The alleged laxity of the State government in allotting fund for a voluntary relocation project has cast a shadow over the lives of hundreds of settler farmers inside the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.
When the project was launched a few years ago, it was to be directly executed by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) under its Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitat Scheme (IDWHS). But, according to the new terms, the total cost of the project will be shared on 60:40 basis by the Central and State governments.
₹18 crore granted
Though the MOEF had granted ₹18 crore a few weeks ago under the project to relocate as many as 232 families, including 77 tribal families of the Chettyalathur settlement under the sanctuary, the State government is yet to allot any amount for the purpose.
According to the guidelines of the IDWHS, a son above 18 years of age irrespective of his marital status; unmarried daughter above 18 years; physically and mentally challenged persons irrespective of their age and sex; minor orphan and a widow or a woman divorcee would be treated as separate families. The eligible families would be provided a compensation of ₹10 lakh each, irrespective of the nature of the land they possessed.
“We are planning to provide ₹6 lakh to each eligible family in the first phase and the remaining amount would be provided later,” sanctuary sources said. The chief officials of the Department had requested the State government’s contribution for the successful implementation of the project, the sources said.
As per a study conducted by the Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, in 2010, as many as 1,388 people in 880 families in 14 settlements inside the sanctuary needed to be relocated in the first phase at an estimated cost of ₹80 crore.
Man-animal conflict
“Though the Forest Department had submitted a proposal for ₹80 crore four years ago, the Ministry had allotted only ₹35.22 crore for the purpose so far,” said Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samiti president N. Badusha. If the project was implemented in a time-bound manner, it would help curb incidents of man-animal conflict in the district, he said.
