Tribals of Ganjam district protest against proposed Forest Act amendments

Carrying traditional arms, including arrows and bows, and beating of drums, the tribals went around Berhampur before reaching near the office of the Revenue Divisional Commission RDC of southern range.The proposed amendments will dilute the Forest Rights Act FRA, which ensures rights of the tribal people living in forest areas to forest resources, on which these communities are dependent for a variety of needs, said Tuna Mallick of the Adivasi Bharat Mahasabha, a tribal organisation.According to the proposal, deemed forests listed by state governments up to 1996 will continue to be considered forest land.

Tribals of various organisations staged a protest in Odisha's Ganjam district on Wednesday against the Union government's proposal to amend the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.

The protesters demanded withdrawal of the proposed amendments, saying it would destroy forests and snatch the rights of tribal people over forest resources.

The Environment Ministry had in October proposed to amend the FCA to do away with the requirement of prior government approval for the development of border infrastructure on forest land. Carrying traditional arms, including arrows and bows, and beating of drums, the tribals went around Berhampur before reaching near the office of the Revenue Divisional Commission (RDC) of southern range.

"The proposed amendments will dilute the Forest Rights' Act (FRA), which ensures rights of the tribal people living in forest areas to forest resources, on which these communities are dependent for a variety of needs," said Tuna Mallick of the Adivasi Bharat Mahasabha, a tribal organisation.

According to the proposal, deemed forests listed by state governments up to 1996 will continue to be considered forest land. Land that was acquired by the Railways and the road ministries before 1980, but on which forests came up, will no longer be considered forests. Nirakar Nayak of the Odisha Chasi Mulia Sangh asserted that the main objective of the amendment was to handover forest land to corporate houses at a throwaway price for setting up units. Another tribal leader Bijay Swain demanded that the proposal should be dropped and the Forest Rights Act must be implemented strictly.

Swain warned that the tribal people across the state would resort to an agitation against the proposed amendments in the FCA.

After a brief meeting, the tribal leaders submitted to the RDC a memorandum addressed to the Union Forest Minister Bhupender Yadav.

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