Latest news with #J.A.Shivu
The Hindu
7 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
As monsoon sets in, adivasis of Nagarhole plan to start constructing houses
With the monsoons setting in, Jenukuruba tribal, who re-entered the forests of Nagarhole Tiger Reserve almost a month ago 'to reclaim their ancestral land', said they will begin construction of houses. Addressing a press conference here on Monday, J.A. Shivu, leader of the Nagarhole Adivasi Jammapale Hakku Sthapana Samiti, said, 'We held a gram sabha on May 20, where it was decided that we would start constructing houses. Individual forest rights surveys have already been done for the 52 families who re-entered the forest, and therefore, we know the plots that have been surveyed. So, we will start constructing the houses there, since the rains have arrived.' Case to be filed The tribal leaders also said that they are planning to file a case against the Forest Department and panchayat officials under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for withholding the rights of the people and dragging their feet on the forest rights claims raised by adivasis under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006. It was a month ago that 150 tribal people entered the Nagarhole forests as a mark of protest against the delay in granting rights. Officials of the Karnataka Forest Department and the Karnataka State Tiger Protection Force (STPF) attempted to prevent this move, and tensions have been brewing in the regions since. 'The Forest Department and tiger protection force have been continuously trying to evict us out of our ancestral lands. They attempted to bring down the sacred structures we built. There were many instances where in the middle of the night they tried to bring down the three structures in which we are collectively living now,' Mr. Shivu alleged. A long wait According to Community Networks Against Protected Areas, the forest dwelling communities of Nagarhole were evicted in 1985 after it was declared a wildlife sanctuary. The indigenous population were subsequently forced to work as bonded labourers in coffee plantations. After the FRA came into effect in 2006, the tribals applied for their forest rights in 2009, and have been waiting for 16 years for the officials to act upon it. 'What has happened since 2006 has been a complete denial of those rights and a return from the promise that was made under the Forest Rights Act,' said Lara Jeswani, lawyer at Bombay High Court. She said that out of the more than three lakh claims, only 15,000 claims of individual rights had been decided. Political ecologist Nitin D. Rai alleged that adivasis were bearing the brunt of what the State needs to do to meet its financial and developmental obligations. 'Denial of forest rights comes directly from the (government's) need to increase the tiger numbers so that they can show they are doing very well on the conservation front and therefore cannot be questioned of diversion of forests and infrastructural development,' he said.
The Hindu
06-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Brewing tension in Nagarhole as tribals allege eviction amid FRA dispute
A fresh controversy is brewing in the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve as the Forest Department and tribals are engaged in a tense standoff over land rights, forced evictions, and the dispute over the implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA). The triggering point for the current standoff is the entry of about 150 tribals from the nearby villages into their ancestral land on Monday to assert their rights to the forests and the construction of the sacred altar for their deities. But on Tuesday, the Forest Department officials, staff members, and the police reached the place and thwarted their attempts, which have escalated the simmering discontent among the tribals over their forcible eviction decades ago and the failure of the authorities to recognise their claims under the FRA despite providing documents. The Jenukurub leaders from Karadikallu argued with the officials to point out that they have waited for three months after furnishing the documents, and it is the Forest Department that has exceeded the notice period within which the rights are to be settled. Sources said that such attempts to forcibly enter the tiger reserve to assert rights would be perceived as encroachment as the claims are yet to be recognised. However, the tribals argued that their constitutional rights are being ignored. 'The FRA does not grant new rights — it affirms our existing ones. This is our homeland,' said J.A. Shivu, president of the Karadikallu forest rights committee and leader of the Nagarhole Adivasi Jammapale Hakku Sthapana Samiti. S. Sreekanth of Development through Education said the tribals were not constructing an RCC structure but an altar made of materials like wood, etc., to worship the deity. Hence, the Forest Department's action was condemnable as it amounted to hurting the religious sentiments of the tribals. He said that despite the recent instruction of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during his visit to the hamlets in H.D. Kote that tribals should not be disturbed, the atrocities by the authorities continue unabated. Activists have demanded a review of the tribals' claims rejected by the Forest Department and an early recognition of their rights. Mr. Sreekanth said that if the issue is allowed to escalate without a peaceful resolution, it would reflect badly on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, as his directives are being flouted by the officials.
