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    Jual Oram’s stand puts him at odds with Nitin Gadkari, Prakash Javadekar

    Synopsis

    Oram continues to be steadfast in his objection to the rules framed by the Maharashtra government, which seeks to undermine the rights of forest-dwelling tribal population.

    ET Bureau
    NEW DELHI: Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram continues to be steadfast in his objection to the rules framed by the Congress-ruled Maharashtra government, which seek to undermine the rights of forest-dwelling tribal population and give management control over the forests to the forest department. Oram’s stand has put him at odds with two of his ministerial colleagues from Maharashtra—Rural Development Minister Nitin Gadkari and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.

    “If provisions of any law or rules and regulation made under the law are in conflict with the provisions of Forest Rights Act then I will step in and my ministry will take action; it doesn’t matter which ministry is in charge. Protecting the rights and ensuring the welfare of the tribal people is my responsibility,” Oram told ET.

    In May this year, the March, the Maharashtra Revenue and Forest department notified the “Maharashtra Village Forest Rules”—a new set of rules that effectively gave the forest department management control over the forests and its produce. These rules were in fact a throwback to the pre-Forest Rights Act days, when the management of forests was in the hands of an institution known as Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs). These Committees have no basis in law, and comprised forest officials and local representatives, with the forest department laying down the dos and don’ts. The Forest Rights Act rendered the JFMC useless and even illegal, as it clearly states that once the community forest rights have been settled, it is the gram sabha that has the final say on the management plan for forests and the harvest of minor forest produce.

    Maharashtra Village Forest Rules were framed under the Indian Forest Act, 1927 and made it clear that the forest department would have the final say on matters relating to the management of forests. These rules state that “village forests" have to be managed according to the Forest Department's working plan, if that doesn’t happen, access to the forest will be denied. Similarly if there is any “encroachment”, fire, death of more than 40 per cent of trees in plantations the forest will be taken back. The harvesting of forest produce like bamboo can only be in accordance to the forest department’s plan. All of which was in contravention of the provisions of the Forest Rights Act.

    On August 13, the ministry of tribal affairs wrote to the Maharashtra government asking them to keep the notification in abeyance, till the ministry “examines it in consultation with legal counsel and conveys its views”. Oram told ET that the ministry was still undertaking consultations, and that Maharashtra rules were still on hold.

    Just six days after the tribal affairs ministry’s letter, on August 19 Rural Development Minister Nitin Gadkari wrote to his colleague Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, asking him to withdraw the ministry’s objections. Gadkari, who forwarded a representations from a sarpanch of Hivre Bazaar, a village in the Ahmednagar district and a Congress MLA from Gadchiroli, wrote in his covering letter that “the local people have welcomed the rules” and more importantly that “the rules have been framed under the Indian Forest Act, 1927, for which the ministry of environment and forests, therefore I request you to take back your objection letter to the Maharashtra government and discuss the matter with the state government and the environment ministry.”

    Gadkari’s letter was followed up with a letter from the environment ministry making the same argument. File notings in accessed communication show that Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar instructed “to convey immediately to the Tribal ministry that this subject matter pertains to the Forest Act, the objection by MoTA should be withdrawn.”


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