Proposal to relocate 3 villages in Chhattisgarh tiger reserve sent to Centre
As per Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (APCCF) (wildlife) Arun Pandey, there are a total of 25 villages in the core area of tiger reserve out of which six villages were relocated and rehabilitated in 2010.
After Chhattisgarh State Tribal Advisory Council gave its approval to a proposal by the forest department for rehabilitation of three villages located in the Achanakmar Tiger Reserve in state’s Bilaspur district, the forest department has sent a request to the central government for the same.
As per Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (APCCF) (wildlife) Arun Pandey, there are a total of 25 villages in the core area of tiger reserve out of which six villages were relocated and rehabilitated in 2010.
“Out of remaining 19 villages, proposals of relocation of three villages have been sent to the ministry of environment and forest for the clearance of forest land diversion,” said Pandey.
The officer further said that the survey report of the remaining 16 villages of core area of the tiger reserve has started and soon a proposal for their rehabilitation will also be sent to the Central ministry.
“We are starting a door-to-door campaign to record everything about the families to be displaced and soon it will also be completed,” said Pandey.
The Achanakmar Tiger Reserve was established in 2009. The total area of the reserve is 911.017 square kilometers in which 626.1 square kilometer is core area and about 287.8 is buffer zone. In between 2009 and 2011, a total of six villages were relocated by the forest department.
“The people of these villages were initially reluctant to move out and there were other reasons due to which the relocation was stalled,” said a senior forest officer.
The forest department claimed that they are giving all benefits to these villagers as per the relocation guidelines of the Central government.
“When these villages are removed, we will get many grasslands in the reserve and then we can develop the tiger reserve,” said Pandey.
Meanwhile, the wildlife activists also claimed that the relocation is a welcome step.
“The people were agreed to be relocated from a long time but the forest department is relocating after 10 years of formation of the Achanakmar Tiger Reserve. This is very good for wildlife and tiger reserve, if it happens,” said Meetu Gupta, member of the State Wildlife Board.
Chhattisgarh has two national parks, three tiger reserves, eight sanctuaries, and one biosphere reserve covering 11,310.977 sq km, which is 8.36% of the state’s total geographical area and 18.92 % of the state’s total forest area of 59,772 sq km.
