Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 14: Demanding the adaptation of a national model to develop ‘forest villages for the tribal and nomadic groups’ of J&K on the pattern of other States, the Scheduled Tribe Gujjar-Bakerwal on Sunday called for 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 (TRCF), the speakers said that rehabilitation of nomadic Gujjars-Bakerwals is a humanitarian issue and sought Chief Minister’s intervention for the extension of National Acts or identical legal provision in the State for tribes. They pleaded for constitutional safeguards to rehabilitate the nomadic and semi-nomadic Gujjar-Bakerwal in forest villages.
The speaker asked community members to identify the black sheep among Gujjars-Bakerwals who are exploiting tribals since centuries. They cautioned the community to be vigilant from land mafia.
Dr Javaid Rahi, secretary, Tribal Foundation said these provisions, if adopted, would help in rehabilitating the landless tribal communities especially Gujjars-Bakerwals legally and constitutionally in areas belonging to it since centuries.
He said the data from Tribal Ministry reveals 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 Jammu and Kashmir. 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.
The speakers said there were thousands of tribal forest villages developed with the financial assistance of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in different States, but the nomads of J&K were without any such facility.
Those who spoke included Ch Jamsheed Jazab, Mushtaq Banya, Aziz Hassan, Abdul Rashid Jangal, Arif Dhedadh, Dr Shabir Kassana, Dilnawaz Hussain Chowdhary and others.
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