THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The doors have been opened for the tribals to settle on the main land from the forests in Wayanad with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy intervening in the matter to implement the ‘voluntary resettlement of human settlements’.The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) had issued an order for the relocation of tribals who are living in dense forests.The first instalment of `5.5 crore for rehabilitating 55 families from two settlements, Golur and Ammavayal, in Kurichiyadu forest range, was sanctioned and the fund would lapse if the project is not implemented by March this year.Meanwhile, during Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s mass contact programme in Wayanad, he ensured that the rehabilitation of the settlement in Pottankara would be undertaken by the State Government.However, the fund was not allotted and some vested interests wanted Pottankara to be resettled first before the Central Government scheme is implemented. Following the uncertainty, Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi president Badusha and Wayanad Vanyajeevi Kendram Karshaka Kshema Samithi president Thomas Pattamana met the Chief Minister and apprised him of the seriousness of the situation if the MoEF project is not implemented.Instructions were given to the Forest Principal Secretary to take immediate measures to rehabilitate the two settlements. According to Badusha and Thomas Pattamana, the tribals, along with all political parties, are planning to occupy the revenue land of the forest department if the project is not implemented by March this year.The majority of the tribals is in utter poverty as they have sold their cattle and stopped the agricultural activities hoping for rehabilitation. Sulthan Bathery MLA I C Balakrishnan said that of the Rs 5.5 crore, the District Collector received Rs 3.5 crore.The implementing committee, including the people’s representatives from the area, would hold a meeting on February 28 to finalise the mode of implementation of the project and select the beneficiaries. Following the delay in implementing the project, the MoEF gave a relaxation for relocating the tribals without the notification of‘Critical Animal Habitat’. The project is aimed at rehabilitating around 2,750 families living in 110 settlements of Wayanad’s dense forests.When the project was announced, almost all the tribals and non-tribals living in dense forest settlements expressed their desire to leave their forest dwellings. However, the fund for the second phase of the project can be received only after the completion of the first phase before March.The package was either to receive Rs 10 lakh for each family, irrespective of the land in their possession, or relocation by the Forest Department.
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