GOVERNMENT
OF INDIA
MINISTRY
OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS
DEPARTMENT
OF ENVIRONMENT, FORESTS AND WILD LIFE
PARYAVARAN
BHAVAN, C.G.O.COMPLEX, B-BLOCK, Lodi Road, New Delhi.
Dated:
1st June 1990.
To
The
Forest Secretaries
(All
States/U Ts)
Sub: - Involvement of village
communities and voluntary agencies for regeneration of
degraded forest lands.
Sir,
The National Forest Policy, 1982 envisages people?s involvement
in the development and protection of forests.
The requirements of fuelwood, fodder and small timber such
as house-building material, of the tribals and other villagers
living in and near the forests, are to be treated as first charge
on forest produce. The Policy document envisages it as one of the essentials
of forest management that the forest communities should be motivated
to identify themselves with the development and protection of
forests from which they derive benefits.
2.
In a D.O. letter No.1/1/88-TMA dated 13th January,
1989 to the Chief Secretary of your state, the need for working
out the modalities for living to the village communities, living
close to the forest land, usufructory benefits to ensure their
participation in the afforestation programme, was emphasized by
Shri K.P.Geethakrishnan, the then Secretary (Environment and Forests)
3.
Committed voluntary agencies/NGO?s, with proven track record,
may prove particularly well suited for motivating and organizing
village communities for protection, afforestation and development
of degraded forest land, especially in the vicinity of habitations. The State Forest Departments/Social Forestry
Organisations ought to take full advantage of their expertise
and experience in this respect for building up meaningful people?s
participation in protection and development of degraded forest
lands, The voluntary agencies/NGOs may be associated as interface
between State Forest Departments and the local village communities
for revival, restoration and development of degraded forests in
the manner suggested below
(i)
The programme should be implemented under an arrangement
between the Voluntary Agency/NGO, the village community (beneficiaries)
and the State Forest Departments.
(ii)
No ownership or lease rights over the forestland
should be given to the beneficiaries or to the Voluntary Agency/NGO.
Nor should the forestland be assigned in contravention of the
provisions contained in the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
(iii)
The beneficiaries should be entitled to a share
in usufructs to the extent and subject to the conditions prescribed
by the State Government in this behalf.
The Voluntary Agency/NGO should not be entitled to usufructory
benefits.
(iv)
Access to Forestland and usufructory benefits should
be only to the beneficiaries who get organized into a village
institution, specifically for forest regeneration and protection. This could be the panchayat or the Cooperative
of the village, with no restriction on membership. It could also be a Village Forest Committee. In no case should any access or tree pattas
be given to individuals.
(v)
The beneficiaries should be given usufructs like
grasses, lops and tops of branches, and minor forest produce. If they successfully protect the forests, they
may be given a portion of the proceeds from the sale of trees
when they mature. (The
Government of West Bengal has issue orders to give 25% of the
sale proceeds to the Village Forest Protection committees.
Similar norms may be adopted by the other states).
(vi)
Areas to be selected for the programme should be
free from the claims (including existing rights, privileges concessions)
of any person who is not a beneficiary under selection of beneficiaries
should be done in such a way that any one who has a claim to any
forest produce from the selected site is not left out without
being given full opportunity of joining.
(vii)
The selected site should be worked in accordance
with a working scheme, duly approved by the State Government.
Such scheme may remain in operation for a period of 10 years and
revised/renewed after that. The Working Scheme should be prepared in consultation
with the beneficiaries. Apart
from protection of the site, the said scheme may prescribe requisite
operations, eg. Inducement to natural
regeneration of existing rootstock, seeding, gap filling, and
wherever necessary, intensive planting, soil-moisture conservation
measures etc. The working Schemes should also prescribe other
operations eg. Fire-protection, maintenance
of boundaries, weeding, tending, cleaning, thinning etc.
(viii)
For raising nurseries, preparing land for planting
and protecting the trees after planting, the beneficiaries should
be paid by the Forest Department from the funds under the social
forestry programme. However, the village community may obtain funds
from other Government agencies and sources for undertaking these
activities.
(ix)
It should be ensured that there is no grazing at
all in the forestland protected by the village community. Permission to cut and carry grass free of cost
should be given so that stall-feeding is promoted.
(x)
No agriculture should be permitted on the forest
land.
(xi)
Along with trees for fuel, fodder and timber, the
village community may be permitted to plant such fruit trees as
would fit in with the overall scheme of afforestation, such as
aonla, Imli, mango, mahua etc., as well as shrubs, legumes and
grasses which would meet local needs, help soil and water conservation,
and enrich the degraded soils/land. Even indigenous medicinal plants may be grown
according to the requirement and preference of beneficiaries.
(xii)
Cutting of trees should not be permitted before
they are ripe for harvesting.
The forest department also should not cut the trees on
the forestland being protected by the village communities except
in the manner prescribed in the Working Scheme. In case of emergency needs, the village communities
should be taken into confidence.
(xiii)
The benefit of people?s participation should go
to the village communities and not to commercial or other interests,
which may try to derive benefit in their names.
The selection of beneficiaries should therefore, be done
from only those families which are willing to participate through
their personal efforts.
(xiv)
The Forest Department should closely supervise
the works. If the beneficiaries
and/or the Voluntary Agency/NGO fail or neglect to protect the
area from grazing, encroachment or do not perform the operations
prescribed in the Working Scheme in a satisfactory manner, the
usufructory benefits should be withdraw without paying compensation
to anyone for any work that might have been done prior to it.
Suitable provisions in the Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) for this purpose should be incorporated.
Yours faithfully
Sd/- Mahesh Prasad
Secretary to the Government of India.
//
True Copy//
Superintendent.