In Bhawanipatna Circle alone 2,540 cases of forest offences pending

Deprivation of forest rights fuelling tribal unrest
Expressbuzz, June 18, 2009

BHUBANESWAR: That Koraput’s Narayanpatna appears to be sitting on a tinder box has not really come as a surprise at all. The area, in the past, has been witness to bloody disputes between tribals and non-tribals. It is this simmering anger over land distribution which has now found a vent.

It is another thing the State Government has since long closed its eyes to the problem. Land, however, is not the only issue which Left radicals have used to galvanise tribals against their rival community and administration. It’s deprivation of forest rights that is fuelling anger among the tribals too.

Tribals being traditionally reliant on minor forest produce, deprivation of any kind has come as a rude shock to them. During late last year when Naveen Patnaik Government announced that minor forest offences against tribals will be withdrawn, it actually intended to assuage the growing resentment brewing in the backward tribal region over the issue.

Sample this: Kate Kisan of Tikarposhi in Sundargarh’s Bonai Sub-division was booked for collecting minor forest produce valued at Rs 2.

A case was lodged by Bonai Forest Division way back in 1986-87 and still pending till the poll-bound State Government decided to waive the same.

As per information collected through RTI, as many as 24,287 forest offences are pending in various forest circles of Orissa. A third of them - at least 8,489 cases were over collection of forest produce whose value did not exceed Rs 100. ``There have been several instances when tribals have been booked for a measly sum of Rs 3 and Rs 4. Some cases have been pending for over 20 years.

Besides, they are subjected to harassment very often. The Left radicals have run this growing resentment against the administration. What happened at Similipal recently was because of similar reasons,’’ said an activist.

What’s worse, the tribals who are booked often have to surrender their possessions like bullock carts and bi-cycles to forest authorities. While the organised timber mafia get away with far more grave crimes, petty offences booked against tribals have handed out advantage to radicals who take up their cause.

In Bhawanipatna Circle alone, 2,540 cases were pending. Koraput, Berhampur and Rourkela circles saw over 1,000 cases.

While the State Government is reported to have dropped the petty offences and returned the seizures, it might well have been a case of too little too late.