of
South Tripura. About 60 per cent of the displaced did not receive any
rehabilitation benefit and most settled in hill ranges, he added.
Tribals are again facing the threat of relocation and this would not be
tolerated, Debbarmma warned. NCT chief and former MLA Animesh Debbarmma
said, “We will not entertain any activity other than the forest rights
act benefits to the people in the hill ranges.”
State forest minister Jitendra Choudhury said fencing the
Indo-Bangladesh border had restricted elephants’ movement, forcing them
to enter human habitation for food. “It is time we withdrew human
settlement from forests,” he said, adding that the final decision would
be taken after hearing out the people and sufficient compensation would
be given. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, R P Tangwan, however,
said “unless the forest rights act is implemented, nothing can be
done”.
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