Bidapaju Village: Community Ownership of Forest Rights After 15 Years

A woman carrying water to her home in Bidapaju village in Odisha’s Nayagarh district. Photo: Arabinda Mahapatra

The residents of Bedapaju Village in Odisha’s Nayagarh district were unaware of the Forest Rights Act, even though it was enacted 14 years ago and they refused to believe its existence when they were informed by a non-profit. They felt that it was too good to be true. In 2020, first officials marked 84 trees that were to be chopped down and sold for timber, and the villagers had no say in the matter. It took several readings of the act by the volunteers of Nirman NGO to help them understand that it was in place to protect their rights. Nayagrah Divisional Forest Officers echoed the concerns of the departments in other states and maintained that Van Suraksha Samitis (VSS) should be put in place of community forest resource rights. She maintained that giving ownership to locals will hinder the forest department’s activities, titles have been given and plans have been made for the management of the forest. The villagers felt that they would have been voiceless in VSS. Ravi Narrayan Parida, Program Officer at Nirman said that they had a hard time convincing the villagers that the forest belongs to them as it is common practice for the forest department to keep forests under them until local NGOs inform people that it is rightfully theirs, The next hurdle was to map the village boundary as they were shown the traditional boundary and the adjacent village, Manjari was doing the same as a dispute broke out. They understood the importance of moving past the quarrel and decided to use the old mango tree as a landmark or demarcation of the boundary. A signboard with the name, area, and other details made it official, as the village claimed 738 acres of land under the CRFR. The villagers now feel a sense of belonging and have already chalked out a plan for village and timber, protection, and conservation. This ownership has made them conscious and they look forward to free and fair transactions. Read the full story on the link below-

SOURCE: Down to Earth