Farmer organisations are mounting pressure on the government to ensure public participation for the eradication of Senna spectabilis, an invasive plant species posing serious threat to wildlife habitat in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS).
The ₹5.31-crore project is being executed in 1,672 hectares of the 12,300 hectares of forestland under the Muthanga and Kurichayad forest ranges of the WWS with financial assistance from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
The project envisages eradicating Senna by girdling trees above 10-cm girth and uprooting those below that size.
In separate letters to senior Forest officials, T.C. Joseph, chairman, Wayanad Action Committee on Prevention of Wildlife Attacks, said public participation should be ensured for the successful completion of the long-term project.
Now, the project was awarded to a few private contractors after tender proceedings, and it might lead to corruption and glitches owing to dearth of social auditing and public monitoring.
The Forest department had implemented power fencing and granite wall projects on forest fringes in the three forest divisions in the district a few years ago to mitigate man-animal conflict. But the use of inferior components for power fencing, poor public participation and absence of maintenance resulted in the failure of the projects in the district, Mr. Joseph said.
He called for the participation of eco-development committees, tribespeople, and local workers in the senna eradication project. Committees at district, block and grama panchayat levels comprising elected members of the three-tier local bodies and representatives of farmer organisations should be constituted to monitor the project, he said.
The services of workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) should also be utilised for the project, Mr. Joseph said, adding that follow-up measures should be adopted to remove new sprouts from girdled trees.
