52 villages allege violation of Forest Rights Act: Centre steps in, asks Madhya Pradesh to probe forced evictions from Durgavati Tiger Reserve

Further, villagers have been restricted from accessing forest resources, forest produce and farms, it has been alleged. “It may be noted that alienation of the communities from exercising their rights as stipulated under FRA, 2006, is a violation of the Act. Therefore, as state governments are FRA implementing authority, it is advised that matters may be examined and resolved in consultation with state forest departments, the concerned district collectors and DFOs,” the MoTA stated in its letter to the MP government.

Spread over 2,339 sq km, Rani Durgavati is MP’s newest tiger reserve. It was created by adding the areas of Rani Durgavati and Nauradehi wildlife sanctuaries. In fact, it was formed to compensate for 100 sq km of prime forest that will get submerged in the Panna tiger reserve due to the Ken Betwa River linking project.

The letter was also marked to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes division of the MoTA and Damoh, Sagar and Narsinghpur district collectors for necessary action. Further, it was also marked to the National Tiger Conservation Authority for action and for issuing appropriate directions to wildlife wardens so as to safeguard the interests of the communities.

The Wildlife Protection Act enables forest departments to create ‘inviolate’ areas, which are free of human settlements, for tiger conservation. However, such inviolate areas are to be created only after the rights of tribal and forest-dwelling communities are recognised and settled, as per the provisions of the WLPA and FRA. After recognition of rights, villagers can be relocated and rehabilitated only if they wish to do so voluntarily, as per law.

“Specifically, for critical wildlife habitats, it has been laid down in FRA and also in WLPA that certain conditions like free, prior and informed consent of the Gram Sabha and affected community’s participation in decisions must be met before the state government can commence relocation in any forest area,” the MoTA stated in its letter.

When asked about the allegations regarding the non-recognition of rights, Abdul Aleem Ansari, Divisional Forest Officer, Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary, denied them.

“We are not evicting any family forcefully. We have informed eligible families and villages regarding the package we can offer. There are a total of 93 villages inside the tiger reserve, of which 40 have been relocated since 2014, originally from the Nauradehi sanctuary area. We are in the process of relocating eight villages, and the rest are not being relocated currently because we do not have the budget for them,” Ansari told The Indian Express.

“The highest number of villages are in Damoh district, followed by Sagar and Narsinghpur,” Ansari added.

When contacted for comment, Damoh district Collector Sudhir Kumar Kochar did not respond to questions regarding the villagers’ allegations and instead asked to speak to Ansari.