Kerala: People vigil committees to assist forest department

KOZHIKODE: The forest department seems to have realised that  without local support it cannot  protect the forest.  In the wake of widespread clashes between the forest department personnel and local communities on the sidelines of increasing man-animal conflict,  it is planned to form  local-level people’s vigil committees (Janajagratha Samithies)  in all vulnerable village panchayats across the state. The people’s representatives from the respective civic bodies would be members of the committee along with three farmers of the locality.

The range forest officer would be the convener of the committee in which the presidents of  eco-development committees also would be members. The others would be the district panchayat member,  block panchayat member, veterinary surgeon, agriculture officer, ward councillors and village officer. Principal chief conservator of forests (head of forest forces) S.C. Joshy told DC that the department was  unable to handle the  issues that crop up in the  forest stretches every day. “We need more hands to work with and adequate local support for resolving the issues for which the Janajagratha Samithies would be essential,” he added.

Every day one elephant is killed or an elephant kills somebody at some forest region of the state. So if we have local-level participation it would be easy to sort out the issues and address the grievances of the victims at the earliest, he added. “We have more than 50 vulnerable panchayats in the state where the committees would be helpful for the forest department,”  he said.  However,  the forest officials and environmentalists feel that the power to select and clear applications for compensation also should be handed over to these committees to avoid complaints and consequential hostile attitude towards forest officials and the forest itself.