The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Forest land to be regularised

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 10, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Forest land to be regularised

Santosh Patnaik

Grama sabhas to be held

VISAKHAPATNAM: An exercise will be launched soon for regularisation of encroached forestlands with the State Government setting in motion the process for framing rules to implement the ST and Other Traditional, Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act.

The Forest Department has put the extent of encroached forestland in the State at about 3.5 lakh acres. Grama sabhas will be held as per the Act for receiving claims and objections. Several new claims are also likely to come up at the grama sabhas.

The Forest Settlement Officers (FSOs) will play a key role and the Forest Department will entrust some officials to the villages to assist in holding meetings and place the mandate before the sub-divisional level committee. Appeals can also be made to the district level committee.

Conservator of Forests P.V. Padmanabham told The Hindu that encroachment of 90,000 acres had been confirmed in the Sileru, RV Nagar, Chintapalle and Vangasara areas of Visakhapatnam district.

The area under encroachment in Vizianagaram and Srikakulam district is estimated at around 10,000 to 12,000 acres.

The regularisation will benefit at least 10,000 families in Visakhapatnam and 1600 to 1800 families in Viziaangaram and Srikakulam districts.

Cut-off date

Forest areas will have to be redrawn once patches of land under occupation of tribals and traditional forest dwellers are regularised.

Some of the lands for which pattas will be issued in the reserve forests will be classified as ‘enclosures.’

As per the Act, the cut-off date for regularisation would be lands encroached up to December 13, 2005. The maximum of extent of regularisation permitted for each family is four hectares.

The grama sabha resolution will be forwarded later to the sub-divisional level committee.

Sources said there could be problems with regard to claim by non-tribals who would stake claim to forestlands as traditional forest dwellers.

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