Pathalgarhi-style notice inside Jharkhand's Palamu Tiger Reserve

DALTONGANJ: In a Pathalgarhi-styled move infamous in Khunti, Chaibasa and other tribal-dominated districts of Jharkhand, villagers of Latehar have put up a signboard to declare their rights inside the Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR), citing the Forest Rights Act (FRA). The move is allegedly aimed against the development of the village, which has a hot spring, as a tourist spot.
The signboard put up by the gram sabha under Morwai panchayat of Barwadih block deep inside the reserve warned the PTR officials against taking up development projects which will be harmful to the ecology. The notice in Hindi said the gram sabha is authorised to protect, conserve and manage the community forest resource guaranteed to them by the FRA 2006 and its 2008 rules which were further amended in 2012. A few meters away from the signboard, the villagers also wrote “sari jungle hamari hai (All parts of the jungle are ours)” on a rock.
No member of the gram sabha agrees to come on record over the installation of the signboard fearing administrative action but said it was a declaration of the gram sabha. The declaration in the signboard said it was adopted on April 17, 2018, coinciding with the period when a series of stone tablets were erected under the Pathalgarhi movement in the Khunti district.
The declaration prohibits the setting of fire in the forest, felling of trees and harming the wild animals or the biodiversity of the forest by any sort of activity without the permission of the gram sabha. The villagers have also mentioned that anyone violating the norms would be punished by the gram sabha under Section 5 of the FRA.
Forester (in-charge) Akhilesh Kumar said though the signboard is signed by the gram sabha in 2018, it was erected recently. “The gram sabha notification is just a 'cover up' as some influential tribals want to enjoy control over the forests,” he said, dismissing reports that the villagers unanimously agreed to put up the signage.
PTR (north division) deputy director Kumar Ashish claimed that it is the handiwork of one influential tribal identified as Ganesh Singh. Ashish also said after action by the forest department for felling trees against Singh in January this year, the signboard came into the public domain prominently. Ashish, however, admitted that it was there for long.
It may be noted that a tourist spot is under construction at a hot spring in the village inside the reserve reportedly after getting the nod from the PTR officials.
Talking to TOI, Barwadih block development officer Rakesh Sahay said the villagers have the right over the community forest resource as they were given the title under the FRA. “We are not aware of the signboard put up by the villagers but due to certain technical reasons, we have temporarily restricted construction in the area. The villagers had applied also for PM Awas Yojna after obtaining the land title,” he said.
Asked if a gram sabha permission is necessary for the development of the village into a tourist hotspot, Sahay admitted that there is a provision to take permission from the village entity under the FRA. “The forest department can develop the area as a tourist place and if it wants, we can arrange for a meeting with the gram sabha, but no such proposal has come yet,” he said.
Noted wildlife expert D S Srivastav said the hot water spring can change the look and economy of the village if the gram sabha allows the PTR officials to complete the work.
The approach road to the hot water spring is in a bad shape and there is no privacy for tourists who want to have a hot water bath there.