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This is an archive article published on September 6, 2024

Roll back advisory on village relocation from tiger reserves, rights groups tell Centre

An independent committee should review and report on the compliance of laws relating to resettlement and rehabilitation of people from tiger reserves, the groups said and demanded that NTCA issue another advisory to state authorities.

village relocation from tiger reserves, tiger reserves, National Tiger Conservation Authority, ncta, Project Tiger, Indian express news, current affairs“The NTCA letter thus provides a false and misinterpreted reading of the word ‘inviolate’ by purposefully omitting the part ‘without affecting the rights of the STs or such other forest dweller’,” the letter said.

About 150 groups, individuals, and rights activists Thursday demanded that the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) roll back its June 19 advisory asking states to submit time-bound plans on relocation of people from tiger reserves.

Their letter addressed to the Project Tiger chief and NTCA Member Secretary Gobind Sagar Bharadwaj said that the advisory amounts to a violation of the letter and spirit of provisions of Wildlife Protection Act and Forest Rights Act, as it seeks to set an expeditious timeline on a process that is voluntary by law.

An independent committee should review and report on the compliance of laws relating to resettlement and rehabilitation of people from tiger reserves, the groups said and demanded that NTCA issue another advisory to state authorities.

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The Indian Express had reported in June that the NTCA had sent an advisory to state wildlife departments seeking a timeline and action plan on relocation of 591 villages comprising 64,801 families inside critical tiger habitats.

The letter to NTCA pointed out that inviolate areas have to be created without affecting the rights of the STs or other forest dwellers. The phrase inviolate areas has to be read with the provisions on protecting rights of tribes and forest dwellers and such areas do not extinguish rights of forest dwellers, it stated.

“The NTCA letter thus provides a false and misinterpreted reading of the word ‘inviolate’ by purposefully omitting the part ‘without affecting the rights of the STs or such other forest dweller’,” the letter said.

“NTCA continues to offer a monetary compensation of `15 lakh… as the only monetary compensation for the relocation and rehabilitation package by the central government. This however, constitutes a meagre portion of acquiring and compensating their rights, and does not equate to the total compensation, resettlement and rehabilitation as required by the LARR (Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, Resettlement) law,” the letter stated.

An award-winning journalist with 14 years of experience, Nikhil Ghanekar is an Assistant Editor with the National Bureau [Government] of The Indian Express in New Delhi. He primarily covers environmental policy matters which involve tracking key decisions and inner workings of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He also covers the functioning of the National Green Tribunal and writes on the impact of environmental policies on wildlife conservation, forestry issues and climate change. Nikhil joined The Indian Express in 2024. Originally from Mumbai, he has worked in publications such as Tehelka, Hindustan Times, DNA Newspaper, News18 and Indiaspend. In the past 14 years, he has written on a range of subjects such as sports, current affairs, civic issues, city centric environment news, central government policies and politics. ... Read More

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