<p>Order of the Madras High Court regarding relocation of Thengumarahada village in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu.</p> <p>The court said that the guidelines for preparation of the Tiger Conservation
Faced by mounting protests and a 110-day-long hunger strike by a jailed indigenous rights activist, Chile's government has agreed to create a high commission for the rights of the indigenous
prime minister Manmohan Singh recently laid the foundation stone for a controversial hydroelectric project in Arunachal Pradesh. But the project has still not got clearance from the Union Ministry
A 150-year-old aboriginal artefact was unveiled at the South Australian Museum in Adelaide recently. The Wokali bark shield belonged to the Kaurna people of the Adelaide plains and dates back to the
>> Sharing the stage with climate campaigner Al Gore is to open oneself to a self-flagellating guilt trip, Irish rock star Bono confessed at the annual gathering of world movers and shakers in the
As the summer draws to a close, there is a distinct gaiety in most parts of Orissa. There is a spring in the steps of people as they go about preparing for the Jagannath Utsav. In Majhiakhand village
This New Demand Is Being Thrown Up By Tribals Across Gujarat Don't call us vanvasis or forest dwellers. We are adivasis, the original dwellers of Gujarat, aborigines, who were pushed from the plains by more powerful outsiders from areas next to Sabarmati, Mahi or Tapi to the difficult mountainous terrains in the eastern belt. This is the new demand being thrown up by tribals across Gujarat. After the new Tribal Rights Act, which promises the adivasis the right to land in the forests they live in, this is going to be their new plank, as it makes them aware of their ethnic identity. Realizing the main loser in the process will be the BJP and the Sangh Parivar, which have coined the term
The Centre-sponsored Project Tiger Scheme has sent out a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to states as part of a new Five Year Plan that has allocated Rs 600 crore for the cause of the tiger. In keeping with the new-found urgency to preserve the dwindling numbers of tigers, the MoU has asked for all progress to be monitored through photo catalogues and videographing. There are 28 tiger reserves in 17 states. "So far, the states have not had any scope for reciprocal commitment in terms of tiger conservation. We have found that conservation of the tiger is a shared responsibility which the states have to commit to through the MoU. After the MoU has been signed, the Centre will release fund for Project Tiger in the new fiscal year in March,' said Rajesh Gopal, member secretary of National Tiger Conservation Authority. In a meeting last week, the Prime Minister had reviewed the new tiger census, and had asked chief ministers to take "personal responsibility' for the tigers in their states. The tiger count is at an all time low with only 1,411 in the wild. "The scheme will be strictly monitored. All activities will have to be catalogued through photos. For some activities, we will ask for videographing for our permanent records. For activities like relocation of tribals from critical tiger habitats, we will have photo cataloguing at every stage,' Gopal stressed. More than 70 per cent of the budgetary allocations have been done for facilitating rehabilitation of tribals and people living in the critical or core tiger habitats. Out of Rs 600 crore, Rs 345 crore has been allocated for deciding inviolate spaces for wildlife and relocation of villagers from reserves within a timeframe, which includes a revised pay package of Rs 10 lakh per family for relocation. While states have to delineate buffer zones, extending up to 10 km from tiger reserves, families living in buffer zones will be involved in eco-tourism. This means that the tiger's critical habitat within the reserves will not be disturbed by the Forest Rights Act. The security net
One reason why state forest department is badly upset with the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006
The Union tribal affairs ministry has stressed the need for implementation of Forest Rights Act in time-bound manner and urged the states to complete the preliminary work for identification of beneficiaries by the mid-March.
The Union Tribal Affairs Ministry has stressed the need for the implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act in a time-bound manner and impressed upon the States to complete the preliminary work for identification of beneficiaries by the middle of next month.
