By: Aruna Basu Sarcar
CHENNAI: In Tamil Nadu
, forest-dwelling tribals comprise less than 1.2% of the state’s population, but they protect about 80% of the biodiversity in the forest ecosystems they live in.
Yet, forest management policies and administration often neglect their symbiotic relationship with nature, their traditional knowledge and major role in conserving and protecting biodiversity. Climate change, deforestation, pollution, indiscriminate development of infrastructure and loss of biodiversity are threats to forest-dependent tribal people.
It causes loss of traditional knowledge, disintegration of traditional governance structures and degradation of their culture. International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on August 9 celebrates these people who have been natural protectors of forests and raises awareness about the needs of the tribal people.
The Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 recognises the rights of forest dwelling tribal communities for their survival, including habitation, livelihood and other socio-cultural needs. The Act was legislated to undo the historical injustice meted out to tribal/forest-dwelling communities.
It aimed to provide protection from atrocities with better livelihoodsupport schemes and ensure better forest management with participation of forest-dwelling tribal communities. But a nexus of local politicians, middlemen and government officials has kept the tribals away from welfare schemes. Majority of tribal villagers in the areas with huge quantities of forest produce have never heard about the Forest Rights Act.
In many of the tribal villages, where forest rights have been given on record, the tribal beneficiaries are under the clutches of the village forest committees (VFC). The tribal VFC president is exploited by forest officials by various means. Tribals in most villages cannot exercise their rights because middlemen, in collusion with forest field staff, control the economy.
Middlemen lend money to poor families to keep them in debt trap. By paying a meagre `5,000 as loan to each family annually, tribals are held in tight grip by these middlemen all through their lives. Tribals who take such loans have to surrender their harvest to the lender round the year. Forest field staff issue the transit permits to middlemen to take away large quantities of forest produce, but much of that do not get into the books of the VFCs.
Only some 5-10% of the total sale transaction is shown in the official records. Hence a meagre amount only gets credited to the VFC fund. The village forest committee president, a tribal himself, is forced to sign the doctored records submitted before him. The recent government order on bamboo, which says the power to monetise bamboo will remain with the head of the department of forest, is faulty and an assault on the tribal community.
When Indian Forest Act and Tamil Nadu Forest Act have classified bamboo as a minor forest produce, thereby empowering tribals to harvest and sell it, how come such a faulty and contradictory government order has been issued by the department secretary? Though more than 200 tribal VFCs are formed in the state, most of them don’t benefit the tribals for whom they were formed.
No tribal is allowed to go out of the forest to sell his or her produce in most regions. Feudalism and corruption result in exploitation and debt bondage. Exceptions are there though like forest divisions of Srivilliputhur and Theni, where forest field staff are helpful and tribals are allowed to enjoy the rights enshrined under various Acts. Union ministry of tribal affairs, in 2012, gave direction to the forest department to modify forest produce transit rules by foregoing transit permits for tribal people, but it has not been done so far.
Mushrooming illegal forest check-posts prevent tribal people from selling their produce outside. These check posts, at best, serve to force tribals to surrender their produce to select middlemen, who enjoy the patronage of the forest field staff. The main reason for non-implementation of the Forest Rights Act is the illegal gratification the officialdom enjoys under the guise of the VFCs. To render justice to forest dwelling tribes, forest rights should be grants to the tribals in its true sense.
Their exploitation should end. Awareness creation and practical training to executive, administrative, ministerial and field staff of forest, revenue and tribal departments, gram sabha members and tribal beneficiaries is a must. The VFC is not a statutory body whereas the Forest Rights Committee is a statutory body under central legislation. Collection of harvested forest produce and its sale by VFC in the name of bettering livelihood prospects of tribals is illegal and should be stopped at the earliest.
As per the direction of the Union ministry of tribal affairs, amendment in forest code to dispense with transit permit for forest produce for tribal people should be brought in without further delay. A State Vigilance and Monitoring Committee should conduct periodical inspections to check violation of norms and exploitation of tribals. A deadline should be put in place to complete the forest rights grant to all eligible beneficiaries by the revenue, forest and tribal welfare departments.
The Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, Amendment 2015, under Section 3(g), says that “whosoever wrongfully dispossesses a member of SC or ST from his land or premises or interferes with the enjoyment of his rights will be treated as one indulging in crime and shall be punished”. This legislation has to be strictly implemented.
(The writer is a retired Indian Forest Service office)