The logic behind the move is simple — forest department officials often harass people who live off the forests collecting honey and other products, which leads to disaffection; so let local communities manage forests. As Jairam Ramesh puts it, “the Forest Department is only 100 years old. It is the British who established it to ease the commercial exploitation of forests and keep the locals out. We should get out of this mentality that a forest must be protected from those who live by it."
Tribal rights activists have welcomed the move. “The management of forests should be handed over 100% to the (local) communities, and forest department officials should completely withdraw from the management committees," says Bratindi Jena of the Adivasi Janajati Adhikar Manch, a tribal people's movement active primarily in India's eastern states like Jharkhand and Orissa.
“The tribals have been living in the forests for thousands of years without damaging it. They know how to take care of the forests better than the forest department. The forest department is the biggest zamindar in India," she adds. Read the full report here.
Source: by Sreejiraj Eluvangal, DNA, Mumbai.
