Special task force to be mobilised to protect forestland

Agartala, June 30 (UNI) Tripura forest authority has decided to mobilise special task force to protect the reserve forestland in Boxnagar area along Indo-Bangladesh border of West Tripura, official sources here today said.

At least 25 illegal occupant families had been evacuated from reserve forest area and a complaint of violation of Forest Act had been lodged against them, sources added.

Reportedly, everyday there was an attempt by the fenced victims to occupy the forestland in the area and forest guards were not sufficient to combat the activities, said a senior forest department official.

According to the report, a huge area had been fenced and about 1,300 poor families in Boxnagar had been displaced due to the erection of barbed wire fencing while 70 per cent of the victims have land inside India, which compelled them to occupy the reserve forest.

''The occupation of forestland was started a few days back.

Last month, we held a meeting with State Forest Minister Jitendra Choudhury, local public representatives and the victim families, where the minister made it clear that the government was seriously thinking of the issue and matter would be settled soon,'' said Range Officer Ashok Choudhury.

He also stated that the state government had sent the proposal of allowing the people to use the forestland to the Ministry of Environment and Forest but nothing had been received from the Centre yet.

''Unless we get clearance from the Centre, we cannot allow anybody to use the reserve forestland,'' Mr Choudhury said, adding that despite the construction of gates at regular intervals in the fence, Indian farmers were facing serious problems in cultivating their lands which fell outside their territories.

Meanwhile, the victims alleged that the forest authorities of the state had been going against community rights so as to expand their power, with the forest officials attempting to use Joint Forest Management procedure to take over community lands.

UNI