The proposed relocation and rehabilitation of nearly 200 tribal families of Chengadi hamlet ensconced deep inside M.M. Hills Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamarajanagar district will be delayed due to the prevailing COVID-19.
The tribals had volunteered for a relocation in anticipation of an improvement in their living conditions in their existing village located amidst inhospitable terrain without proper approach roads. As a result, the village had seen very little development all these decades and finally the local community sought a relocation.
Though the relocation has been approved in principle and has also received administrative approval, the ground works related to it has come to a halt. Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) V. Yedukondalu told The Hindu that survey related to identification of the extent of land held by each family, assessing the value of their other immovable property etc., was to be conducted by the personnel drawn from the Revenue Department so as to fix the compensation.
“But the Revenue Department staff have been deployed on COVID-19 duty and are fully immersed in fighting the pandemic, which is the top most priority at present and hence the survey and assessment exercise has come to a halt,” he added.
The project entails transferring the existing village and the land surrounding it to the Forest Department in lieu of handing over nearly 150 to 200 hectares of revenue land at Chikkallur where the villagers will be resettled in a phase-wise manner. “Once the village is transferred to the Forest Department, it will be abandoned and nature will reclaim the swathe of land enabling wildlife to occupy the habitat,” said Mr. Yedukondalu.
The rehabilitation project requires nearly ₹30 crore and this includes provision of infrastructure such as roads, water connection, power besides construction of housing units. Chengadi is located about 12 km deep inside the forest and given its remote location, development is stunted. In case of medical emergencies, patients are physically carried to the nearest medicare facility — either at Cowdahalli or MM Hills — as ambulance cannot reach the village in the absence of last-mile connectivity.
Its remote location had made it possible for the dreaded bandit Veerappan to frequent the area without fear of being detected and he could evade the special task force scouring for him, without difficulty. The body of the former Minister Nagappa was found in the vicinity in 2002 which underlines the remoteness of the hamlet.
For the Forest Department, implementation of the rehabilitation package will serve as a template and a model as nearly half a dozen other villages too are keen to relocate. But in view of the pandemic, their wait for a better life has just got longer.