New Delhi, In the Ramgarh district of Jharkhand, India, local Adivasis are facing land seizures by authorities under an afforestation initiative. The land in the Jitra Tungri area, previously used by Adivasis for various purposes including cultivation and grazing, is reportedly being targeted for a central government scheme led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the scheme operational in Jharkhand involves compensating for forest clearing in one area by planting trees in another, often leading to the selection of Adivasi lands. Villagers in Jitra Tungri have expressed concerns that their land is being used to compensate for forests cleared elsewhere for mining projects.
The Jharkhand forest department’s actions, such as digging pits and trenches and planting non-beneficial trees, have disrupted local farming practices. This intervention has reportedly hindered access to farmlands, ceased cultivation activities, and pushed the farmers towards poverty. Despite villagers suggesting alternative plots for afforestation, their recommendations were allegedly ignored by the department.
The majority of Jitra Tungri’s residents belong to scheduled tribes and oppose the forest department’s afforestation project. The loss of forest land and its products is a significant blow to their tribal identity and livelihoods.
From 2009 to 2023, India approved the diversion of 305,000 hectares of forest land for non-forest use for over 17,000 projects, with Jharkhand hosting a large number of these projects. The afforestation initiative in question has affected farming, pastoralism, and other forest-dependent activities, raising concerns about violations of individual or community forest rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
This conflict between forest rights and plantation schemes is not new in India, as reported by various tribal rights organizations. Critics argue that most forest-related policies in India conflict with the Forest Rights Act, leaving the fate of local communities in the hands of local administration.