Four NE states to get funds for forest villages development

Agartala, June 16 (UNI) With a view to improving the infrastructure and human development index of forest-living community, the Centre has decided to convert forest hamlets into revenue villages in four states of Northeast, along with eight other tribal-habitated states of the country.

Official sources here today said altogether 2,474 tribal villages across the country, including 62 of Tripura, 499 of Asom, 85 of Mizoram and 23 of Meghalaya, would come under the project.

After the enactment of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, the state governments were facing problems in taking up non-forestry developmental activities, relating to infrastructure, for improving socio-economic conditions of people living in the villages located in the forest areas but the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, (STOTFD Act) has removed the barrier.

Development of forest villages, having about 2.5 lakh tribal families, was one of the thrust areas of tribal development during the Tenth Five Year Plan, officials said adding that the development envisaged was in terms of providing basic minimum facilities like food, safe drinking water, health care, primary education, construction of roads, irrigation and other infrastructure facilities.

Keeping this in view, Rs 150 crore had been allocated for the development of forest villages during current fiscal while a sum of Rs 46.47 crore had been provided to the four states.

Under the STOTFD Act, 511 forest villages in these four states had already been converted into revenue villages.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Tribal Affairs asked the respective states to send the project proposals for the remaining forest villages and instructed them to mobilise village community for planning, implementation, operation and maintenance of the works.

UNI