MARGAO: Cavrem locals have criticised the government for failing to use ST funds, implementing the Forest Rights Act and not taking the villagers into confidence, among other things.Ravindra Velip, a local, stated that the ST communities, which live in the forest, are in need of attention as far as education, development, health and social involvement are concerned. He added that the State government makes a provision for them in the annual budget, but it fails to actually work for the welfare of tribals.
Velip is a spokesperson for the villagers, who have recently taken on the government on the mining issue.The villagers have called for participation of the youth, women and elders, “who are indeed the storehouse of indigenous knowledge”, in the decision making process.Criticising the Tribal Welfare Department in particular and the disbursement of schemes, Velip accused the government of never consulting the ST community about their prime requirements and blamed the bureaucratic system employed for not allowing the participation of stakeholders while framing schemes for their welfare.“The official gazette Series I No. 44 published on January 29 has notified the percentage of ST population living in each panchayat area. Therefore, a master plan for the overall development of the ST population in each panchayat area can be prepared with the active involvement of ST people. It may be then submitted to the authorities for execution,” said Velip.Cavrem villagers have also claimed that there is no coordination between the Tribal Welfare Department, the panchayats and the Scheduled Tribes. They stated that there is no proper framework for implementation schemes, due to which many panchayats are lagging behind with their proposed development works. “The Scheduled Tribes are grossly ignored, suppressed and discriminated all over the State by not allowing the funds to be used. No master plan has been is prepared till date. Every politician talks about schemes and infrastructure development, but what about human development and rights? It is miserable to see that the tribes sit on the roadside to sell their forest produce in the hot sun,” said Velip.The villagers also referred to the implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest rights) Act, 2006.
According to them, the Act states that the rights to ancestral lands and their habitat were not adequately recognised in the consolidation of State forests during the colonial period as well as in Independent India, resulting in injustice to the forest-dwelling tribes. Therefore, they stated, this Act would provide framework to recognise these rights.
“But the nodal agency, which is again the Tribal Welfare Department, has intentionally hidden the provisions of community rights during awareness workshops, due to which the forest dwellers are limited to filing individual claims (encroachment on forest land), which is again an historical injustice. History often puts light on how land was grabbed from the Scheduled Tribes or Adivasi communities,” said Velip.
He continued, “Therefore, in the name of implementing this Act, there is a conspiracy to displace the STs and grab the community forest lands”.
