Latest news with #ChhattisgarhForestDepartment
New Indian Express
03-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Chhattisgarh forest department withdraws circular on CFR rights after massive tribal protests
RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh forest department on Thursday withdrew its advisory circular issued to its field officers for implementation of Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights following the massive protest in several districts by people, mostly tribals, who alleged the move as state's attempt to weaken the Forest Rights Act and undermine the constitutional power of Gram Sabhas. Activists working on forest and tribal rights highlighted that a letter issued by the Chhattisgarh Forest Department on May 15 seeking to designate the department as the nodal agency for implementing the FRA—an act that is not only legally untenable but also a direct encroachment on the jurisdiction of the Tribal Development Department. 'The forest department has invoked the National Working Plan Code 2023 under the guise of 'scientific forest management' to threaten the implementation of Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights, supported by Gram Sabhas and other state institutions. This move jeopardises community control and management over nearly 20,000 sq km of forests in the state', they claimed. The forest department affirmed that its directive was advisory in nature as the field implementation of CFR rights was becoming inconsistent due to the lack of clarity on how to develop and integrate CFR management plans with the National Working Plan Code 2023. Spontaneous and big rallies were taken place as the collective voice across tribal regions during the last couple of days, with memorandums addressed to chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai were submitted, seeking his intervention to refrain the forest department from obstructing the rights of forest-dependent communities and instead support the remaining 8,000 forest-reliant villages in securing their rightful CFR claims.
Indian Express
03-07-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Decode Politics: Why a forest rights order has sparked differences between Chhattisgarh govt depts
A unilateral directive by the Chhattisgarh Forest Department in May on community forest resources (CFR) has sparked a turf war within the administration, apart from creating a furore among tribal communities and environmental activists. In its May order, the Forest Department barred all other government departments, and non-governmental and private organisations, from carrying out any work related to CFR – which refers to common forest land that has been traditionally protected and conserved for sustainable use by a particular community – until the Centre creates a scientific template for such forest resources. However, this has raised the concern of the Tribal Welfare Department given that Chhattisgarh's sizeable and politically significant tribal communities have been given rights over the management of CFR areas under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, and the issue technically falls within its domain. What was the Forest Department's directive? In the absence of guidelines on aligning the execution of local CFR management plans with the National Working Plan Code, 2023, inconsistencies in the implementation of CFR rights were being seen increasingly, a forest official said. Field officers were uncertain whether to adhere to previously approved working plans or accommodate unstructured community-prepared plans, leading to administrative confusion and potential deviation from scientific forest management practices. On May 15, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) V Sreenivasa Rao issued a directive saying that the Centre had issued detailed guidelines regarding proper management of CFR rights, and that the Supreme Court too had said that the management of forest areas be based on scientific methods. The directive further said that a March 2024 joint letter issued by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, had clarified that the Tribal Ministry would prepare 'a Model Community Forest Rights Management Plan / Micro-plan' in accordance with the Environment Ministry's National Working Plan Code, 2023. '(It) will then be shared with all the states,' the directive said. Rao said that the Chhattisgarh Forest Department had requested for a copy of this model management plan, and that further decisions by it on forest management would be based on it. 'At present, the provisions of the National Working Plan Code, 2023 are applicable in the entire notified forest area,' the PCCF said, adding that till the model management plan was received, 'no other department or NGOs or private organisations should do any kind of work within the CFR rights-allotted forest area'. 'At present, no plan other than the working plan approved by (the Union Environment Ministry) can be implemented in the entire forest area of the state,' Rao said. What are the directive's implications for forest-dwelling communities? The directive effectively stops all the community-related work done by forest dwellers to conserve, protect and manage forest resources. With the Chhattisgarh government recognising CFR rights only in 2022, much of the work related to such land remains at a nascent stage. As per the Chhattisgarh government, there are at least 11,450 villages with the potential to be granted CFR rights, but only 4,396 villages have received it so far. The recent directive has halted the further implementation of CFR rights. The directive also stalls the implementation of the Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan, a Central scheme granting Rs 15 lakh to each gram sabha for development purposes. As part of its CFR rights, a gram sabha must submit development plans to the District Level Monitoring Committee, headed by the district collector and including a forest official. In the wake of last month's directive, these monitoring committees are no longer processing the gram sabha plans. One such plan concerns Dhudmaras, situated in the heart of Kanger Valley National Park that was selected last year by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation for its Best Tourism Village Upgrade programme. The directive will affect forest dwellers who are largely from Scheduled Tribe (STs), including Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), and Scheduled Caste (SC) communities. Chhattisgarh has four Lok Sabha (out of 11) and 29 Assembly seats (out of 90) reserved for STs, while 10 Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat are reserved for SCs. How have affected communities and political parties reacted? On Wednesday, villagers across nine districts – Dhamtari, Surguja, Kanker, Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi, Narayanpur, Gariaband, Mahasamund, Balod and Bastar – submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai against the directive, alleging it was passed to weaken the Forest Rights Act and constitutional rights of gram sabhas in Chhattisgarh. Chhattisgarh Congress chief and tribal leader Deepak Baij said, 'The BJP government has put all the laws of the Forest Rights Act on hold in Chhattisgarh and they are trying to steal the jal, jungle and zameen (water, forest and land) and minerals of tribals to help private corporations. The forest department is not following the law.' However, state BJP spokesperson Sanjay Srivastav said, 'We are looking into the issue. The BJP will not infringe upon tribal rights and a decision will be taken in the people's favour.' How has the Tribal Department reacted? Sonmoni Borah, who is the Principal Secretary, Tribal Development, Scheduled Caste Development, and Other Backward Classes and Minority Development Departments, maintains that it is the Tribal Department which is the nodal agency on the issue, with the Forest Department a 'supporting authority'. '(The May directive) is being examined… For ensuring the implementation of CFR rights, the Forest Department has the coordination role,' Borah said, adding that they are speaking with the Forest Department and have also sought clarification from the Centre. Forest rights activists have also questioned the Forest Department's move. Environmental activist Alok Shukla said, 'The directive reflects the department's persistent mindset of maintaining absolute control over forest management. This approach stands in direct contradiction to the Forest Rights Act, which not only recognises the community rights of forest dwellers but also empowers them to plan, protect, and manage forest resources independently. It appears to be a desperate attempt by the department to undermine the remarkable progress made by forest-dependent communities.' Another activist, Bijay Bhai, who is also national convener of tribal rights group Bharat Jan Andolan, said the consequences could be widespread. 'On a large scale, (the government) will divert forest land for corporations. Secondly, the democratic governance of forest areas as envisioned by the Forest Rights Act is going to be dismantled. Also, the forest bureaucracy will be strengthened by this and ultimately tribal people and other forest dwellers would get displaced from their ancestral areas.' How has the Forest Department reacted to the opposition to its directive? Countering the Tribal Department's concerns, PCCF Rao said: 'In the absence of a clear directive, there was a serious risk that forest areas would be managed based on unvetted or ad hoc community resource plans… This could have resulted in ecological mismanagement, conflicts between gram sabhas and forest officials, and legal challenges regarding the violation of existing norms… Additionally, it could have jeopardised sustainable forest practices, wildlife habitats, and the long-term ecological balance in sensitive forest zones.' Rao added that the opposition to the Forest Department's initiative seems to stem 'from a misunderstood perception that the directive undermines the spirit of community autonomy envisaged under the Forest Rights Act'.
Time of India
06-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Disabled leopards, hyena to move to new rescue centre in Naya Raipur
RAIPUR: In a move underscoring the state's commitment to compassionate wildlife care, the Chhattisgarh Forest Department is preparing to relocate four permanently disabled leopards and a hyena from Nandanvan Zoo in Raipur to a newly constructed rescue centre at Jungle Safari, Naya animals, rescued over the years from various forest ranges, are unable to survive in the wild or be displayed due to their physical impairments and have been under continuous veterinary leopards and a striped hyena, currently housed at Nandanvan Zoo in Raipur due to various disabilities, will be relocated to a newly constructed rescue centre at Jungle Safari, Naya Raipur. The move comes as Nandanvan Zoo faces space constraints and Jungle Safari boasts a larger, dedicated rescue wild animals, all rescued from different forest ranges across Chhattisgarh at various times, suffer from permanent disabilities that prevent their release into the wild or display in a regular zoo to a press release issued by the Nandanvan Zoo and Safari management, a male leopard named Tekram, now 12 years old, was rescued in October 2012 from the Pithora forest range. Another female leopard, Rani, aged four at the time of rescue in August 2015 from the Bagbahara forest range, is blind.A seven-year-old male leopard, rescued in April 2019 from the Moharenga forest area near Raipur, has broken canine teeth. A fourth leopard, Narsimha, a five-year-old male at the time of his arrival in December 2014 from the Balod forest range, suffered from broken canine teeth, a head injury, and glaucoma in one eye. The hyena, a female striped hyena with one missing leg, was rescued in an injured state from the Kanker forest range in January the time of these rescues, Nandanvan Zoo was recognised as a Central Zoo by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), New Delhi, and had an approved rescue centre for injured wildlife , where these animals were initially housed, the release limited expansion possibilities at Nandanvan Zoo, the state government established Jungle Safari in Naya Raipur after the formation of Chhattisgarh, with plans to eventually relocate the zoo. A new rescue centre was built within the Jungle Safari in 2020. However, the continuous influx of rescued animals led to near-full capacity at this new accommodate the remaining animals at Nandanvan Zoo, a budget of Rs 25 lakh was allocated on July 10, 2024, for the construction of a new cell within the Jungle Safari rescue centre. This construction is now complete, with final touches expected within the next two weeks. Following this, the four leopards and the hyena will be safely transferred to the new, larger rescue centre at Jungle Safari. The CZA, New Delhi, has been previously informed about this planned zoo management clarified that the disabilities of these animals make their release into natural habitats impossible, and they are also unsuitable for regular zoo displays. The rescue centre provides the appropriate long-term care they require. Veterinarians at Nandanvan Zoo are providing regular medical attention to all the Nandanvan Zoo and Safari management assured that they are committed to the consistent care and conservation of all the wild animals under their charge.
Time of India
25-04-2025
- General
- Time of India
Himalayan Griffon Vulture rescued in Chhattisgarh completes 1,165 km journey to Nepal
RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh has achieved a notable milestone in wildlife conservation with the successful rehabilitation of a Himalayan Griffon Vulture, Jatayu, rescued from Bilaspur. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now After treatment at Nandanvan Zoo and radio-telemetry tagging, the vulture was released on April 11, 2025, and has since completed a 1,165 km journey through Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Bihar to reach Nepal's Koshi Tappu Wildlife Sanctuary . The continuous monitoring effort, supported by the Wildlife Institute of India, has provided valuable ecological insights. Two other vultures—a White-rumped Vulture and an Egyptian Vulture—have also been successfully rescued and released, underscoring the Chhattisgarh Forest Department's commitment to avian conservation. Jatayu's journey included crossing major rivers like the Ganga and Koshi and traversing diverse terrains, indicating that the bird is in good health and exhibiting natural behaviour. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, is supporting the operation by using radio telemetry technology to track the vulture's movements. This technology has provided valuable insights into Jatayu's migration path, roosting sites, and ecological behaviour. The Chhattisgarh Forest Department has also successfully rescued, treated, and rehabilitated two other vultures. A White-rumped vulture, rescued from the Bhanupratappur region, was tagged by BNHS Mumbai and released from Nandanvan Jungle Safari after initial treatment. It initially flew towards the Achanakmar Tiger Reserve and is currently active near Bartara village in Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Additionally, an Egyptian Vulture, rescued from the Raipur-Bilaspur highway, was treated and released and is now regularly sighted around the Abhanpur area in Nava Raipur. Dhammsheel Ganveer, Director of Nandanvan Jungle Safari, commented on the achievement, stating, 'This is a major accomplishment for our state of Chhattisgarh. It will further aid in the monitoring and conservation of both native and migratory bird species.' He further added, 'The journey of Jatayu and the other vultures is the result of scientific and dedicated efforts in wildlife conservation. Such initiatives will provide a new direction to biodiversity conservation in the future.'
