HYDERABAD: Panchayat raj minister Danasari Anasuya Seethakka on Thursday called for giving full rights to the grama sabhas in Agency areas to take decisions on development and facilities for people living in forest areas. Seethakka said tough rules on forest protection were coming in the way of development, and even provision of basic necessities and services to villages in Agency areas.
The minister was addressing a national conference on implementation of the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996 in New Delhi. Seethakka cited examples of how in the forest areas of Mulugu constituency in Telangana, a school and a clinic had to be set up in containers as forest protection laws were unyielding even when it came to creation of basic facilities.
“Forest protection laws have become a hurdle for any local development and the Centre must make amendments in the rules and ensure that the PES Act provisions can be implemented with just a resolution of the grama sabha,” she said. According to a press release from her office, Seethakka’s proposal found widespread support from panchayat raj ministers from other states attending the conference.
Because permissions are not being given for electricity lines through the forests, many tribal villages and hamlets did not have electricity and are forced to depend on solar power. In Eturunagaram, people used the solar-powered charging points provided by the Integrated Tribal Development Agency to charge their mobile phones and use the lights of the phones at night, she said.
Permissions, however, are granted quickly for mining operations, and large projects in forest areas. “Many Central government schemes are not being implanted in forest areas because of the restrictions. It is time that the Centre takes steps to remove these anomalies and ensure development reaches forest villages and dwellings,” she said.
