Tribals dare forest officials; fell trees on reserve land

They prevented the State Forest Department officials from carrying out their regular official duties, including inspections. The extremist group, CPI (ML)(Jana Shakti), is reported to be behind this move.A team of junior Forest Department officials who tried to enter the colony for preparing the list of felled trees, was physically prevented by colony residents last week.

The next day, another team was deputed, led by a Deputy Range Officer. They were warned of dire consequences if any action was taken againstthe residents. Taking photographs is prohibited in the area. The colony residents said that the tree felling was to make room for cultivation. They said they had tried in vain to request the forest officials for permission to cut the trees.

The issue had its origin in April, 1980, when a group of Malaya tribesmen and Dalits from the Payyanam tribal colony encroached into the area. They were, however, evicted in December 1980. But, in early 198l, they encroached into the area again in an organised way with the support of local political parties. All the efforts by the Forest Department in 198l, 1982 and on two occasions in 1983, to evict them from the area failed due to political interference. In the meantime, the number of families in the colony grew from 30 to 80 and the area under their control expanded to about 100 acres.

The local political patronage to the tribal colony did not last for long. Later the tribesmen and Dalits established a strong foothold at Thamaravallachal under the guidance ofextremists groups. They had organised many agitations, seeking to declare their encroachment as legal. They had also constructed roads inside and engaged in cutting trees.The new strategy of mass felling of trees is to force the authorities to use force so that the issue gets wider attention. The extremist group behind the tribesmen and Dalits wants a grip over them.

Northern Circle Conservator of Forest (Wild Life), Dr Meher Singh, under whose jurisdiction the colony comes, told The Indian Express that the residents of the colony will not be allowed to take the law into their hands. Steps are underway to stop the destruction of forest wealth and to enforce the authority of the State in the colony, he said, and admitted that the department had adopted a lenient approach earlier.