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A revolution in Chandrapur has regenerated degraded land and restored the administration of the forests to the people.
A revolution has been taking place over the last 20 years in Saigata village, Brahmapuri taluka of Chandrapur district, Maharashtra. The people of the village have regenerated 280 hectares of forest around the village on what used to be degraded land. After independence, control over access to forest produce shifted from the jagirdar to the Forest Department. A corrupt administration and lack of awareness led to illegal extraction of timber and over-extraction of firewood. By the early-1970s the forests were almost wiped out. Livelihood from the collection of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) was no longer available to the villagers. In 1973, the Krushak Charcha Mandal was established under t! he leadership of a Dalit activist, Suryabhan Khobragade. The aim was to involve the people in forest conservation for environmental and livelihood reasons. Khobragade stressed the relationship between forests, land and water. He called upon the villagers to protect their forests. The message was well-received and the Gram Sabha passed a resolution to protect the forests. The villagers started patrolling the forests to prevent the removal and sale of timber and firewood by outsiders and by people from local villages. They observed charaibandhi (ban on grazing), kurhadbandhi (ban on use of axes) and nasbandhi (population control) and ban on the sale of any form of wood. The villagers were to face many hurdles in their drive to regenerate the forests. In 1985, they confronted the Forest Department which had confiscated grass bundles from them. The villagers freed these bundles as the grass had regenerat! ed only due to their efforts and they made the Forest Department demarcate the forest boundaries. Around the same time a major road was being constructed to the village and the 650 labourers employed were exploiting the forests. The villagers guarded their forests round the clock, leading to confrontations and legal battles. In the late-1980s they employed two chowkidars to guard the forests. The chowkidars were paid through a village fund. In 1993, Naghbid, a Range Forest Officer, asked the villagers to join the Joint Forest Management (JFM) scheme of the government. This gave the endeavour of the villagers legal backing. Under the scheme, plantations, pit-digging etc were taken up, generating more local employment. The villagers are given 50 per cent of the harvested forest produce. Once barren and degraded land is now covered with thick vegetation. The water table in the area has ris! en due to the regenerated forest and agricultural productivity has increased. Jobs have been created through the JFM. The initiatives of the villagers have empowered the community. Wildlife has also returned to the regenerated forests. Now the villagers want to establish a second line of leadership, strengthen their Gram Sabha and become involved in the joint micro-planning process with the Forest Department. Contact: Suryabhan Khobragade
Saigata, near Kirmiti Mendha
Bramhapuri Taluka
Chandrapur district, Maharashtra
India
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