34 families to be relocated from Kudremukh park

As many as 34 families, including five tribal families, will relocate from Kudremukh National Park in Chikkamagaluru district following the recent decision of the district level relocation committee to provide substantial relief for landless families as well.

The five tribal families, who have got land under the Forest Rights Act, are also expected to get crops and buildings in the land.

The total relief these families will get is about Rs. 14 crore. Environmentalists and forest dwellers have welcomed the move.

Chikkamagaluru Deputy Commissioner B.S. Shekharappa, who heads the district relocation committee, told

The Hindu on Sunday, that the decision to provide relief for landless families and tribals was taken in March. “There is a set relief package for relocation. As per the package, we have cleared the applications. There are around 300 more applications to clear,” he said.

The State government issued a notification in 2005 fixing the guidelines for relocating over 1,300 families settled in the national park spread over three districts. Among them, 876 families are in Chikkamagaluru district, and the remaining in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada.

The actual process of relocation began only in 2010. As many as 345 families have applied for relocation in the district.

B.M. Akarsha of the Centre for Wildlife Studies said in three years only 35 families were relocated as the funds earmarked for the process were marginal. Besides, the problem was with landless cultivators in the national park, he said.

“The land granted to tribal families under Forest Rights Act is neither transferable nor inheritable. The district committee’s decision to compensate the standing crop in encroached land will certainly help speed up the relocation process,” he added.

Total relief these families will get is about Rs. 14 crore