Declaring CWH sans survey could spell doom for tribals

Declaring CWH sans survey could spell doom for tribals
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, DEC 4
Even as Goa is getting ready to declare its wildlife sanctuaries as Critical Wildlife Habitat (CWH), the tribals could be in a bureaucratic mess as the state has not done any kind of survey recognising tribal rights.
The recent reply to Member of Parliament Shantaram Naik by Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs has said that Goa has not conducted the survey to establish the tribal rights.
The state level steering committee (SLSC) is already in the process of finalizing the CWH status for Bondla wildlife sanctuary while the officials have initiated process for Cotigao wildlife sanctuary and Chorao bird sanctuary.
Unmindful of the fact that there is no full fledged tribal welfare department, the committee has already begun accepting the claims of the forest dwellers. But the absence of the department with proper set up will prove impediment for the process.
Also, the tribals might be at the receiving end once their claims for rehabilitation are caught in red tape. In absence of the survey, the forest rights of the dwellers cannot be recognised.
The Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Dr Shashi Kumar was not available for the comment on the issue despite repeated calls on his mobile and land line for three days over the weekend.
The Member of Parliament was told in Rajya Sabha recently that as per the provisions of the Act and the Rules framed there under, the responsibility for implementing the Act lies with the governments of the state or Union Territories.
However, the minister informed Naik that the government of Goa has appointed a nodal officer, taken steps for creating awareness about the provisions of the Act and Rules and translated the Act and the rules in Devnagri script.
The Goa government has also conducted a training programme for village panchayat secretaries and wherever the forests exist, constituted 90 Forests Rights Committees for implementing the provisions of the Act and the Rules framed there under in the state.