Lure of land pattas strips forest

Environment activists blame new settlers for the denudation. Much of it,they say,happened after the Forest Rights Act (FRA) came into effect,giving residential rights to encroachers beyond a cutoff. Satellite images too show that the destruction has been starkest since 2008,the FRA period.

There are 2,000 residents,the Pawras and the Barelas in three villages besides those in illegal settlements. Forest activists say many arrived in the hope of getting land rights,even though they wouldn’t legally qualify,and are chopping trees to make room for agriculture.

“Activists who campaigned for pattas for the settlers either encouraged the tree-felling or ignored it,” says Rajendra Nannaware,convener of Satpuda Bachav Sangharsha Samiti,a joint forum of NGOs.

Forest officials say the entire belt comprising Jalgaon,Nashik,Nandurbar and Dhule has been affected. “Yes,we have reports from these parts,but it is the duty of the Forest Department and the police to stop it,” says state Tribal Development Commissioner D S Rajurkar.

Head of the Forest Force Alok Joshi,too,acknowledges the damage done. “Satellite images show huge felling,particularly in Yaval and Nandurbar. Our staff get attacked and abused when they try to stop encroachers. We have brought this to Home Minister R R Patil’s notice.”

Joshi said the government has had over 3.40 lakh claims for land,of which 1.10 lakh have been found valid. Pratibha Shinde of Lok Sangharsha Morcha,fighting for pattas to tribals,says: “We are not claiming encroachments haven’t happened after FRA. It is encroachers from Madhya Pradesh who have done it in connivance with officials. But locals have no other means of livelihood than agriculture. You wouldn’t settle their claims early,so this was inevitable.”

“I must ensure that I settle claim cases in a foolproof manner. We are now using satellite images. But I can’t summarily dismiss claims either,” says Collector Niranjankumar Sudhanshu.

Last year,then Chief Secretary had directed quick disposal of cases and bypass measurement at gram sabha level. Later,the N C Saxena Committee,which went into implementation of FRA in the country and compiled the Manthan report,wrote to the state Tribal Secretary that claims shouldn’t be rushed through and measurement done properly. On February 15,the government issued a directive use GPS and satellite imagery with the involvement of Land Records staff.

The Manthan report calls post-FRA encroachments a serious problem across the country,but says only the written submission from Yaval (by Satpura Bachao Kruti Samiti) “gave specific details or evidence”. It cites false FRA claims over standing forests and fresh encroachment in Maharashtra.

“It should be noted that though fresh encroachment has been reported from many areas,often this has origins in political movements of land occupation that pre-date the FRA…. though the FRA was not a cause for these,it did make it difficult to deal with the problem.”