The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has taken cognisance of representations sent to it against a June advisory of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), asking state forest departments to submit action plans on the relocation of villages from tiger reserves. The NCST, a constitutional body, held a full commission meeting on the issue on September 24 with chairperson Antar Singh Arya and its three members in attendance. The commission decided to seek a report from NTCA on the relocation issue, highly placed sources in the commission confirmed to The Indian Express. The September meeting’s decision was ratified in the last week of October. Further, the commission also decided to seek an action-taken report from the Union Environment Ministry and NTCA on its 2018 recommendations to revise the compensation package offered to villagers voluntarily opting to move out of tiger reserves. The NCST had said in October 2018 that the compensation package should be provided based on the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. It added that the compensation package should include the monetary package along with the full range of entitlements as provided under the 2013 Act. The NTCA had revised the compensation in 2021 from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh per family. The commission, sources said, wants to know the action taken by NTCA on its 2018 recommendations and the relocations carried out thereon. The Indian Express had reported in June that NTCA had written to state forest departments asking them to take up village relocation on a priority basis and frame a timeline for the smooth relocation of villages from core areas of tiger reserves. As per NTCA’s letter, 591 villages comprising 64,801 families live inside critical tiger habitats, also known as core areas, in 54 tiger reserves across 19 states. So far, 251 villages with 25,007 families have been relocated outside tiger reserves. Later, in September, a collective of over 150 tribal rights groups and individuals wrote to the NCST, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change seeking a rollback of NTCA’s letter. The representation stated that the NTCA’s letter was in violation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, and the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2006, as it sought time-bound village relocation plans for a process that is voluntary, as per law. Taking cognisance of this representation, a full-strength commission discussed the issue in September and also invited activists from the collective to submit their views, sources said. Under the Wildlife Protection Act, areas free of human settlements can be created in the core of tiger reserves. However, this is to be done after recognising the rights of tribal communities under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, and with the informed consent of the Gram Sabha concerned. Additionally, before the voluntary relocation, the state government has to conclude, based on consultations with ecological and social scientists, that activities of the tribal communities or forest dwellers or their presence are sufficient to cause irreversible damage to tigers and their habitat. They have to also conclude that there is no other reasonable option for the community to co-exist with tigers. The petition to NCST pointed out that the NTCA letter did not dwell on these provisions, making it violative of laws. Under existing provisions, families that opt for voluntary relocation are to be provided Rs 15 lakh per family. Moreover, those who opt for the resettlement and rehabilitation package are entitled to two hectares of land, homestead land, house construction, a one-time financial incentive, basic water, sanitation, electricity, and telecommunication amenities.
