G. O. MS. No. 13. : 12th - FEBRUARY - 2002

 

GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH

ABSTRACT

Forest Department - A.P. Community Forest Management Project - Comprehensive Orders - Issued.

          ENVIRONMENT FOREST SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (FOR.III) DEPARTMENT

G.O.MS.No.13.                                                                                                         

Dated: 12 .2 .2002

                                                                                                                                Read the following:-     

1.G.O.Ms.No.218, E.F.E.S&T (For.VI) Dept.,  dt. 28.08.92.

2.G.O. Ms. No. 181 EFS&T (FOR II-I) Dept. dt. 24-8-1993

3.G. O. Ms. No. 182 EFES&T Dept. dt. 24-8-1993

4.G. O. Ms. No. 183 E.F.E.S&T. (FOR II-1) Dept. dt. 24-8-1993

5.G.O.Ms.No.224, E.F.E.S&T (For.II) Dept., dt. 11.11.93.

6.G.O. Ms. No. 10 EFS&T (For VI) Dept. dt. 31.01. 1996

7.G. O. Ms. No. 173 E.F.S&T. (For III) Dept. dt. 07.12.1996

8.G.O. Ms. No. 115 EFS&T (PMU) Dept. dt. 25.9.1997

9.G. O. Ms. No. 21 EFS&T 9For III) Dept. dt. 05.03.1998

10.G. O. Ms. No. 66 EFS&T (For III) Dept. 04.05.1999

11.G.O. Ms. No. 43 EFS&T (For III) Dept. dt. 07.04.2000

12.PCCF. Rc. No. 34234/ 2001/ PMU –III/1  Dt 20.10.2001

-oOo-

O R D E R :      

  1. Following the guidelines of the Government of India and in compliance with the provisions of National Forest Policy, 1988, the Government of Andhra Pradesh have issued orders in the reference 1st read above for improvement of degraded forests through the participation of local people by introduction of the Joint   Forest Management (JFM) programme.
  2. These Orders have been amended from time to time through GOs 5th and 7th read above
  3. In the references 2nd, 3rd and 4th read above orders have been issued constituting State, District level and ITDA level committees for ensuring inter sectoral coordination for the programme. In the reference 8th read aboveorders issued in the reference 3rd cited were modified regarding sharing the usufruct arising out of forests managed under JFM. In the reference 6th , 9th and 11th read above orders have been issued granting  incentives to VSS for their role in apprehending those involved in commission of forest offence cases. In the references 10th read above orders have been issued granting incentives to VSS for their role in collection of Beedi Leaves.
  4. In the reference 12th read above, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests of Andhra Pradesh has submitted proposals for refining the programme and implementing Community Forest Management as an advance over Joint Forest Management.
  5. In the light of all the above G.Os and the proposal of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Andhra Pradesh, it has been decided to modify the orders issued on the subject and to implement Community Forest Management in the State of Andhra Pradesh as an advance over Joint Forest Management.
  6. The Government, after careful consideration and in modification of all the earlier orders issued on the subject hereby issue the following revised and comprehensive orders for implementing the Community Forest Management in the State of Andhra Pradesh with immediate effect.
  7. Accordingly Government hereby direct that the local village community be constituted into a "Vana Samrakshana Samithi"  (Samithi  for  short) and the Samithies already constituted to carry out the  forest programmes jointly with the Forest Department  as  per the  rules  annexed to this order
  8. The salient  features and the rules applicable  under  the scheme are detailed in the Annexure I and II to this order.
  9. This order  issues with the concurrence of  Finance  & Planning  (Fin. Wing Exp.MA&UD & EFS&T) Department vide their U.O. No. 1502/26/A2/Exp. M&F/02, dt.6.2.02

          (BY ORDER AND IN THE NAME OF THE GOVERNOR OF ANDHRA PRADESH)

                                                                                               

H.S.BRAHMA                                                     

                                                                         PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT.

 

TO

The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, A.P. Hyderabad.

All the District Collectors.

The Accountant General, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad.

The Commissioner Tribal Welfare, Hyderabad.

The Commissioner, Social Welfare, Hyderabad.

All the Project Directors, ITDAs in the State.

All the Project Directors, DRDAs in the State.

The Commissioner, Panchayat Raj Hyderabad.

The Commissioner  Rural Development, Hyderabad.

Copy to:-

Country Director, India,  World Bank India Office, 69/70, Lodi Estate, New Delhi.

The Prl. Secretary, Revenue Department.

The Secretary, Commissioner of Land Revenue, Hyderabad.

The Secretary, Social Welfare Department.

The Secretary, Panchayat Raj  Department

The Secretary, Rural Development Department.

The Secretary, Food & Agriculture Department.

The Prl. Secretary, Finance & Planning (Exp.EFST&T) Department.

The Vice Chairman, Managing Director, A.P.F.D.C.Ltd., Hyderabad.

The Advisor (Forests), DPAP,  Dept. of Rural Development, Govt. of  India,

                C.G.O. Complex, Paryavaran Bhavan, New Delhi-110 003.

The Secretary to Govt. of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests,

                C.G.O. Complex, Lodi Road, New Delhi-110 003.

                  The Joint Secretary to Govt. of India, National Afforestation & Eco-development Board, Ministry of

                                  Environment & Forests, C.G.O. Complex, Lodi Road, New Delhi-110 003.

The Asst. Inspector General of Forests, National Afforestation & Eco-development Board,

                Ministry of Environment & Forests, C.G.O. Complex, Lodi Road, New Delhi-110 003.

All Forest Sections in the E.F.S&T Department.

P.S. to Principal Secretary.

P.S. to Special Secretary (3 copies).

P.R.O. to C.M.

P.S. to Minister for Forests.

E.F.S&T (OP) Dept. (3 copies)

Director, State Archives, Osmania University Campus, Tarnaka, Hyderabad

SF / SC.                                 

                                                             // FORWARDED :: BY ORDER //

                                                                                                                SECTION OFFICER.

ANNEXURE - I

I. Constitution of Vana Samrakshana Samithi:

a)      Any Forest Officer not below the rank of Forest Range Officer shall call for a meeting of the adult members of all households residing in village / hamlet / cluster of villages / cluster of hamlets situated within 5 kms of forest boundary.

b)      The concept of Community Forest Management including all rights and responsibilities of the V.S.S. members and the Forest Department shall be explained in the meeting.

c)      If a minimum of 50% of households agree in writing to constitute a Vana Samrakshana Samithi, the Forest Range Officer shall send proposal to the Divisional Forest Officer for constitution of Vana Samrakshana Samithi.

d)      Upon receipt of proposal, the Divisional Forest Officer may order constitution of the Vana Samrakshana Samithi.

e)      All the Villagers who agree for constitution of Vana Samrakshana Samithi shall be enrolled by the Forest Range Officer as members of the Vana Samrakshana Samithi, subject to the following conditions:

i)    Each household shall have a maximum of two members out of whom one shall be a woman.

ii)   All households of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and those headed by women in the village shall be enrolled automatically as members subject to clause I. e) i) above.

iii) The membership of tribals in the V.S.S.  in the scheduled areas shall always be more than that of non-tribals.

II. Duties and Responsibilities of Vana Samrakshana Samithi:

The members of Vana Samrakshana Samithi, individually and collectively shall be responsible to:

a)             Ensure protection of forest and assist the Forest Department in protecting the adjoining forests whenever such assistance is sought for by the department.

b)            Make other villagers aware of the importance of forests.

c)             Prepare micro-plans and annual plans in accordance with the corresponding working plan (as outlined below).

d)            Manage forests in accordance with the approved micro-plan / annual plan.

e)             Apprehend offenders of forest law and hand them over to the concerned authorities to take action under the provisions of the relevant Forest Acts and Rules.

f)              For minor offences the V.S.S. can collect advance Compounding Fees not exceeding Rs. 100/- (rupees one hundred only). The amount so collected shall be remitted by the V.S.S. to the Joint. Account (VSS account). Details of such remittances shall be reported to the Forest Beat Officer concerned and recorded in the V.S.S. book of accounts. The concerned Forest Officer authorized under the relevant Forest Acts and Rules will book the offence by issuing the P.O.R. and take follow up action as per the departmental procedures. Upon completion of departmental procedure, the V.S.S. will retain 50% of the compounding fees and return the balance 50% to the Forest Beat Officer for remitting to the Government.

III. Constitution of Managing Committee:

a)      After constitution of the Vana Samrakhana Samithi as explained above, a Managing Committee shall be constituted to oversee preparation of V.S.S. micro-plans and annual plans and the implementation of the same.

b)      The Managing Committee shall have 15 elected representatives from V.S.S. of which at least 8 shall be Women Members.

c)      The Forest Section Officer shall convene the General Body meeting for electing the Managing Committee and shall oversee the election process.

d)      The Managing Committee shall then elect a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson from amongst themselves. Either one or both of the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson shall be woman/women.   For this election also the Forest Section Officer shall oversee the process.

e)      In Scheduled area all the elected members of the Managing Committee shall be either from Scheduled Tribes or Scheduled Castes.

f)        In areas other than Scheduled areas membership in the Managing Committee shall be reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their households.

g)      The tenure of the Managing Committee shall be 3 years.

h)      The Forest Range Officer, in consultation with the V.S.S. and Sarpanch of the villages, shall earmark forests in the vicinity of the V.S.S. for Community Forest Management. The boundaries of this forest area shall conform as far as possible to pre-existing and accepted boundaries of the concerned communities.

i)        A Memorandum of Understanding in the format appended to this order shall be read out in the General Body Meeting and signed by the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson on behalf of the Vana Samrakshana Samithi and by the Forest Range Officer on behalf of the Government.

IV. Duties and Responsibilities of the V.S.S. Chairperson and  Vice Chairperson

a)      The Chairperson of the V.S.S. shall convene the General Body and Managing Committee meetings.

b)      The Vice Chairperson shall assist and work closely with the Chairperson in the performance of his/her duties.

c)      The Chairperson shall maintain the record of the proceedings and other documents like Cheque Books, Joint Account, Minutes Book, Managing Committee Resolution Book, Annual Plan, Micro-Plan, Estimates for Works etc. A copy of the record of proceedings of the meetings conducted shall be sent to the Forest Range Officer.

All records including Cheque Books, Joint Account, Minutes Book, Managing Committee Resolution Book, Annual Plan, Micro-plan, Estimates for Works and all other records deemed necessary, should be in the custody of Chairperson/ Vice Chairperson,

 

Convening General Body Meeting:

 

a)  General Body Meeting shall be held at least once in every six months to discuss implementation of the micro-plan / annual plan and to review all related financial transactions. An advance notice of  7 days shall be given for convening the General Body Meeting.

b)      Under special circumstances, the General Body Meeting of the V.S.S. may be convened provided not less than 1/3rd of the V.S.S. members agree to convene such a meeting and make such a request to the Chairperson. Where the Chairperson does not convene the meeting, the concerned Forest Section Officer shall convene the meeting.

c)  The quorum for convening a General Body Meeting shall be at least 50% of members of the

     General Body and out of them 50% shall be women.

 

Convening Managing Committee Meeting:

 

a)      The quorum for convening a meeting of the Managing Committee shall be at least 2/3rd of the members of the Managing Committee. Out of these at least 50% shall be women.

b)      Managing Committee shall meet at least once every month.  The Managing Committee meeting may be convened on any pre decided day or through an advance notice of 3 days.

c)      In case at least half of the members of the Managing Committee decide to meet, the Chairperson of the VSS shall convene a meeting of the Managing Committee. Where the Chairperson does not convene the meeting the concerned Forest Section Officer shall convene the meeting.

 

V. Duties and responsibilities of Managing Committee:

a)      The Managing Committee shall be responsible to manage and implement all the decisions of the V.S.S.

b)      The Managing Committee shall assign duties and responsibilities to the Members and may constitute Sub-Committees as needed with a view to ensure implementation of the V.S.S. micro-plan and annual plan.

c)      The Managing Committee in consultation with the General Body shall evolve methodology on all issues relating to membership, conflict resolution, encroachments, customary rights, and benefit sharing. 

d)      It shall be the responsibility of the Managing Committee to account for and manage the funds and other resources received from the Government, other sources and the funds internally generated.

e)      For the purpose of management of funds received from Government, a joint account shall be opened in any commercial, rural or cooperative bank recognized by the Reserve Bank of India or any Post Office. Such account will be held and operated jointly by the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and the concerned Forest Section Officer/Forest Beat Officer/ Assistant Beat Officer as nominated by the concerned Forest Range Officer. This account will be called the ‘Government Account’.

f)        For the purpose of management of funds received from other Non – Government sources and the ones internally generated, an account in any bank shall be operated. Such V.S.S. account shall be held and operated jointly by the Chairperson and the Vice Chairperson. This account will be called ‘VSS Account’.

g)      As part of micro-plan preparation a reinvestment program to maintain and enhance the productivity of the forest will be developed and the Managing Committee will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the reinvestment program according to the agreed micro-plan.

 

VI. Constitution and Responsibilities of the Advisory Council at the V.S.S. level

a)      For each V.S.S. there shall be an Advisory Council comprising of the concerned Forest Section Officer, Forest Beat Officer or Forest Assistant Beat Officer, the Panchayat Sarpanch, representative of the Village Tribal Development Agency in scheduled areas (to be nominated by the ITDA), the Village Administrative Officer, the NGO actively involved in assisting the V.S.S., and Village School Headmaster/Headmistress.

b)      The Panchayat Sarpanch shall chair the advisory council meetings. If for any reason he / she is unable to attend the meeting the Forest Section Officer shall preside over.

c)      Constitution of the advisory body shall be the responsibility of the Forest Range Officer.

d)      Convening meetings of the Advisory Council shall be the responsibility of the Forest Section Officer. Advisory council meetings should be held to facilitate their timely input into micro-plan and annual plan preparation and evaluation and also to coordinate the activities of other departments at V.S.S. level.

e)       The Advisory Council will review micro-plans and annual plans and advise the V.S.S. on strategies and available resources for implementing them.

f)        The advisory council shall meet as often as required.

 

VII. Constitution and responsibilities of the District Forest Committee and ITDA Level Sub-Committee and Forest Division level Coordinating Committee:

A District Forestry Committee shall be constituted with the following; 

  1. District Collector Chairman
  2. Project Director, District Rural Development Agency Member
  3. Project Director, DPIP Member
  4. Project Officer, Integrated Tribal Development Agency Member
  5. Representative of GCC at District level Member
  6. District Tribal Welfare Officer Member
  7. Executive Director, Dist. S.C.S.C. Society Member
  8. Joint Director, Agriculture Member
  9. Joint Director, Animal Husbandry Member
  10. All the Divisional Forest Officers in the District Member
  11. Three NGOs (including at least one Woman Delegate; Member

to be nominated by the AP NGOs Committee on CFM)

  1. 5 V.S.S. members nominated by the District Collector Member

(at least 3 members shall be women)

Head quarters Divisional Forest Officer will be the Convener of the Committee.The tenure of the nominated members shall be one year.

The responsibilities of the District Forest Committee will be as follows;

(a)      The District Forestry Committee shall review implementation of Community Forest Management and provide direction to the Forest Department and other Departments in the holistic development of villages and hamlets where VSS are operating and in adjacent villages and hamlets that may be affected by the implementation of CFM.

(b)     The Committee shall also ensure that there are no duplication of efforts by the various Departments.

(c)      The District Forest Committee shall convey any observations or concerns that require State-level intervention to the State Level Forest Committee.

(d)     The District Forestry Committee shall meet atleast once in three months.

(e)      The District Forestry Committee shall have powers to remove any member of the Managing Committee from the Managing Committee who is convicted of offence(s) under any of the Forest Acts and Rules there under and / or any other offence punishable under any law, or to cancel recognition any Vana Samrakshana Samithi majority of whose members are convicted of having committed offence(s) under any of the Forest Acts and Rules there under and / or convicted of any other offence(s) punishable under any law. The District Forestry Committee shall have powers to cancel recognition of to any V.S.S. which does not function effectively. The decision of the District Forest Committee shall be final.

Sub-Committee at the ITDA level

A Sub Committee shall be constituted with following;

  1. Project Officer, ITDA Chairman
  2. Two NGOs (atleast one shall be woman)Member (To be nominated by the C. F.)
  3. Ten V.S.S. members  (atleast four shall be women)Member (To be nominated by the C.F.)
  4. GCC Representative Member
  5. Sub DFO/ DFO at ITDA headquarters Member Convener

 

The Subcommittee will be responsible for:

    1. Review the implementation of C.F.M activities
    2. Coordinate the activities of the various Government departments to ensure holistic development and avoid duplication of works.
    3. Resolve inter V.S.S. conflicts and conflicts between the V.S.S. and non V.S.S. conflicts.
    4. The committee shall meet once in three months.

Forest Division level coordination committee

            A coordination committee shall be constituted at Forest Division level with the following:

1. Divisional Forest Officer Chairman

2. One representatives each from Agriculture,Department,

    Animal Husbandry Department, Rural development(DRDA),Department,

     Tribal Welfare Department, ITDA, Social Welfare, District S.C.

     Society, GCC, NEDCAP Members

3. Three NGOs Members

4. 5 VSS chairpersons, (atleast 3 women) Members

    This committee is responsible for:

1.      This committee shall meet every month and monitor functioning of VSS

2.      Implementation of  decisions taken in the District Forestry Committee and other meetings.

3.      Ensure coordination of all concerned departments and agencies for proper functioning of VSS.

 

VIII. Constitution and Responsibilities of the State Level Forest Committee

A State level committee shall be constituted with the following to coordinate the Community Forest Management. The committee shall meet once in six months and review the progress of Community Forest Management.

  1. Prl. Secretary Environment, Forests, Science and Technology Department Chairman
  2. Pr. Secretary Social Welfare or his nominee Member
  3. Secy. Panchayat Raj Member
  4. Secy. Rural Development Member
  5. Managing Director A.P.F.D.C. Member
  6. Commissioner, Tribal Welfare Member
  7. Director, Animal Husbandry Department Member
  8. Commissioner, Agriculture Department Member
  9. Managing Director, G.C.C. Member
  10. Nominee of Secretary, Finance Member
  11. Director, Women and Child Welfare Department Member
  12. NGOs 2 Nos.  (nominated by the AP NGOs Committee on CFM) Member
  13. Representative of Ministry of Environment and Forests (Govt.of India) Member
  14. Prl. Chief Conservator of Forests, A.P. Hyderabad.Member Convener

 

X. Duties and Responsibilities of Forest Department

a)              The field level staff shall work in close liaison with the V.S.S.

b)            The forest department staff shall ensure that the activities of the V.S.S. are in accordance with the guidelines of Community Forest Management issued in this order and other rules and laws in force of G.O.I. and G.O.A.P.

c)             In all cases where offenders against forest laws have been handed over to the forest officers the concerned forest beat officer shall inform the Managing Committee on subsequent action taken and any fees due to them.

d)            Until such time as the V.S.S. can undertake the task, the forest department shall prepare estimates for works. V.S.S. which are able to take up this responsibility are encouraged to do so at the earliest.

e)             To facilitate review of the cost of works the Forest Section / Beat Officer shall provide copies of the Forest Schedule Rates to the V.S.S. Managing Committee in a timely manner.

f)              The Forest Department will impart trainings to V.S.S. members on aspects of forest management including but not limited to management planning, use of Global Positioning System, map interpretation, silviculture, nursery raising, grafting of high yielding varieties, etc.

g)             To reduce the problem of the VSS chairperson approaching the D.F.O. and forest range officer frequently for N.T.F.P. permits, the D.F.O. may sanction sufficient number of permits for NTFP in advance and keep with the concerned Forest Section Officer

 

XI. Role of NGOs., NGIs, other line agencies,

a)              Associated NGOs, NGIs, and other competent authorities will facilitate the functioning of the V.S.S. and impart training to V.S.S. on marketing and value addition of the forest produce,  accounting procedures, Micro-credit, conflict resolution etc.

 

XII. Rights and Privileges of the Vana Samrakshana Samithi:

1. Vana Samrakshana Samithi shall be entitled to the following forest produce obtained from forests managed by them;

a)      All Non-timber Forest Produce.

b)      100% of the incremental volume of timber and bamboo harvested from the forest (in accordance with the agreed micro-plan or annual plan), as measured from a baseline established at the time of VSS formation (or in absence of a baseline as estimated and agreed by a majority of VSS members).

 

The same shall be passed on to the Vana Samrakshana Samithi as prescribed below:

i)                    Domestic requirement of the forest products will be set apart and distributed among all the V.S.S. members as per the norms evolved by the Managing Committee. The surplus quantity may be disposed as decided by the managing committee.

ii)                   Any expenditure incurred by the Government on the harvesting and disposal shall be reimbursed to the Government.

iii)                 Expenditure necessary to sustain the productivity of the forests as per the micro-plan shall be deposited in the V.S.S. joint account. This amount shall not be less than 50% of the net income.

iv)                 Balance income shall be deposited in the V.S.S. account and utilized as per decisions taken by the General Body of the Vana Samrakshana Samithi.

2. For offence cases handed over by the Vana Samrakshana Samithi to the forest department, the V.S.S. shall be entitled to a 50% share of Compounding fees as prescribed below;

a)         The forest produce seized shall not be from the V.S.S. area.

b)        No V.S.S. member should be involved in the forest offence.

c)         The advance compounding fees collected if any shall be deposited into the joint account ( VSS Account) till such time the competent authority issues compounding orders. This amount shall not be utilized  for any purpose. 

d)        It shall be at the discretion of the compounding authority to compound the offence as provided under the A.P. Compounding and Prosecution rules.

e)         The V.S.S. shall not be paid any amount unless Compounding Fees are collected. 

f)          If the competent authority does not compound the case, V.S.S. will be sanctioned 50% of the value of the produce as incentive.  The value of the produce for this purpose will be taken as the same as the value of the produce recorded in the offence case.  . This incentive amount shall be paid only after the completion of confiscation proceedings by the competent officer.

g)         The share of the V.S.S. shall be paid from the compounding fees collected and the balance shall be remitted to the Government by the forest department.  

h)         The concerned Forest Beat Officer/ Forest Section Officer shall hand over proper receipt to the V.S.S. for produce/vehicles handed over to him in offence cases. 

 

 

i)           The amounts realized from offence cases would be deposited in the V.S.S. account and utilized exclusively for village development works in accordance with decision of the general body.

3. The V.S.S. shall be entitled to a 50% share of the beedi leaf net revenue arising out of the beedi leaf produced in the V.S.S. area. This 50% share of the net revenue shall be deposited in the V.S.S. account and utilized for development works as prescribed in the micro-plan.

 

XIII. Micro-planning and Annual Planning

a)      The Managing Committee and members of the V.S.S. through a participatory and equitable process including scheduled tribes, scheduled castes, women, and other disadvantaged sections shall prepare a micro-plan and annual plan in accordance with the guidelines issued by the forest department. 

b)      The micro-plan shall include various operations of village and forest development, maintenance of bio-diversity, soil and moisture conservation, and livelihood support for the forest dependent members and keeping sustainable forest management as the broad objective.

c)      The V.S.S. shall decide the choice of the species for planting subject to the Forest Laws in vogue.

d)      The Micro-plan shall contain a detailed harvesting and regeneration plan, which shall be consistent with the overall prescriptions of working plan covering the area.

e)      Adequate care and measures shall be prescribed in the micro-plan to manage grazing in the forests of the V.S.S.

f)        The managing committee shall at the beginning of the financial year prepare an annual plan of operation. During annual plan preparation the micro-plan will be reviewed and updated as needed.

g)      All estimates of works to be undertaken will be prepared by the responsible officer of the Forest Department and will be reviewed by the Managing Committee. The Managing Committee will seek advice from the Advisory Council as needed.

h)      All Micro-plans and proposed changes to micro-plans shall be put before the General Body for approval. Where the General Body does not agree with any of the provisions of the Micro-plan, the Managing Committee shall carry out such changes as are necessary.  Where the advisory council does not agree with the provisions made in the Micro-Plan they shall discuss the same during a General Body Meeting and their advice will be incorporated if a majority of Members agree. Finally the micro-plan will be placed before the Divisional Forest Officer for approval.  If the Divisional Forest Officer finds that any of the provisions of the Micro-plan are in contravention of the National and/or State Forest Legislation, the Managing Committee shall carry out such changes as are necessary to conform to said legislation, obtain approval of the General Body, and resubmit the micro-plan to Divisional Forest Officer for approval.

i)        At the close of the financial year a completion report showing the activities planned in the micro-plan, activities taken up during the year, funds received, amounts spent on each item of works shall be placed before the General Body and seek its approval for the deviations if any.

 

XIV. Transparency in Working:

1.      Only V.S.S. members would execute works included in the micro-plan.  The Forest Department should bring no contractor to carry out these works. However, if some skilled workers are required to be brought from outside their payment should be done by the V.S.S. Chair Person after duly discussing the details with the Managing Committee and recording it in the Minutes Book. No Forest Officer should make payment directly for works carried out within the V.S.S.

2.      Before the withdrawal of funds from the joint account, a resolution should be passed by the Managing Committee indicating the works done and amounts to be paid and recorded in the minutes book.  In the absence of such a resolution neither the V.S.S. chairperson nor the Vice Chairperson shall draw any money from the joint account. Any deposit into the Joint Account will be reported to the Managing Committee indicating the amount received and a resolution of receipt will be passed and recorded in the Minutes Book. Whenever a resolution is passed for withdrawal of money indicating the works done for which payments are to be made, a copy of such a resolution should be sent to the Forest Section Officer by the Forest Beat Officer/Assistant Bear Officer. This will keep the Forest Section Officer aware of the works done and funds withdrawn.

3.      Soon after withdrawal of funds from V.S.S. account it should be reported to the Managing Committee, either on the same day or next day, along with the passbook so as to ensure that the managing committee is aware of the funds withdrawn.

4.       For all the works done by the V.S.S. a Muster Roll Register should be maintained on a permanent basis where the names of persons engaged in various works are mentioned, total payable to each should be noted and amount paid is recorded.  The Forest Section Officer or Forest Beat Officer/Assistant Bear Officer should sign this register.

5.      The resolution passed for withdrawal of funds, the actual amount with drawn giving the details of cheque number and amount disbursed must tally.  It will be the responsibility of the Forest Section Officer to check this tally and record it in his diary.

6.      The year-wise funds received, the list of works carried out annually, expenditures incurred, etc., shall be prominently displayed in the village at an appropriate public place for all the villagers to know the activities in the Vana Samrakhana Samithi.

                                                                                                                      H.S.BRAHMA

                                                                                                 PRL. SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT

 

ANNEXURE - II

 MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

 

               We, the Managing Committee Members of the ________________         Vana Samrakshana  Samithi  duly elected by the  Vana  Samrakshana Samithi as per the provisions of G.O.Ms.No.224, dated 11.11.1993,         do hereby  undertake  to  perform  the duties  and  functions  as detailed  in  the  G.O.Ms.No. 13, EFES&T(For III) Dept. dated 12.2.2002 of  the  Forest Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh for proper protection of the Forest(s)/Plantation(s) assigned to this Committee as per the schedule given hereunder

        SCHEDULE:

        1. Name of Vana Samrakshana Samithi

        2. District

        3. Division

        4. Range

        5. Section

        6. Beat

        7. Block, Compartment No.

        8. Area (ha)

        9. Boundary

               North -                         East -

               South -                         West -

 

               In   return  for  the  satisfactory  performance  of  the  above  duties   and  functions,  the Vana Samrakshana Samithi will be entitled to share in the usufructs as envisaged  in  the aforesaid G.O.Ms.No.13,  EFES&T(For III) Dept. dated 12.2.2002.  and  that these usufructory benefits  as detailed in  the  aforesaid  G.O.Ms.No.13, EFES&T(For III) Dept. dated 12.2.2002  shall  be  allowed  only   upon  satisfactory  observance  of  the duties and  functions  by  this  Committee and the individual beneficiaries.

 

        Signature of the Members of the Committee                                            Signature of Witnesses

 

                   Name & Address - Signature                                               Name & Address - Signature

        1.                                                                                                 1.

        2.                                                                                                 2.

        3.                                                                                                 3.

 

               We agree to perform the duties mentioned in G.O.Ms.No.13, EFES&T(For III) Dept.

dated 12.2.2002.    

 

        Signature of Local Forest Officer

 

        S.No.   Name & Designation                                Signature

        1.

        2.

        3.

 

 

                                 We  agree to assist the State Forest Department and V.S.S.   in carrying   out   the  Community Forest Management Plan  and  implementation   of G.O.Ms.No.13,  EFES&T(For III) Dept. dated 12.2.2002.

 

       Signature of witnesses

 

        S.No.           Name & Address                             Signature

        1.

        2.

                    

 

                                                                                                                H.S.BRAHMA

                                                                                    PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT

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