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Checkered lives
By : Pradeep Baisakh
Orissa
Life is grim for the tribals living in the reserve forest areas of the country, who face pressure from corrupt officials on one hand, and the environment lobby on the other.
Samaru Durua was rushed to Ramgiri PHC by his relatives after he was beaten up by a bear. His life was saved, but his livelihood was lost. In four days of hospitalization, pharmacist Maheswar Behera had already extorted Rs. 3000 from him for medicines worth just about a thousand and five hundred rupees. “He will continue to be in hospital for some more days now. The total cost of his treatment would be in the range of ten thousand rupees,” said the pharmacist. When this reporter questioned him on why he had overcharged the poor tribal fellow, the pharmacist had no convincing answer, but certainly had something to offer (read bribe) to the reporter, to refrain from reporting the incident!
Samaru is from Haldikund Panchayat under Ramgiri reserve forest (RF) area in Koraput district of Orissa. To meet his hospitalization expenses, he mortgaged his two acres of agricultural land - the only landed property he had, to a money lender and took some money. How would he recover his land from local money lenders who are infamous for charging exorbitant interests and manipulating the verbal deals made with innocent tribals? Samaru and his wife had no answer. This turn of life leaves Samaru and his family in a vicious cycle of poverty and exploitation. About thirty thousand people from three nearby Panchayats who depend on that one PHC, are similarly exploited.
Thousand such incidents occur everyday among the people living in reserved forest areas characterized by low connectivity and poor infrastructure along with very low levels of awareness, leading to exploitation by traders, money lenders, police, forest officials, revenue officials and who not!
No education for children
Maliguda hamlet in Ramgiri area has about 45 households. People displaced from the Kolab dam area had settled there around three decades back, as the government did not rehabilitate them properly. None of the children (numbering about fifty) in the village can read as there is no school in the hamlet. There is a school in Pujariguda revenue village which is about two and half kilometres from Maliguda. But children of Maliguda do not go there as there is no proper road link between the two forest villages and besides, the fear of bears attacking kids venturing out of the village is very real. Villagers say that a plan for a school was sanctioned by the Panchayat, but that forest officials were opposed to providing any land for the purpose. Despite tall promises made under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the attempt of the central government to enact a law guarantying ‘right to education’, the ill fated children of this hamlet will have to live a life of ignorance throughout.
Malnutrition deaths
Similipal sanctuary area (Tiger Reserve Project) in Mayurbhanj district is infamous for malnutrition deaths. Sumati Dehuri, a four-year-old child, died of fever in April 2007. The death was termed ‘malnutrition related’. During the same period, about 27 deaths were reported due to malnutrition, malaria and some other diseases from Gudgudia and Barehipani Panchayats in the area. In 2006, nearly 23 people including 13 infants succumbed to death caused by malnutrition. Similar incidences occurred in 2008 and two infants reportedly died of malnutrition in January and March 2009.
Studies suggest that malnutrition is endemic among women and children inside Similipal sanctuary. The regular food taken by the people in the area is rice and salt which is grossly insufficient to address the nutritional requirement of an infant, a pregnant woman or a lactating mother. Strict sanctuary law does not allow the operation of big machines inside the sanctuary area. So tube wells and bore wells cannot be built here. The people have no other option but to drink polluted water.
According to official sources, 95.6% of the total (1015) families there have an average monthly income less than Rs. 500 (2002 BPL survey). People are heavily dependent on NTFP collections for their livelihood. But the Supreme Court ban (2000) on the collection of NTFP in sanctuary areas has adversely affected the income levels of people. Food and work related schemes like NREGS, PDS, NFBS, etc and institutions like hospitals or anganwadi centres do not function well. Many of the interior villages remain cut off from the panchayat head quarters during rainy days due to lack of proper road connectivity. Therefore, there is a huge food and income insecurity among these people, which leaves them at the doors of premature death.
High handedness of forest officials
In July 2008, a goon hired by forest officials allegedly burnt the house of Sada Golari of Benyamaliguda of Ramgiri RF and mercilessly beat Krishna Golari of the village and his three-year-old daughter Lanching Golari. Due to the non-recognition of land, habitation and rights over forest resources in the reserve areas, the people are left at the mercy of the forest officials who exploit them to the fullest. Sada Golari says “The gadu (forest guard) has always been threatening to evict us from our land, as it belongs to the government. In order to avert such a possibility, we villagers have been giving him and the revenue inspector hens, vegetables, etc., to appease them. Recently, they started forcible plantation on our land which we opposed. This led to their aggression on us.”
The government has plantation plans under several schemes like JBIC, RLTAP and KBK plan etc. Policies suggest that the areas for plantations have to be decided in consultation with the local people. But in reality, it gives a free hand to the forest officials to decide upon any area in the forest, many of which are in use by the villagers. Moreover, Encroachment related cases on the inhabitants are quite common in these areas. Singru Golari from Patkamunda village in Sarangpali RF area was jailed in charge of encroachment and had to fight court cases for 10 years. The case was finally disposed off in 2005.
One hopes that the recently enacted Forest Rights Act will bring in some changes in the lives of this section of people.
