Tribals and Forest dwellers under the banner of Campaign for Survival and Dignity(CSD) marched in a protest rally here today denouncing the state government for violating the Forest Rights Act. The tribals raised slogans upholding the supremacy of the gram sabha, scrapping of the CAMPA Fund Act, MSP for minor forest produce etc.

Gopinath Majhi, the CSD, Odisha Convenor said “the protest march is organised to protest against non-recognition of community forest rights by Odisha government over the last 10 years of FRA implementation and also against the centre for the CFA Act. He said the fund accumulated from destroying forest ,if implemented, will empowered Forest Department and not forest nor forest dweller.

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The draft rules dilute the provisions of FRA particularly undermining the authority of the Gram Sabha under the FRA and exclude rights holding communities from decision-making by stipulating that activities will be “taken up in consultation with the Gram Sabha or Van Samrakshan Samiti or Village Forest Committee as the case may be, and shall be in consonance with the provisions of the FRA wherever applicable” Pradeep Sahoo, senior Member of the CSD, Addressing the Rally said, “ While the Govt. of Odisha is claiming to be No.1 State in the country, in the last 10 last years, State Government has undermined the authority of the “Gram Sabha Sarkar” and have haphazardly issued IFR titles without demarcation.”

While around 40,000 villages are eligible to get community rights over forest, Odisha government has just haphazardly recognized community forest rights of merely 5964 in Kandhamal(1070), Keonjhar(511) Mayurbhanja(( 414) Kalahandi(185), Rayagada(178) Malkangiri(74) and Koraput(58) by December 2017 .

Meghnath Kharsel, leader of Jami Jungle Mukti Andolan from Nuapada district affiliated to CSD criticized the Govt. for rejecting IFR claims of other forest dwellers and said the Governor should review all the 1,48,870 rejected IFR claims and pending cases.

Mrs. Anna Kujur of Athkosia Sangatha from Sundargarh calling Compensatory Afforestation Act, 2015 and Draft Rules 2018 anti-FRA demanded repeal of the Act and direct flow of CAMPA fund to the forest protection and management committee of the Gram sabha formed or to be formed under Section 4(1) (e) of Forest rights Rules, 2007.

Mrs Karmi Besara of Odisha Narisamaj wanted MSP for MFP. The Aama Jungle Yojana, the JICA project and VSS etc of the forest department are anti-FRA schemes alleged Rupdhar Bisoi of Bolangir district.

The CSD members also criticized the State Forest Department for forcible planation on cultivable forest land and relocating tribals from sanctuaries and condemned the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for its circulars restricting FRA implementation in Tiger Reserves and demanded for its immediate withdrawal.

Samara Golari, president of Forest Right Committee of forest/un surveyed village Dutelguda of Malkangiri district, Kunja Bihari Srichandan of Kalahandi, also addressed the rally. Activists Prafulla Samantara, Panchanan Kanungo, Biswapriya Knaugo, Radhakanta Sethi and others delivered speeches.