Jungle raj

Hard work has gone into hiding the stripes of the tribal bill, cleared by the cabinet and ready for Parliament now. But the result will still be the same: once enacted, the proposals will effectively end conservation. This is simply because conserving the tiger and protecting tribal rights are separate objectives. So, land allocation for the two should be separate too. No one has successfully challenged the tiger task force’s data that show human habitation and wildlife preservation are mutually exclusive. Forests are impossible to police and the money to be made from poachers impossible to turn down. Had this been recognised, the government would have instead worked only on relocation of forest reserve villages. The cost of relocation, experts say, is Rs 10,000 crore. India can easily afford this, especially given what’s at stake.

What’s on offer, via the bill, is a big administrative mess. Even leaving aside the argument that as far as conservation efforts go temporary land rights are no different from permanent ones — in five years of temporary rights, a reserve forest can be emptied out of prized fauna; remember Sariska — the bill gives local administrations an unenviable, possibly unachievable, job. Since five years of stay will ensure permanent property rights, those living in forest reserves will have little incentive to relocate. The job of persuading them falls on local officials.

These poor souls will also have to distinguish between tribals and non-tribals. The bill makes this distinction with great panache. But on the ground, and with land ownership in a familiar territory at stake, the disputes will be at least sharp. And who will monitor whether permanent land rights in forest reserves are not sold off to “outsiders”? Having once introduced the premise of private property in conservation areas, the government can hardly hope that the usual incentives and profit maximising behaviour won’t apply in this asset class. Expect plenty of bitter conflict — and very few big cats.