Is backward Nuapada district lost to Maoists?

The Pioneer, Dec 12, 2009
Biswajit Padhi | Nuapada

Nuapada, the younger sibling of infamous Kalahandi has always hogged the limelight for many reasons. Maoist infiltration was never the news in this backward district. However, the killing of 52-year-old Chandar Singh Burge, former ward member of Sunabeda Gram Panchayat has raised issues beyond the comprehension of the Government. Burge reportedly worked with the forest department. The Maoists, who never harm tribals and even poor, had warned him not to work with the forest department in this sanctuary area. Located 1,000 feet above sea-level with only forest roads, bordering Chhattisgarh, there couldn’t be a better hideout for the Maoists on the run from Chhattisgarh as has been admitted by a former SP. Just 30 km from the district headquarters, the authority will find it very hard to even protect themselves if no proactive measure to flush them out is taken now. This is very important as the present Government has lost 13 of the 30 districts to the Maoists.

As per forest laws, the department is the sole authority to execute any development work inside. Presently, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) has Rs 50 lakh worth of developmental projects. We wanted the main road leading to Sunabeda from the ground developed at the cost of Rs 6 lakh. There was a watershed project with few other water harvesting structures, revealed the DFO (Wildlife), Sunabeda, SK Mishra, while speaking to The Pioneer. The road was a lifeline for movement of police personnel to the Sunabeda village which was a cause of resentment among the Maoists, he added.

The forest department over a period of time had antagonised the tribals. Strict enforcement of the apex court order for non-removal of non-timber forest produce from the sanctuary area was the major bone of contention between the tribals and the forest department. Noted environmentalist Madhu Sarin said that the apex court’s order was not to deprive the tribals of their customary rights to procure forest produce. The overzealous forest officials have been acting contrary to the directions of the court and it is the only State which has done so, she added. What made matters worse is that when the tribals protested this arbitrary order by removing the forest check-post forcibly, the then DFO HK Bisht slapped cases against them under various forest laws and even penal code, informed AV Swamy of Vishwas, an NGO working with the tribals. The tribals were put behind bar without food, he added. The sanctuary laws were enforced without determining their rights and even grazing of cattle was forbidden turning the tribals violent. This uprising was also able to unite all sects of tribals which was earlier not there.

The subsequent DFO Santosh Banchhur further antogonised the tribals by vigorously pursuing the direction of his bosses to make Sunabeda a venue for Project Tiger. The ‘in-principle approval’ of Project Tiger was a boost to his morale, but that brought the issues of eviction of tribals from their habitat. This further alienated the tribals from the forest officials. Development work executed during this period never had people’s participation. Though Banchhur wanted to make amends by putting up an eco-tourism project, the then PCCF put the spanner with the notion that it will be difficult to evict the tribals once livelihood is given to them inside the sanctuary.

Taking advantage of the hostility between the two main protagonists in the sanctuary, unscrupulous ganja traders started spreading their net. Deprived of their only source of income in NTFP collection, the tribals were an easy prey. Sunabeda is one of the finest grasslands with many rivulets. Ganja cultivation became a new source of income generating. Vast stretches of land were brought under ganja cultivation by the tribals. The traders who lived outside the sanctuary financed the entire operation. While tribals got money for their labour, the traders made the moolahs. Only one forest officer, who was for a very brief period was in charge of the sanctuary, could foresee the present situation. According to very reliable sources in the department, the DFO had submitted a report that if the tribals are not provided livelihood inside the sanctuary, they will be won over by ganja traders and even the Maoists to pursue illegal activities. The prediction which was made some ten years back has now come true as no steps have been taken in the mean time to wean away tribals from the clutches of these nefarious elements.

Maoists fuelled the hate campaign to take tribals on their side. In the early meetings that they organised inside the sanctuary, they raised one question whether the tribals wanted the tiger sanctuary, obviously knowing the answers. They have assured to block the ambitious Project Tiger in Sunabeda, confirmed a tribal under condition of anonymity. The forest department had started going slow in the past year after the arrival of Maoists in the Sunabeda plateau. What has of course raised eyebrows is the posting of a corrupt high-profile but low-ranking officer in the Chutkia Bhunjia Development Authority (CBDA). CBDA is a special authority which works for the development of the primitive Bhunjia tribe. His earlier stint had put the wedge in the relationship between forest department and tribals. Official sources confirmed that a memorandum with 2,500 signatures of tribals had demanded his reinstatement. But observers don’t rule out his closeness to the Maoists. When all other Government department officials are afraid to be posted to Sunabeda, how can this person is volunteering to work there is the big question in everybody’s mind. If tormenting the tribals was the first step in alienating the natives, posting a wrong person could help the Maoists consolidate in Sunabeda, said Y Giri Rao of Vasundhara, an NGO working on forestry.