Relocation of villagers from Kawal being done only after obtaining consent: Indrakaran

Rs. 15 lakh was being offered to each family, which has voluntarily opted to move out of the core area some seven to eight years ago

Hyderabad: Forest Minister A Indrakaran Reddy stated that none was being evicted forcibly from villages in the core areas of tiger reserves and said they were being relocated only after obtaining consent from each family.

As part of compensation, Rs. 15 lakh was being offered to each family, which has voluntarily opted to move out of the core area some seven to eight years ago, he said here on Friday.

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Relocation of villagers from Rampur and Maisampet from the core areas of Kawal Tiger Reserve (KTR) to Kadem and other fringe areas of the forest, which are close to townships, has already commenced.

Regarding Podu lands, the Minister said the land survey would be completed by this month end. Special committees were likely to be constituted for allotment of lands to the beneficiaries. Once the allocation of lands would be completed, people would not be permitted into the forests, he said.

The State forest department’s efforts in relocating villagers from core areas of tiger reserves were appreciated by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) team after inspecting Amrabad and Kawal Tiger Reserves last week.

Villages were being shifted from the core areas only to create inviolate area as it would promote herbivores movement and carnivores would remain in that area in search of prey. Basically it was habitat management and a means to reduce the man-animal conflict, explained Principal Chief Conservator of Forests RM Dobriyal.

More importantly, laying of roads, electric lines and water pipelines in core areas was not permitted due to forest conservation rules. In the better interest of villages, they were being relocated to fringe areas of the forests, he said.

All the NTCA rules are duly followed for relocation of villages from a core area. Under the relocation exercise, villagers are offered two options of monetary compensation of Rs.15 lakh each to a family or allocation of agriculture land, besides a house plot and other benefits.

The State forest department is targeting relocation of 20 to 22 villages in Kawal Tiger Reserve and 26 villages in Amrabad Tiger Reserve. In all, around 50 to 60 villages are likely to be relocated in the years to come.

After gaining confidence due to the State government’s transparent, efficient and effective relocation packages, many villages were voluntarily approaching the department for relocation, said the PCCF.

Relocation was a long process and does not happen immediately as all the residents have to be convinced and a survey about their assets has to be conducted, he said.

In case of Rampur and Maisampet villages, Rs.15 lakh each was offered to 48 families and rest of the 94 families wanted land to be allocated at other place.

“Patta books are being prepared, house plots are being laid out and estimates for roads, electricity, building the houses etc are under progress. In about six months all facilities will come up for relocation of the villagers” said Dobriyal.