The National Human Rights Commission has issued notice to Odisha Chief Secretary on the plight of around 10 lakh people facing displacement due to wildlife sanctuaries and denial of basic human rights to them by the state.
The top rights panel acting on a petition moved by rights lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy asked the chief secretary to take appropriate action within 8 weeks and comply with an action taken report.
The State with its rich forest cover has 19 wildlife sanctuaries with as many as 14 of them continuing to have human settlements inside the notified sanctuary area.
Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary has the highest 358 villages followed by 125 in Satkosia and 65 in Kotagarh. The state’s biggest tiger reserve Similipal also has 56 human settlements in its jurisdiction, while Baisipalli in Nayagarh has 62 villages. Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary, a proposed tiger reserve, also has 26 villages while Badrama has 27 and Karlapat 19. Kapilash and Khalasuni wildlife sanctuaries have one village each within their protected areas while Hadgarh has two and Chandaka three.
Puri, Chilika, Gahirmatha, Nandankanan and Debrigarh are the only five wildlife sanctuaries that do not have human settlements anymore. Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary, which has received NTCA’s in-principle approval as a tiger-reserve, was made free from human settlements only last year.
These people have neither pucca houses nor the basic amenities, bare necessities in the aftermath of displacements due to sanctuaries or tiger reserves in Odisha. The issues of denial and deprivation of human rights continues till date due to failure, negligence and inaction of the Government Authorities, the petition claimed.
Citing the instance of Charigharia village within the Bhitarkanika national park in Kendrapara district, the petition noted that the government has ignored their forest right act claim of displaced people in conferring them the land record of rights.