Uncertainty lingers over land rights on forest fringe settlements despite interventions

Interventions at the highest levels notwithstanding, the dark cloud of uncertainty that is hovering over families living along the fringes of the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) and the Thattekkadu Bird Sanctuary refuses to part — in the absence of a definitive solution regarding their land rights.

Acting on the State Wildlife Board’s recommendation to redraw the boundaries of the PTR and the bird sanctuary, a committee constituted by the National Board for Wildlife visited Pampavalley and Thattekkadu villages in April this year. Based on these visits, the committee recommended that the State government formulate and implement appropriate guidelines and an action plan in alignment with the Zonal Master Plan mandated for Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZ) ‘‘to promote sustainable development practices’’ in the Thattekkadu and Pampavalley settlement areas.

The proposal also requires the State to transfer 502 hectares of forestland from the Goodrical range in Pathanamthitta to the PTR to compensate for the exclusion of Pampavalley. Similarly, 1,016.94 hectares from the Neriamangalam range under the Munnar forest division must be transferred to offset the reduction in the Thattekkadu sanctuary.

Having accepted the inspection team’s recommendations, the National Board for Wildlife has deferred a final decision until the State government submits the necessary guidelines, action plan and details of the compensatory land to be included in the reserve.

While the board has expressed concern that the excluded areas may be vulnerable to future encroachments without clear guidelines, residents fear that any new guidelines may end up imposing further forest regulations on their land.

“We are apprehensive about the proposed recommendations, especially the action plan to be drawn up by the Forest department. Even if the land is technically excluded from forest limits, ESZ restrictions could still apply. What we want is the freedom to exercise our rights over our land,” said Fr. Mathew Nirappel, vicar of St. Thomas Church, Kanamala.

Sijumon Francis, general secretary of the Farmers Awareness Revival Movement (FARM), which leads the protests in Thattekkadu, has urged the State government to step in and ensure that the redrawing of boundaries doesn’t get entangled in bureaucratic delays.

“As per the current notification, buffer zones of protected areas would still cover these excluded regions. To address this, the government must issue a separate notification declaring a zero-buffer zone in densely populated areas,” he said.