Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 5: Demanding the adaptation of a national model to develop ‘Forest Villages for the Tribal and Nomadic groups’ of Jammu and Kashmir on the prototype of other States, the Scheduled Tribe Gujjar-Bakerwal today called for recognition of its primitive culture through extension of the National Conservation Act, 1980 and Forest Rights Act-2006, to the State.
In a programme organized here by Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation, the speakers sought intervention for the extension of identical legal provision in the State for J&K tribes. They pleaded for constitutional safeguards to rehabilitate the lakhs of the nomadic and semi-nomadic Gujjar-Bakerwal in forest villages.
Dr Javaid Rahi, Secretary, Tribal Foundation who was presiding over the programme said these provisions, if adopted, would help to rehabilitate the landless tribal communities especially Gujjars-Bakerwals legally and constitutionally in areas belonging to it since centuries.
He said that a delegation of Foundation will meet Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Tribal Minister, Zulfkar Chowdhary soon to apprise them that since these Acts had not been extended to J&K, the nomadic communities are facing a lot of problems with regard to their seasonal settlements and overall socio-economic and cultural development.
Quoting RTI data received from Union Tribal Ministry, Ch Ghulam Sarwar Chouhan, a senior functionary of the Foundation said that presently 2,474 forest villages, habitations exists in 12 States of India but no such village exist in J&K.
“The RTI record provided by Tribal Ministry revealed that after the enactment of the 1980 Law and Forest Right Act in 2006 a programme was launched during the 10th Plan for the integrated development of thousands of forest villages originally identified with about 22.5 lakh tribal families from all over the country which were rehabilitated except J&K.
The data said Rs 65379.04 lakh were released to 12 states for the purpose and no money was released to J&K as act was not adopted by the State, he quoted.
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