Over 6,000 villagers who lived devoid of essential government welfare schemes and developmental benefits for decades deep inside forests in Odisha’s Ganjam district are set to embrace a new life with the recognition of their villages as revenue villages under the Forest Right Act.
These people were part of 38 unsurveyed forest villages and for every small developmental activity, they required permission from the forest department. In the census report, these villages are identified as ‘Zero’ villages, but inhabited by people.
The Ganjam district magistrate recently notified the conversion of 38 unsurveyed villages into revenue villages after approval from Board of Revenue, Odisha. The notification says 13 villages each are in Sorada and Polasara tahsils, 7 villages in Dharakote tahsil and five villages in Kodala tahsil in Ganjam district from now will be identified as revenue villages.
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“Life is tough in unsurveyed villages. Most of these villages do not have basic facilities such as water supply projects, schools, anganwadi centres and more importantly all-weather road,” said Barna Baibhaba Panda, Senior Programme Manager, Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), which facilitated the process of conversion under FRA.
“The villagers face difficulties in obtaining caste, resident and income certificates as they do not have valid land record in their names. Without valid land records, revenue officials show reluctance in accepting them as normal citizens and issuing necessary certificates which are required for pursuing education and availing government welfare benefits. They were dependent on permissions of Forest Department,” said Mr. Panda.
The process of recognising these unsurveyed villagers was not easy. “In a process spanning over three months, all the common lands in the villages like Gochar, burial grounds, ponds, orchards, places of worship, playgrounds and other community lands were identified, mapped and demarcated,” he narrated.
District Welfare Office Parikshit Dash played a key role in clearing government huddles. All guidelines of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs were complied with cooperation from all line departments. Individual Forest Rights and Community Forest Rights of these unsurveyed villages were first recognised.
“From now on, Agriculture and Panchayati Raj departments can seamlessly transfer funds for taking up Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act works , crop planning and diversification. Similarly, caste, residential and income certificates can be issued to the villagers easily against individual land titles,” said the FES programme officer.
“The FRA 2006 provides a legal framework for converting all forest, unsurveyed villages or habitation on forestland into revenue villages. The recognition of forest villages as revenue habitats assumes huge significance as only 52 forest villages including 38 from Ganjam have been mainstreamed in past 16-years of implementation of FRA,” said Y. Giri Rao, a leading expert on FRA implementation.
According to Mr. Rao, there are 589 habitations located inside different forests having population of 1.05 lakh in Odisha as per 2011 Census. The colonial forest department had established 22 villagers for carrying out different forestry operations. Until the end of February 2023, 150 applications from 11 districts were received for recognition as revenue villages.
There are 39 unsurveyed villages inside Ganjam district which only one unsurveyed village is left in the district to be mainstreamed.
