Water for the tiger

And Kankwari may hold the key to that.

It is not an easy place to reach. You have to drive through the worst of desert terrain, dodge thorny bushes, follow a vague trail cut out by a four-wheel vehicle. And suddenly, you see it the rambling, crumbling Kankwari Fort, etched against the sky, where the blinded Dara Shikoh had been kept in confinement by younger brother Aurangzeb. Magnificent even in a state of ruin, it8217;s not so much the fort, it8217;s where it stands surrounded by tall, denuded date palm trees, in the middle of a veritable oasis, with tremendous potential to change the face of STR.

Although spread over a relatively small area inside the tiger reserve, Kankwari has a large, natural lake that could put to rest Sariska8217;s water worries.

8220;Although Kanwari falls inside the proposed national park, we have not been able to utilise the area because of the villages. Of the 11-odd villages that lie within the proposed national park, four are at Kankwari and they have to be relocated before the area can be designated as a national park,8221; says Singh. 8220;With a population of 2,500 and an additional several hundred cattlehead entirely dependent on forest produce, these villages are exerting tremendous biotic pressure on the forest. The prey base especially is susceptible to many cattle-borne diseases.8221; These villages have been earmarked for the first phase of relocation and the forest department intends to relocate all the 26 villages within the tiger reserve in the long run.

The four villages Kankwari, Umri, Baghani and Kraskar are inhabited by Gujjars, traditionally pastoralists. They have seldom taken to cultivation and tend to live off animal produce. Which means that their cattle is directly competing with the prey base spotted deer, sambhars, neelgai and other ungulates. In the long run, conflict is inevitable. Between animal and animal and between man and animal. Its worst outcome could be large-scale poaching of both prey species and prey base.

That the land at Kanwari has been ravaged is evident. The tall date trees stand denuded of foliage, barring a clump of leaves at the top. The top soil has been washed away in stretches, exposing boulders. Tree stumps dot the land surface, felled for firewood. And the terrible isolation of the villages in the middle of the wilderness also leopard territory is apparent. There is no electricity, no roads not even a kuttcha one and absolutely nothing to live for. Except the forest.

8220;We have arrived at a resettlement package worth Rs 4.29 cr under which two acres will be allocated to every adult. The package has been finalised and awaits government sanction. It will be two to three years before it is fuly implemented,8221; says Singh.

While some villagers feign ignorance about the proposal to evict them from the area, others express a willingness to move if the deal is good.

Dhuriram, a Gujjar in his 30s, says there is really nothing to keep him at Kankwari. The isolation of the village does not even allow them to practice the custom of village exogamy. 8220;Nobody wants to marry us. There is nothing here, no food, no means of making money,8221; he says. But he will move if the resettlement package is 8220;good enough.8221; Similarly, Giriraj, another says he will move if the deal is good.

The forest guards, however, tell a different tale. 8220;They tell us that they will not move, no matter what the pressure. They have threatened to kill tigers if they are forced to move,8221; says a field staffer, Suresh.Although no poaching of tigers has been reported in the recent past, it cannot be entirely ruled out.

8220;The real reason why the villagers are unwilling to move out of the core area of the park is that elsewhere they will have to work harder, start cultivating land, which they traditionally do not,8221; says Deputy Field Director B.N. Sharma.

But relocating entire villages that claim traditional rights over the land is neither fair nor desirable. The villagers have proved indispensable in parks where conservation has been a success. And Sariska is no exception. Much of the STR8217;s problems have been solved due to people8217;s efforts. 8220;It was the efforts of the local people that secured a Supreme Court ban on mining in the sanctuary,8221; said Singh. 8220;We have realised that we cannot alienate the people in the course of conservation efforts. Their consent and cooperation is necessary to do anything in the park,8221; says Singh.

It is here that the World Wide Fund for Nature Tiger Conservation Programme WWF-TCP comes into play. 8220;The TCP steps in where the government is unable or unwilling to,8221; said Brigadier Ranjit Talwar, coordinator of the TCP. 8220;As far as the parks are concerned, we provide material assistance by way of vehicles, boats, elephants, uniforms for forest guards, wireless sets that strengthen the management of these parks. In order to elicit people8217;s participation in conservation efforts we came up with the cattle compensation and reward schemes as insurance against tiger poaching. The reward scheme particularly allows the forest department to cultivate locals as informers regarding poaching activities.8221; While the reward scheme is yet to be introduced at Sariska, it has been successful in Ranthambhore.

If the four villages at Kankwari are successfully relocated the government says it will take two to three years it will pave the way for relocation of the remaining villages inside the park. But the more realistic among the field staff say the going won8217;t be as smooth as it thought out to be 8212; 8220;Yeh masla itni jaldi hal hone wala nahin hai.

And after the villages are out, it will take Kankwari another four to five years before it can regenerate itself. But it the outcome is happy the small numbers go in Sariska8217;s favour then it may set a precedent for all big projects that require large-scale relocation and rsettlement of entire villages.