Full report - Global Forest Coalition

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Final Report (Draft)
National Workshop on Underlying Causes of
Deforestation and Forest Degradation in India
26th – 28th January 2008
Nabakrushna Choudhary Center for Development Studies,
Bhubaneswar, Orissa
Organized By: Kalpavriksh5 (Pune/Delhi) and Vasundhara6
(Bubhaneswar)
In collaboration with
Global Forest Coalition
(Underlying Causes Initiative)
(Contract regarding the organization of a national workshop on the
Underlying causes of Deforestation and Forest Degradation in India)
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A Pune /Delhi based Environment Action Group.
A Bhubaneswar based research and advocacy organization working in the field of environment and forest.
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National Workshop on Underlying Causes Of Deforestation and Forest Degradation in India (26 – 28 January 2008)
Organized By: Kalpavriksh (Pune/Delhi) and Vasundhara (Bubhaneswar)
Under the aegis of
Underlying Causes Initiative
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Table Of Content
1.
2.
3.
4.
Page No.
Summary Report……………………………………………………………………………………4
Detailed Report………………………………………………………………………………………8
Processes Followed……………………………………………………………………....................22.
Workshop Recommendations……………………………………………………………………….24.
Annexure(s):
Annexure I: (Thematic Research Papers).
Annexure I (a): Globalization and the ecological crisis (Towards a new conceptual
framework for an effective politics). Authored7 by Aseem Shrivastavaa………………29
Annexure I (b): License to Destroy (Environmental Regulatory Framework in the Era of
Economic Growth). Co-authored8 by Manju Menon and Kanchi Kohli………………..45
Annexure I (c): Economic Liberalization, Decentralized Governance & the Adivasis.
Authored9 by Bhabani Das…………………………………………………………..….52
Annexure I (d): Liberalization, Deforestation and Dependence on Forest (A case study of the
most forested district of Orissa, Keonjhar). Authored10 by Prof. Kishor C Samal………74
Annexure I (e): Economic Growth and Deforestation: A study of Orissa Economy. Authored11
by Sushanta Kumar Nayak Samir Ranjan Samantra and Pradeep Kumar Mishra………89
Annexure II: (Case Studies)
Annexure II (a):
Globalization and Deforestation: A Case Study of Lapanga. Authored by
Pradeep Kumar Mishra…………………………………………………………………101
Annexure II (b): Community Struggle for Forest Conservation: A Case Study of Banadurga
Jungle Surakshya Committee, Khedapada, Nayagarh. Authored by Mr. Sankar
Prasad Pani12…………………………………………………………………………...119
Annexure II (c): Khandadhar, life line of northern Orissa (The impact of the mining and related
policies/ programmes were the underlying causes of deforestation and forest
degradation). Co-authored13 by Mr. Kumar Abhishek Pratap and Ms. Tanushree Das.
Field level collaboration was provided by Banai Forestry Federation, Banai Mandal, Banai….142
Annexure III: (Participant Lists)
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The author is an independent writer and researcher.
The authors are members of Kalpavriksh.
The author is a campaign coordinator with Swiss Aid India.
The author is a Professor of Economics, N C Centre for Development Studies, Orissa.
The paper has been co-uthored by Prof. Sushanta Kumar Nayak who is a Reader with the department of
economics, Rajib Gandhi University, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, Mr. Pradeep Kumar Mishra is working as
a Senior Programme Officer with Vasundhara, and Samir Ranjan Samantra is with NABARD, Raipur.
Mr. Sankar Prasad Pani is presently working as the Programme Officer in Vasundhara
Mr. Abhishek Pratap works with Greenpeace and Ms. TanushreeDas is with Vasundhara
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Annexure III (a): Civil Society Representation…………………………………………………………...185
Annexure III (b): Media Representation…………………………………………………………………..187
Annexure IV: (Outreach)
Annexure IV (a): Pirnt media - press release……………………………………………………………...188
Annexure IV (b): Other media - web release ………………………………………………….. ………...189
Annexure V: (Workshop Proceedings)…………………………………………………………190
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1. Summary Report
A national workshop to study causes of deforestation and forest degradation was recently organized in
Bhubaneswar by Kalpavriksh (a Pune/Delhi) and Vasundhara (Bhubaneshwar), under the aegis of
Global Forest Coalition. These are issues of serious concern in Orissa in the post market liberalization
era. Case studies that brought into relief the current situation were presented and discussed at the
workshop.
The case of the Rasol Khesra Jungle, a predominantly Sal forest with two adjoining reservoirs, an
example of a regenerated forest and wildlife - through community initiatives, is a case in point. The
area is a pathway for elephants, and also a habitat for pangolin, wild dog, mouse, deer, hyena, flying
squirrel, etc. Four villages depend on this forest for various forest produce. Earlier, village forest
committees (VFC) managed the forest of about 860 acres by following the thengapalli system (see
page 7 for details) of guarding the forest. Around 1984, some land was leased to Industrial
Development Corporation of Orissa for a sugar industry (Dharini Sugar Mill). This included 119 acres
of the Rasol Khesra forest. In 1989, a Memorandam Of Understanding (MoU) for the continued
protection of the forest inside the mill’s land was signed between the factory and 4 neighboring
villages. No tree was felled between 1990 and 1998(In 1994 the villagers even got the Prakruti
Mitra14 award). In 2004 the factory was sold to ECP Industries Ltd. In 2005 the new owner started
felling forest trees that fell within the bought area. It took strong protests by villagers for the Forest
Department to take cognizance of the offense and book the culprit industry. The Centrally
Empowered Committee (CEC) has taken cognizance of this case on a complaint by Orissa Jungle
Manch15. Strangely, the state government feigned ignorance of Forest Conservation Act’s
requirements regarding tree felling! The matter, now taken up to the level of Supreme Court, is still
pending judgment. Communities were prohibited from collecting fuel, grasses, etc. from the forest
even for domestic consumption. Meanwhile, about 1000 Sal trees were felled in Feb. 2007,
apparently to make a road, at the behest of the District Collector, to pave the way for a godown for
Food Corporation of India. The factory owner and local politicians are mounting pressure on the
villagers through fair and foul means.
The Lapanga (Sambalpur) case - a Village Community Forestry initiative- shows effects of the
current trend of industrialization and mining. This area once constituted a dense forest with a proud
history of over a hundred years of forest protection and management by community (Dalki Praja
Rakshit Jungle16).Situated in the vicinity of the Hirakud water reservoir, its forest is rich in Sal trees.
Two projects are posing threats to the forest as well as to Lapanga’s socio-economic survival, as a
consequence of the industrial policies of the state. Hindalco converted a grazing path into a pucca
road of 2 kms in length and 50 meter width for the purpose of transporting coal mined from an open
cast mine. Bhushan Steel is also laying a water pipeline through this forest. Powerless to do anything,
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Oriya for “Friends of Nature”
Hindi/Oriya word for forum
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Dalki Community protected forest
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there is growing cynicism and passivity amongst the local community towards the forests despite
rampant breaches of law and because of the non-compliance of the Supreme Court’s orders banning
tree felling. Human-Wild Life conflicts have increased. The village forest, a host to avian migrations
from Siberia, is now showing traces of degradation. Coal dust and constant movement of trucks
through forest, are destroying biodiversity. Some flora has already disappeared as indicated by the
reduced availability of Non Timber Forest Produce (esp. beedi leaf).
The negative impacts of small and large industries (local sponge iron units, POSCO etc.), on the
forests around Kandadhar (Sundergarh) are also due to the state policies (mining etc.) of Orissa. .The
area is characterized by dense forests, waterfalls, an elephant corridor (connecting Saranda in
Jharkhand state to Bhamragarh in Chhattisgarh state), limbless lizard (recently discovered, Sepsophis)
etc.. It is also is the origin of 8 major perennial streams. 66% of the overall population of the area
belongs to Scheduled Tribes17. The POSCO iron ore mining project, proposed over 6204 ha, could
affect more than 10000 ha of forest cover. A total sum of Rs. 51,000 crore worth of investment that
has been earmarked for the entire project includes a mine at Kandadhar, a steel plant at Jagatsinghpur,
and a captive port at Paradeep. Despite being components of one and the same project, a separate
clearance for each of the above was sought by POSCO; allegedly as a ruse to avoid obstacles that the
company might otherwise have to face in its efforts towards getting environmental clearances for the
entire project. As matters stand, this has resulted in the granting of total mining leases of over 100 sq
km. Of serious concern is the pollution caused by the 48 sponge iron plants and many small mines,
etc. in the area. Coal mining in Sundergarh has devastated forests and villages. This will only get
worse and will eventually have severe impacts on the survival and livelihood of the people. This
might potentially entail a direct displacement of about 30000 people.
At all these sites, communities have protested against the deforestation. The government however has
bent over backwards to provide subsidies and facilities to the corporate companies, often even
overlooking their violation of environmental laws and policies. Though schemes like JFM have also
created spaces for disprivileged/ vulnerable sections of the community to participate, these are often
only on paper. Besides, the governance framework of Joint Forest Management (JFM) is not
conducive to democratic participation and decision-making. The inherent advantages provided by the
Community Forest Management (CFM) model (site-specificity, flexibility) have been lost due to the
‘one size fits all’ approach of the JFM model. However, a simple uniform system cannot maintain
bio-diversity and will inevitably result in forest degradation.
There is a close link between processes of globalization and the ecological crisis that we witness
today. The logic of the current phase of globalization, dominated by the profit interests is based on
externalization of environmental and social costs of development and inevitably leads to ecological
degradation, loss in biodiversity, socio-cultural loss etc. Rarely do business interests bear the
responsibility of the damage they cause to environment. Globalization promotes trade and corporate
driven conversion of Indian forest resources to meet the fuel needs of the first world. For e.g. iron ore,
coal and other primary minerals are being remorselessly exploited from Orissa without concern for
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These are indigenous tribes listed in the Schedule V of the Constitution of India
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sustainability of natural habitat. Global processes get translated into an environmental regulatory
framework that is hostile to the interests of ecological sustainability and social justice. Recent
environmental laws & notifications have played a nefarious role in creating a space for
environmentally destructive development trends in India. For e.g., 4016 projects have been given
clearance under EIA between 1986 and 2006. States like Orissa provide uncritical support in
facilitating easy environmental/forest clearance to their corporate clients. This is leading to a
destruction of the environment at a hitherto unheard of scale. Changes in decision-making
mechanisms have lead to a greater access to resources for exploitative purposes at the cost of reduced
public participation while resulting in an unbridled spurt of forest and environment clearances without
concern for environmental sustainability. Under the Biodiversity Act, over 90 clearances for access to
bio-resources had been given while almost no work on conservation or empowering communities was
undertaken. This has lead to a weakening of environmental impact monitoring and compliance
processes. Redressal is almost non-existent. The link between the role played by International
Monetary Fund (IMF) loans of the early 90’s and the state of forests in India also needs stress. These
loans were based on conditions of compulsory liberalization, devaluation of currency and
privatization in India. The IMF, while extending loan to India had stipulated 160 conditions; one of
which was devaluation of the rupee. This automatically works in favor of richer countries like the
USA as they can then buy more of India’s outputs and primary mineral resources at cheaper price. It
is often argued that this leads to higher earnings as this automatically results in an increase in demand
for India’s natural resources. However, even if export earnings increase this way, so does resource
extraction. This usually happens at the cost of an irreversible damage to the ecosystem of the country.
Most of the development being promoted by the Orissa government is also in the primary mineral
sector with profits being made by outsiders like POSCO, Sterlite etc. Local people hardly benefit and
yet they have to bear the brunt of the damage to the environment. Untrammeled resource extraction
ensures that ecosystems that got built over centuries get irreparably damaged/destroyed within a few
years. The loss this entails thus far outweighs the gains that increased earnings due to export of
resources promise. Earlier, core areas like steel, coal etc. were largely under the nationalized control
of the government. Opening up of core areas like steel, coal, electricity and mining to private sector
has resulted in rapid deforestation. For e.g., in Orissa, forest diversion doubled in the postliberalization era: (1982-91: 9800 ha; 1992-2004: 19257 ha). One immediately observable indicator of
deforestations impact is the distance that is required to be traveled to collect a shoulder load of fuel
wood (1995: 4.09 km 2000: 7.30 km). This is happening across India. Over half of the total forest
diverted in the last 25 years has happened only in the last 6-7 years.
To reverse the alarming trend of deforestation/displacement we need to
stop fossil-fuel based unsustainable development process and adopt alternative sustainable
processes that provide basic livelihood and social security to all people;
stop leasing remaining forest areas, to mines, industries, and other large-scale commercial or
‘development’ projects;
recognize and legally back gram sabhas for community forest management initiatives
((using Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA), The Scheduled
Tribes And Other Forest-Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 (TFRA).) while
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safeguarding against the misuse of such laws by vested interests to take control of forest
lands;
stop taking over community forest management initiatives through JFM etc. that ignore or
undermine existing community institutions and ensure that partnerships between
government and communities are on the basis of sharing decision-making powers;
help communities sustain on forest based livelihoods, and provide other sources of
employment and livelihood including through the NREGA (National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act).
identify alternatives which provide livelihood, health, education, etc. to people without
destroying the forest.
recognize public hearings as a mandatory tool for democratic decision-making, giving full
responsibility to gram sabhas to organize such hearings.
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2. Detailed Report
2.1 Background
2.1.1 India’s economic policy and its implications for natural resource systems
Around 1991, India, in its effort/bid to catch up with the rest of the developed world, decided to
liberalize its economic policy. In its attempt towards assimilation with the global economy and to reap
the benefit of globalization, market reforms & economic policy changes were made in order to
deregulate a number of sectors. Hitherto existing license raj was significantly reduced, private
enterprise was encouraged, and government investment in public sector enterprise were sought to be
curtailed with an eventual goal of disinvestment. In 1995, India became a member of the World Trade
Organization (WTO). Trade barriers were lifted and foreign direct investment (FDI) was sought and
became the norm. Paralleling the liberalization of the Indian economy and also because of it, there has
been a rise in the culture of consumerism across the nation. Factors in this include the increase in the
urban middle class and an exponential increase in the spending capacity of the same, a dynamically
evolving consumer pattern, an economy geared towards producing products and commodities with
high obsolescence rate, and fast-track life-styles.
Unfortunately the brunt of the pressure of globalization and consumerism is being experienced by
natural systems and indigenous or other traditional communities that are located in geographically
remote areas which are separated from the centers of consumption (mainly the urban and semi-urban
landscape). Natural resource systems are being remorselessly exploited for raw material and energy
sources, to create and feed into lifestyles that are based on needs that are often artificially created and
sustained (often through media campaigns, intellectual discourses etc.) and are based on a blissful
ignorance of the cost to Mother Nature. Secondly, the above-mentioned raw material and energy
sources are used to fuel the growth of a carbon-based (fossil fuel) industrial economy which is based
on the principles of free market competition (amongst multiple producers of similar commodities and
creation of surplus goods (for e.g. luxury cars, cosmetics etc.) and services (for e.g. tourism) without
due consideration to the actual necessity of such outputs or the potential ill effects (for e.g. climate
change) that they may have on the world at large. As a market based economy assumes potentially
infinite consumers (6 billion on last count!!), it also needs sources of raw material and energy that are
infinitely inexhaustible. Unfortunately there is a limit to how much can be extracted from nature
without potentially threatening the balance of the ecosystem.
Impact of State policies on natural resource systems
Given the above scenario, it is little wonder that state governments increasingly competed with each
other to attract foreign investment. Those rich in natural and mineral resources (which probably is the
case with most of the states in India) found preferences with Indian as also trans- and multi-national
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companies. State governments also tailored their development plans (and hence economic policies) to
meet the needs of such companies. Little heed was paid to the fact that these policies may be bringing
industrial forces directly in conflict with the conservation concerns and thus pose a threat to forest
cover, plant and animal biodiversity and community survival. They also completely ignore the
possibility of local resource based economic development. Non-recognition of customary rights, state
takeover of common property resources, and other such factors, have limited the extent to which
people living within these areas can have a stake in protecting these forests from degradation.
National and international markets are increasingly impinging on the most ‘remote’ of communities
and forest resource bases. Fast moving industrialization processes are threatening forests in one or all
of the following way:
1. Directly through deforestation.
2. Indirectly through ecological damage such as pollution thereby causing slow death of forest
and forest dwellers.
3. By disrupting the value system of the community, shrinking spaces of negotiation and thus
leading to increased conflicts.
4. Pressure of external market forces, and so on.
Justification
Given the above situation, it becomes necessary to understand the short and long-term ramifications
of these policy changes at the state and the national level vis-avis the conservation of the forests and
biodiversity of the nation. A Workshops to facilitate a common understanding of the “Underlying
Causes of Deforestation and Forest Degradation” between stake holders, policy makers, NGOs etc.
was held in Bubaneswar at the Nabakrushna Choudhary center for Development Studies,
Bhubaneswar, Orissa between 26th – 28th January 2008.
The primary aim of the workshop was to open up space for:
i.
ii.
iii.
Sharing of ideas through paper/case-study presentations and group discussion on the impact of
certain acts, policies and notification on the forest situation in India.
Building awareness among the policy makers and citizenry regarding the role of communities’
efforts in conservation and about the threats faced by them.
Creation of the platform where communities involved in biodiversity conservation interact;
share their ideas and experiences and find the collective solutions to the threats faced by them,
so that they can further refine their efforts of conservation and protect forest cover.
2.1.4 Objective
The objectives of the workshop were:
• To gain a deeper understanding of the underlying causes of deforestation and forest
degradation in India, using site-specific case studies.
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•
To raise public awareness, especially amongst policy-makers and the media, especially on
specific activities that can help address the issue of underlying causes of deforestation and
forest degradation
To help build capacity of community based organizations and other stakeholders to develop
responses to these causes.
2.2 The Workshop
2.2.1 Direction Setting
As mentioned above, as national level workshop on Underlying Causes of Deforestation and Forest
Degradation in India was held in Bhubaneshwar between 26-28th January 2008. The workshop was
organized by Kalpavriksh (a Pune/Delhi based NGO) and Vasundhara (a Bhubaneshwar based NGO)
under the aegis of the Global Forest Coalition, a network of civil society organizations working to halt
deforestation across the world. Specifically, the participation of the following was sought:
a. Indigenous organizations and local community groups
b. National NGOs
c. Media representatives
d. Government official and policymakers
e. Lawyers, Social Activists( Environmental and human rights based)
f. Embassies of the Netherlands and Finland.
Participants at the workshop included civil society representatives from Orissa, Maharashtra, and
Delhi, community representatives from Nayagarh, Sundergarh, Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Angul, and
Koraput districts of Orissa, academics from various universities, and other institutions such as NCDC.
The participants were introduced to the theme and the end objectives of the workshop by Mr. Milind
Wani of Kalpavriksh.
The workshop was inaugurated by Prof. Radhamohan, Commisioner - State Information
Commission. In his inaugural speech, Prof. Radhamohan, said that the developmental model that
India adapted historically has played a vital role in inducing processes that have led to the massive
deforestation that we witness today. India’s forest policies, experiments in social forestry and
protective forestry etc., have also played a crucial role in this and were among the major causes
behind degradation of natural forests. Over all, India lost 47 million hectare of forest during the
period between1950 and 1980. Forests are thus “too important a matter to be left to the Forest
Department (FD)”.
2.2.2 The reality of Deforestation and Forest degradation
2.2.2.1 Case- Study Presentations
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Five case studies that brought into relief the seriousness of the issue of deforestation in Orissa were
presented and discussed at the workshop. These include:
1. Banadurga Jungle Surakshya Committee, Khedapada, Nayagarh. (community protected forest
threatened by sugarcane mill) – Mr. Sankar Prasad Pani
2. Lapanga, Sambalpur dist (forest conserved by community for over 100 years, threatened by
Hindalco mining, Bhushan Steel pipeline, and other industries) - Mr. Pradeep Mishra
3. Khandadhar (lifeline of northern Orissa and homeland of Paudi Bhuyans, threatened by
mining and related activities proposed by POSCO) – Kumar Abhishek Pratap & Tanushree
Das
4. Gadabanikilo village, Nayagarh district (Joint Forest Management destroying self-organized
community forest management) – Prateep K. Nayak
5. Winners and Losers of Forest Resources (An Understanding on Causal Connections) – Dr.
Premananda Panda
In what follows, a detailed summary of the presentations made by field based researchers is provided.
1. The first case-study entitled “Banadurga Jungle Surakshya Committee, Khedapada, and Nayagarh.
(a community protected forest threatened by sugarcane mill)” as presented by Shankar Prasad Pani
(Vasundhara) spoke about the struggle those local communities had to face to conserve about 800
acres of Rasol Khesra Jungle near Khedapada in Nayagarh District in Orissa. The Rasol Khesra
Jungle is predominantly a regenerated Sal forest, an elephant corridor, and home to various animals
like the pangolin, wild dog, mouse, deer, hyena and the flying squirrel. In 1979, a Village Forest
Committees (VFC) was formed to conserve and manage the forest by 7 people from the surrounding
four villages dependent on this forest for various forest produce. The method of forest conservation
and protection involved the traditional thengapalli system, where a member of the committee
patrolled the forest everyday along with the Jaguali (guard) to protect the forest of about 860 acres.
Thengapali (Thenga – baton, Pali- free/volunteer labor for community), also interpreted as “turn of
baton”, is an ancient forest management practice ( now being studied at the Andrews’ Endowed
Church of England Primary School and Glasllwch Primary School as a geography subject ) that has
attracted forest management gurus all over the world. In the thengapali system, baton(s) left outside
the door of one or more households in a village (or a hamlet) identify the household(s) from which
one member will volunteer for patrolling a forest patch for the following day. With batons in their
hand, these volunteers ensure that the forests are protected from illegal tree cutting and forest produce
collection. If anybody is caught stealing forest produce then they are produced before the forest
committee for punitive measures. The committee is obviously empowered to deal with such cases.
One thing to be noted is that even those hamlets that have hired a Jaguali (guard) to watch and ward
the forest follow this practice where a volunteer accompanies the guard. Around 1984, 119 acres of
this forest protected by the VFC was leased to Industrial Development Corporation of Orissa (IDCO)
to set up the Dharini Sugar Mill (a co-operative). In 1989, the VFC members representing the 4
villages signed a MOU with the managing board of the sugar mill which stated that the villagers
would continue to protect the forest inside the leased land. As a result, no tree was felled by the sugar
mill between 1990 and 1998. In 1994 the villagers received the Prakruti Mitra award in recognition
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of their forest conservation efforts. However, in 2004 the factory was sold to ECP Industries Ltd (a
Private company) and in 2005 the new owner started felling trees that fell within the community
protected forest area. No cognizance of this large scale felling was taken by the FD till strong protests
were lodged by villagers and only then did the FD book a case against the culprit industry. The
Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC) took cognizance of this case on a complaint by Orissa
Jungle Manch.. The matter is currently in the Supreme Court and is still pending judgment. In the
mean time more than 1000 Sal trees were felled in February 2007, apparently at the behest of the
collector to make a road to a Food Corporation of India godown. Moreover after the case went to
court, communities were prohibited from collecting fuel, grasses, etc. from the forest even for
domestic consumption and the factory owner, who is alleged to be hand in glove with politicians has
been harassing the local protectors of the forest by incriminating them in false cases and by other foul
means in an attempt to strangle the resistance against the deforestation of the Rasol Khesra Jungle.
These recent occurrences have had a huge negative impact on both the forest vegetation as well as on
community efforts
2. The second case-study entitled “Lapanga, Sambalpur dist (forest conserved by community for over
100 years, threatened by Hindalco mining, Bhushan Steel pipeline, and other industries)” as presented
by Pradeep Mishra’s (Vasundhara) spoke of the Lapanga Village Community Forestry initiative in
Sambalpur District of Orissa, and the effect of the current trend of industrialization and mining on
the same. This area once constituted a dense forest and has a proud history of over a hundred years of
forest protection and management by community (Dalki Praja Rakshit Jungle) .The village is situated
in the vicinity of the Hirakud water reservoir and its forest is rich in Sal trees. This village had been
earlier displaced during the construction of the Hirakud reservoir and people had been given patches
of land as ex-gratia compensation for the productive land mass that they had lost. Some people in this
village had donated even this patch of land for forest regeneration. Over the years the village has
developed its own innovative and unique system of forest protection and this has also created a
positive impact on neighboring villages that have started similar forest protection practices. However,
the village now faces challenges from the industrial policy of the state which has led to deforestation
and which in turn threatens the socio-economic survival, of this village community. The initial threat
came from Hindalco when it converted a grazing path into a road of 2 kms in length and 50 meter in
width for the purpose of transporting coal mined from an open cast mine. Bhushan Steel added to the
woes of this forest protecting village by laying a pipeline right through this forest. The coal dust in the
air and the constant movement of trucks through the forest, are causing huge losses in the biodiversity
of the area and women now get less NTFP (esp. beedi leaf) from the forest and feel less secure
economically. The forest department continues to be hostile towards the community forestry efforts
and has often acted in ways that undermine the community effort to protect the forest. In the nearby
villages, the industries have also succeeded in dividing resident communities And human-wildlife
conflicts have been increasing. In the light of all this, there is growing cynicism and passivity
amongst the local community towards the forests and this has in turn led to unchecked intense forest
resource extraction, rampant breaches of law, and non-compliance of SC’s orders banning tree felling.
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3. The third case-study entitled “Khandadhar (lifeline of northern Orissa and homeland of Paudi
Bhuyans, threatened by mining and related activities proposed by POSCO) ” presented by Mr.
Abhishek Pratap (Greenpeace) and Tanushree Das (Vasundhara) spoke about the impacts that
mining and related state policies have had on the forests around Kandadhar in Sundergarh District of
Orissa. The area is characterized by dense forests, waterfalls and an elephant corridor (connecting
Saranda in Jharkhand state to Bhamragarh in Chhattisgarh state). The limbless lizard (Sepsophis) has
recently been discovered here and eight major perennial streams originate in these forests. Comprised
of the Primitive Tribal Group (PTG) called Paudi Bhuyan (3000 people), 66% of the overall
population of the area belongs to Scheduled Tribes. In this area, the setting up of small and large
industries (local sponge iron units, POSCO etc.)will have huge impacts on the environment as well as
on the social, cultural and economic well being of people. The POSCO (a south Korean multinational
with mining interests) iron ore mining project, proposed over 6204 ha, could affect more than 10000
ha of forest cover including that on a plateau from where Orissa’s highest waterfall (244 meters)
originates. Rs. 51,000 crore worth of investment has been envisaged for this entire project, which
includes a mine at Kandadhar, a steel plant at Jagatsinghpur, and a captive port at Paradeep. It seems
that despite the fact that these are all components of one and the same project, a separate clearance for
each of the above components has been sought by POSCO. It is alleged that breaking up the project
into different component (as if they were three different and unconnected projects) and making a
separate appeal for permission for each of these components is just a ruse to avoid obstacles that the
company might otherwise have to face in its efforts towards getting environmental clearances for the
entire project. Two major concerns of this mining policy that is friendly towards private industrial
interests are:
•
•
effects of pollution caused by the 48 sponge iron plants, many small mines, etc. in Sundergarh
possibility of serious loss of forest, wildlife, underground water which will eventually also
have severe impacts on the survival and livelihood of the people that might potentially entail a
direct displacement of about 30000 people.
Some of the key role players in the making of this potential tragedy are:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
international loan/funding agencies,
weaknesses of the political governance system,
the mineral and industrial policies of the state government and its aggressive drive towards
industrialization,
some conservation policies (e.g. FCA) that facilitate commercial exploitation,
JFM and other aid driven programmes that seek to replace CFM initiatives,
weakness in the public hearing process and a lack of mandate to gram sabhas to conduct the
same, and
non-participation of communities in EIA and forest clearance.
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4. The fourth case-study entitled “Gadabanikilo village, Nayagarh district (Joint Forest Management
destroying self-organized community forest management)” presented by Prateep K. Nayak18
discussed at length the impacts of conversion of a CFM initiative into a government sponsored JFM
programme. The impacts have been seen in many areas like changes in the level of community
participation, community rights and intra-community dynamics. In particular he presented the case
study of Gadabanikilo village of Nayagarh District in Orissa. This village had a history of CFM of
over 50 years. This was converted after much resistance to a JFM in 2001. The old system was
dismantled and standardized modern institutional systems were set up for forest protection,
management and distribution of benefits. (For e.g. mahua collection and other benefits) under the
changed system of forest management. This changeover led to a number of problems. Earlier,
decision making at the village level involved all adults, however under the new system it was limited
to only 11 members of the JFM committee – reducing the level of people’s participation in the matter
of forest conservation and management. A village fund which was earlier used for village
development and loan disbursement collapsed by 2004. Earlier the edge of the, forest was left wild
and dense with naturally overgrown thorny bushes - this deterred outsiders from entering the forests
and protected the forests but under the new system where there was money to be made through
afforestation – the dense thorny forest made way for neat plantations , which made access to the forest
easy. Earlier the CFM institution managed the landscape consisting of grazing lands, water bodies and
forests in a holistic manner but the JFM institution that replaced had a compartmentalized approach to
resource and forest management. There was a considerable weakening of rights of various kinds
under the new system. In earlier times, inter-village reciprocity and links were strong ( for e.g.
availability of forest resources such as bamboo in one village and amla in another would have led to
the creation of mechanisms of exchange and reciprocity, and also reduced threats to each others’
forests). However the JFM model is village specific and has led to the erosion of inter village links
and reciprocity. Now, only linkages between JFM committees are allowed whereas under the CFM,
cross-linkages with NGOs, forest federation, and neighboring villages were the norm. The only
redeeming feature of the JFM seems to lie in the fact that while the CFM institutions had no role for
women or Scheduled Castes (SCs); JFM has brought these groups within its purview. However this
feature too has not been able to realize its potential as in practice the JFM is still dominated by men
and non-scheduled caste19 members. Overall, as the CFM system was converted into a JFM system,
the inherent advantages provided by the CFM model (site-specificity, flexibility) have been lost due
to the uniformity (‘one size fits all’) of approach of the JFM model. This has lead to various problems
like rigidity, disintegration of various land uses due to compartmentalized management etc. Little
attention is paid to the fact that a simple uniform system cannot maintain bio-diversity and will
inevitably result in forest degradation. Fortunately, traditional institutions are resilient and it is
hoped that the CFM institutions which are people driven might see resurgence once the JFM money
runs out. In fact the speaker made a strong case for legally recognizing Community Forest
Management (CFM) initiatives. As of now there is a manifest threat to the biodiversity of the area due
to the conversion of CFM to JFM in the area.
18
19
Prateep K Nayak is a PhD scholar with the University of Manitova, Canada.
People belonging to scheduled castes have historically belonged to the lower rungs of social hierarchy and
have traditionally been disempowered and marginalized people.
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5. The fifth case-study entitled “Winners and Losers of Forest Resources (An Understanding on
Causal Connections)”presented by Dr.. Premananda Panda (Anthropology, Sambalpur University)
spoke about how coal mining in Sundergarh has not only devastated forests but also harmed the
equitable culture of the villages. Earlier the rich biodiversity of the wetlands was maintained by the
village, for diverse purposes. There was a community system for equitable irrigation, food
distribution, etc. There had been regular sightings of elephants and tigers within the living history of
the place. All this has changed for the worse under development related interventions like the mining
that has been going on in this area for the last 15 years leading to immense damage to the sociocultural life of the villagers, the social support system that existed within the village-community
earlier as well as to the symbiotic relationship that earlier existed between the forest and people. This
loss of linkages and relationships due to forest degradation has led to both further deforestation and
further socio-cultural losses, setting up a never ending downward spiral of ever increasing loss of
forest and disempowerment of forest dwelling communities.
2.2.2.2 Summing up the Orissa experience
As can be seen from the above presentations, Orissa is facing severe deforestation, loss of wildlife,
loss of cultural traditions and the displacement of adivasis. This is due to:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
unsustainable development activities, including mines, industries, and roads, which the
government is promoting aggressively without taking into consideration the environmental
impacts of these. (e.g. mining leases alone cover over 100,000 hectares of forest land);
lack of recognition of and support to the initiatives of communities to protect forests,
especially self-initiated community forest management which is widespread in Orissa;
attempts by the Forest Department to take control over community forests by converting CFM
initiatives into Joint Forest Management (JFM);
creation of rifts within the hitherto existing symbiotic relationship between communities,
communities and forests and a failure to provide adequate inputs to forest based livelihoods
thereby forcing desperately poor people to unsustainably exploit forest resources or act as
agents for forest mafia;
lack of any attention to forests in central or state government planning and financial
allocations;
weak regulatory mechanisms, which are unable to deal with rampant violations by forest
mafia, industrialists, and others;
weakened and distorted mandate of official agencies like Ministry of Environment and
Forests, and state Forest Departments.
At each of these sites, it was revealed that community conservation of forests was threatened by the
government allowing private and public sector companies to set up industries, mines, roads, and other
projects. At all these sites, communities have protested against the deforestation, but the government
has generally overlooked and undermined the benefits of these community initiatives and it has more
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often than not, bent over backwards to provide subsidies and facilities to corporate companies, often
even overlooking their violation of environmental laws and policies. Additionally schemes like the
standardized JFM have replaced highly evolved, flexible, site specific and nuanced CFMs bringing in
a load of new problems that have added to deforestation, forest degradation and disempowerment of
forest dwelling communities.
2.2.3 Making Connections
2.2.3.1 Thematic Paper Presentation
To put the above case studies in perspective, a number of thematic papers were also presented at the
workshop. These include:
1. Globalization and the Ecological Crisis – Dr. Aseem Shrivastav;
2. The Environmental Regulatory Framework in the Era of Globalization – Kanchi Kohli and
Manju Menon;
3. Economic Growth and Deforestation: A study of Orissa Economy – Prof Sushant Nayak;
4. Liberalization, Deforestation and Dependence on Forest – (A case study of the most forested
district of Orissa, Keonjhar) – Prof. K.C. Samal;
5. Economic Liberalization, Decentralized Governance & the Adivasis of Orissa – Prof. Bhabani
Das;
In what follows, a brief summary of the presentations made by the thematic paper authors is provided.
1. The first thematic paper entitled “Globalization and the Ecological Crisis” as presented by
independent writer Aseem Shrivastav spoke about the close link between the processes of
globalization/ economic liberalization and the ecological crisis that we are witnessing today. He spoke
about the inverse relationship between the logic of the current phase of globalization that is dominated
by the profit interests of private corporations and the logic and reasoning of an environment and
social justice based paradigm which would require an internalization of environmental and social
costs. The speaker drove home the fact that the real cost of unsustainable industry and development
in terms of ecological degradation, loss in biodiversity, socio-cultural loss, livelihood loss and the
like are not measured and business interests do not bear the responsibility of the damage they cause
to environment in this whole process. Globalization by and large has promoted vested interests trade
and corporate entities which has led to the en masse conversion of Indian forest resources to meet the
fuel needs of the first world. The current phase of globalization is subject to dominance of financial
transactions while being environmentally insensitive. Climate change is a direct result of the market’s
failure to absorb the costs it incurs. Within India too more and more people are getting trapped into
environmentally destructive lifestyles without realizing the fact that sustaining such lifestyles means
rampant exploitation of natural resources in nearby states. Such life styles then lead to a situation
where the whole arena of economy focuses on commercialization, which in turn leads to consumerism
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and creation of false needs leading to a further pressure for an untrammeled exploitation of the earth’s
resources.
2. The second thematic paper entitled “The Environmental Regulatory Framework in the Era of
Globalization “ as presented by Ms. Kanchi Kohli and Ms. Manju Menon (both from Kalpavriksh)
showed how global processes leading to the adaptation of neo-liberal paradigm of development as
propounded by international institutions like World bank(WB), International Monetary Fund(IMF)
and World Trade organization (WTO) by third world nation states like India get translated into
environmental regulatory frameworks that are hostile to the interests of ecological sustainability and
social justice. The nefarious role played by recent environmental laws & notifications in creating
spaces for environmentally destructive development trends in India were discussed. States like Orissa
are ready to provide all kinds of uncritical support including the facilitating of easy environmental
clearance, forest clearance etc. to their corporate clients. This has led and continues to lead to the
destruction of the environment at a hitherto unheard of scale. Recent changes in environmental laws
& notifications have played a nefarious role in creating a space for environmentally destructive
development trends in India. Take the instance of the issuance of the EIA notification(1994) under the
Environment (Protection) Act., that made it mandatory for development and industrial projects to go
through a process of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and public hearing (from 1997) and
obtain an environment clearance before they could begin construction. This was meant to be a
precautionary approach to be implemented in the spirit of environment protection. But what happened
in the course of the implementation? Statistics indicate that from 1986 to 2006, 4016 projects were
granted environment clearance by the Ministry Of Environment and Forest (MoEF). A much larger
number operate without the mandatory permissions. In March 2005, the Supreme Court of India
ordered the closure of all units which were operating without environmental clearance. This was in
response to a writ petition filed by Goa Foundation. Soon after in July 2005, MoEF set into motion a
process of seeking temporary working permissions (TWPs) and post facto clearances through an
amendment to the EIA notification. The EIA procedures for decision-making on environment
clearance were overhauled in 2006. None of the suggestions made over a decade to improve the
regulatory process, the quality of information for decision making or enhance transparency were
included. Instead, the reforms focused on speedy clearances. The public hearing procedures were
diluted too. Potentially, this is the only process which can challenge the otherwise routine
administrative procedures as diversity of opinions/positions are introduced at this stage. However,
there was an emphasis to regulate this process too by allowing only people with ‘direct stake’ in the
project or its impacts to participate. In keeping with this reductionist trend, public hearings have been
robbed of any capacity to function as spaces for decision making; they have been reduced to but a
step in finalizing a draft EIA report. Thus significant changes in environmental decision-making
mechanisms (from prevention to ‘management’ (including mitigation and ‘benefit-sharing’)) have
lead to a greater access to resources for exploitative purposes, and reduced public participation. This
has also fostered an unbridled spurt of forest and environment clearances without concern for
environmental sustainability. This has rapidly contributed to deforestation and forest degradation.
Similarly, a look into the implementation of the Biological Diversity (BD) Act, 2002 reveals that
while over 250 applications for various purposes have been approved, there has been little push to
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implement the clauses for the declaration of Biodiversity Heritage Sites, mechanisms for the
protection of traditional knowledge, or realizing local control over biodiversity and governance
through Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs). In the BD Act, the provisions for allowing
access to biodiversity for commercial use, research, and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) have been
set in place. Formats for agreements are ready; applications are being processed and permissions
being granted to access hair and blood samples of the Wild Ass or brinjal seed germplasm. But
without the Biodiversity Management Committee (BMCs) established at panchayat/municipality
level, there is no cross checking with local communities about the consequences of such projects. The
stage is therefore set for speedy clearances despite local opposition by this act too. This has lead to a
weakening of environmental impact monitoring and compliance processes. Redressal is almost nonexistent. Lastly, they brought to the notice of everybody how in recent years there has been a massive
up-scaling of legal forest clearance for dams, mines, industries or infrastructure projects like roads.
Out of the 11, 40,176.86 ha approximately 3, 11,220.38 hectares has been cleared by the MoEF since
2003. Thus a quarter of the total clearances in 26 years of implementation of the Forest
(Conservation) Act (1980) have happened in the last 4 years.
3. The third thematic paper, entitled “Economic Growth and Deforestation: A study of Orissa
Economy “, authored by Prof. Sushant Nayak’s (Arunachl University), focused on the nexus
between deforestation and economic growth within Orissa. According to him, economic growth
connotes the growth of National Income. An economy that grows proportionately in all sectors is
supposed to display a healthy growth. When one or some of its sectors grow disproportionately as
compared to other sectors, this indicates a healthy growth. This second type of growth is known as a
growth with inequity. When the growth is coupled with inequity, different types of distortions occur
in the economy. The distortion can be reflected, both in the outcome variable as well as in the input
use-patterns particularly of the natural resource like forest, water, mineral etc. He highlighted the fact
that the use-pattern of forest products as inputs for the production of different goods gets distorted
when the growth-pattern of the economy is distorted and this results in deforestation.. He briefly
sketched the theories of deforestations as according to different schools of thoughts like the
impoverishment school, the Neo-classical school and the political-ecological school. His study was
aimed at articulating the validity of the political-ecological school that argued that capital driven
investment as the main agent of deforestation. While highlighting the famous Kuznet curve
hypothesis which postulates that as income goes up there is an increasing environmental degradation
up-to a point after which environmental quality improves, he stressed that if deforestation is an
indicator of environmental quality, then the Kuznet theory is applicable to the nexus between forest
degradation and economic growth. Here the nexus is quite clear- when the GNP increases the input
demand also increases. As the forest sector is an important input to the different sub-components of
the National Income, the input demand of different sectors differ and the forest input that goes into a
particular sector is an indicator of deforestation caused by that sector. When different sectors of the
economy grow, the demands for inputs also grow. Forest resources are also inputs for all sectors of
the economy. Thus economic growth leads to a rise in the demand of forestry output. With the above
understanding of the concept of deforestation, the study focused on the following issues:
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•
•
•
the growth of GSDP and its sectors in Orissa in the post reform period and to compare the
same with that of India;
whether the present trend in the growth in Orissa’s economy is equitable or not;
to quantify the demand of forest inputs used by different sectors and to identify the sectors that
uses the maximum forest resources and cause deforestation.
Finally his study also suggested some remedial measures.
4. The fourth thematic paper entitled “Liberalization, Deforestation and Dependence on Forest – (A
case study of the most forested district of Orissa, Keonjhar)” authored and presented by Prof. K.C.
Samal (Nabakrushna Choudhary Center for Development Studies, Bhubaneswar, Orissa) showed the
link between the role played by International Monetary Funds (IMF) loans of the early 90’s and the
state of forests in India. The IMF loans were based on conditions of compulsory liberalization,
devaluation of currency and privatization in India. These in effect dictated India’s economic policy.
For e.g., the IMF, while extending loan to India had stipulated 160 conditions; one of which was the
devaluation of the rupee. This automatically worked in favor of richer countries like the USA as this
allowed them to buy more of India’s outputs and primary mineral resources at cheaper prices. The
professor pointed out that though it is often argued that such devaluations lead to increase in demand
for natural resources and higher earnings for the country - this is a specious argument. For even if
export earnings increase, so does resource extraction and this usually happens at the cost of an
irreversible damage to the ecosystem of the country. A country’s true wealth is its natural resource
systems. Most of the development being promoted by the Orissa government is also in the primary
mineral sector with profits being made by non locals (like POSCO, Sterlite etc).Local people hardly
benefit from the process and yet the damage has to be borne by local communities and the
environment. Untrammeled resource extraction ensures that ecosystems that got built over centuries
get irreparably damaged or destroyed within a few years. The loss this entails to forests and local
communities is thus in no way comparable to the gain that increased earnings (due to export of
resources) promise. Previously there was some control due to the fact that the private sector was not
allowed into core areas like steel, coal, electricity and mining but the scenario has changed now. In
Orissa, forest diversion doubled in the post-liberalization era: (1982-91: 9800 ha; 1992-2004: 19257
ha). One immediately observable indicator of deforestations is the distance that is required to be
traveled to collect a shoulder load of fuel wood (1995: 4.09 km 2000: 7.30 km). This is similar to
what is happening across India.
5. Dr. Bhabani Das20 in his presentation raised serious doubts about forests being a national priority
as there were no provisions within the mandate of the national finance commission to protect forests.
At the state level- the forest department is severely understaffed and under-resourced yet local
communities who have often been known to have protect and manage forests are not being
empowered to do so. This leaves forests open to exploitation and damage. There is thus an urgent
20
Dr. Bhabhani Das has also contributed a thematic paper entitled “Economic Liberalization, Decentralized
Governance & the Adivasis of Orissa “.
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need to bring forests into the national agenda and this urgency can only be evidenced through the
importance forest protection is given by the national finance commission. The role of the 73rd
constitutional amendment (PESA etc.) vis-à-vis protection of forest and checking forest degradation
also needs to be looked into. Unless this is done, no changes in the present apathy can be expected.
2.2.4 Recommendations
If the alarming trend of deforestation and displacement has to be reversed, governments must take the
following steps, with or through citizens’ groups:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
move away from a fossil-fuel based unsustainable development process, and adopt alternative
sustainable processes that actually provide basic livelihood and social security to all people;
stop giving remaining leases in forest areas, to mines, industries, and other large-scale
commercial or ‘development’ projects;
provide recognition and legal backing to gram sabhas for community forest management
initiatives, through Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA)_, The
Scheduled Tribes And Other Forest-Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006
(TFRA), and other laws, while safeguarding against the misuse of such laws by vested
interests to take control of forest lands;
stop trying to take over community forest management initiatives through JFM or other
schemes which ignore or undermine existing community institutions, and ensure that
partnerships between government and communities are on the basis of sharing decisionmaking powers;
the Finance Commission and Planning Commission (or bodies at both central levels) should
add the performance of states in conserving forests, as a key criterion for deciding on their
financial allocations. ;
help communities enhance their agricultural production, sustain forest based livelihoods, and
provide other sources of employment and livelihood including through the NREGA (National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act) with locally developed participatory plans;
explore alternative development in forest areas, which provide livelihood, health, education,
and communication options to people without destroying the forest, and which are consistent
with their socio-economic and cultural ethos;
recognize public hearings as a mandatory tool for democratic decision-making, giving full
responsibility to gram sabhas to organize such hearings, and ensuring independent civil
society participation in these to provide a check against the misuse of hearings by powerful
local elites.
2.2.5 Conclusions
Deforestation in Orissa and other parts of India is a direct result of the wrong path of ‘development’
being promoted under policies of globalization, and the disempowerment of forest-dwelling
communities. This can only be halted if the government stops giving forest land for mines, industries,
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roads, and other such projects, and empowers communities to protect and manage forests.
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3. Processes Followed
3.1 Preparatory process
The preparatory processes for planning the workshop were as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Identifying national and regional collaborators/advisors for the research and the
workshop. Though initially both, the National Centre for Advocacy Studies (NCAS)
from Pune and Vasundhara from Bubhaneshwar were considered as potential
collaborators/advisors, finally Vasundhara was short-listed.;
In consultation with the collaborating partner (Vasundhara) we identified a list of
potential participants from government agencies, policymakers, academic institutions,
civil society organizations, communities and other rights holders or stakeholders for
attending the workshop;
In consultation with Vasundhara we identified a list of potential thematic authors who
would contribute theoretical papers on various aspects of the theme of the workshop.
On getting confirmations from some of them, we commissioned research and
analytical papers on socio-political governance processes (especially economic
liberalization, laws and policies and decentralization), development projects and their
impacts on the forests. The list of papers that were finally commissioned ( along with
the author names) is as follows:
i. Globalization and the Ecological Crisis – Dr. Aseem Shrivastav;
ii. The Environmental Regulatory Framework in the Era of Globalization –
Kanchi Kohli and Manju Menon;
iii. Economic Growth and Deforestation: A study of Orissa Economy – Prof
Sushant Nayak;
iv. Liberalization, Deforestation and Dependence on Forest – (A case study of the
most forested district of Orissa, Keonjhar) – Prof. K.C. Samal;
v. Economic Liberalization, Decentralized Governance & the Adivasis of Orissa –
Prof. Bhabani Das.
In consultation with Vasundhara, it was decided that it was necessary to undertake
field work in Orissa, to gain an in-depth understanding of the underlying causes of
deforestation and forest degradation. It was decided that Vasundhara researcher and
other researchers based in Orissa would be responsible for doing in-depth studies. The
list of case-studies research areas that were finally commissioned (along with the name
of the field investigators) is provided below:
i.
Banadurga Jungle Surakshya Committee, Khedapada, Nayagarh. (community
protected forest threatened by sugarcane mill) – Mr. Sankar Prasad Pani
(Vasundhara);
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ii.
5.
6.
Lapanga, Sambalpur dist (forest conserved by community for over 100 years,
threatened by Hindalco mining, Bhushan Steel pipeline, and other industries) Mr. Pradeep Mishra(Vasundhara);
iii. Khandadhar (lifeline of northern Orissa and homeland of Paudi Bhuyans,
threatened by mining and related activities proposed by POSCO) – Kumar
Abhishek Pratap (Greenpeace) & Tanushree Das(Vasundhara);
iv.
Gadabanikilo village, Nayagarh district (Joint Forest Management destroying
self-organized community forest management) – Prateep K. Nayak(Research
Scholar, Columbia University USA);
v.
Winners and Losers of Forest Resources (An Understanding on Causal
Connections) – Dr. Premananda Panda (Dept. of Anthropology, Sambalpur
University);
In consultation with Vasundhara the date, venue and location of workshop was
identified and communicated to all concerned. Reservations were also made
accordingly.
Communicating the theme, methodology and the agenda of the workshop to
participants well in advance (see annexure)
3.2 Processes during Workshop
3.2.1 Administrative Proceses
This primarily involved:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Ensuring all infrastructure related arrangements were in place.
Arranging for Participant accommodation, travel and pickup where needed.
Identifying Rappertuer, Chairperson, Panel, Session-wise plan etc. and communicating
responsibilities accordingly.
Ensuring participants and media representatives were informed well in advance and the
event was advertised through press release in the local media.
Ensuring that workshop proceeded as planned and proceedings were documented.
Ensuring that media related activities (press meet, press statements etc) happened as
scheduled.
3.2.2 Evolving and Finalising Recomendations
1.
2.
Formation of themewise groups, identifying group coordinator and ensure first draft of
themewise recommendations were worked out and submitted on evening prior to the
final session.
Ensure recommendations emanating out of the workshop were arrived at in a
participative and consensual manner and were recorded.
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4.
Workshop Recommendations
Broad recommendations were developed on the basisi of following categories:
1.
2.
3.
On development planning, processes and projects
On governance and protection of forests
On securing livelihoods of forest-dwellers
Details of each of the above categories have been elaborated below.
1. On development planning, processes and projects
•
Rethink and radically alter the models and processes of development, in order to ensure that
local communities, forests, biodiversity and wildlife are put at the centre of the government’s
planning process.
•
Legally disallow any further large-scale diversion of forests for the purpose of ‘development’
projects from being permitted; ensure that the sighting of such projects is away from forest
lands.
•
Clearance of industrial and other ‘development’ projects should be at the same pace as the
ability to carry out environmental impact assessments and work plans, so that these are not
rushed and incomplete.
•
Infuse all government functioning with mandatory suo moto information disclosure and
transparency mechanisms.
•
Start conceiving of bioregional or eco-regional political constituencies, in which the political
boundaries of decision-making are more aligned with ecological boundaries (e.g. of river
basins and watersheds, lakes and their catchments, or hill ranges).
•
Take punitive action on companies and government agencies that violate environmental laws
and procedures, including fraudulent and distorted environment impact assessments, and
improper clearances.
•
Ensure that the principles of intergenerational equity is established within development
planning and relevant laws and policies, and widely disseminated. These should be used as
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guidelines to determine which ‘development’ projects are socially justified and ecologically
sustainable.
•
Ensure that EIA and clearance become mandatory for the full cluster of projects which are
inter-linked or which are present in the same region (e.g. in a river valley hydro-electricity
project), including on their cumulative impacts. Piecemeal EIA and clearance for each
individual component of a project (as for instance being attempted for the POSCO and
Vedanta projects) should be prohibited by law.
•
In order to ensure transparency and accountability in the processes of governance, the relevant
laws should give the mandate of organizing public hearings to affected communities and gram
sabhas.
•
Ensure the presence of independent civil society & media during all public hearing processes.
•
Overhaul the EIA and clearance procedures to ensure that:
o Independent experts with credible track record, affected communities and other civil
society representatives are brought into it as central participants.
o EIA and clearance is done by or through communities, and are funded independently
of the project proponent.
o EIA and clearance procedures also include a component of social impact assessment
(SIA).
o The clearance or approval agency is a separate and autonomous authority and not the
MoEF.
o They provide for an adequate and predefined public scrutiny period
•
No relaxation of environmental impact assessment norms should be allowed for any kind of
industrial and other ‘development’ projects.
•
The practice of having a heavy concentration of industries in a geographically contiguous
patch should be discontinued with immediate effect. Proper laws and legislations should be
drafted and implemented to discourage such practices in the future.
•
Do not give/release degraded forest land to industry, and do not promote conversion of
agriculture into farm forestry (as the World Bank and other agencies are promoting), including
into commercial agro-fuel plantations such as jatropha, palm oil, and others.
•
Ensure that free prior informed consent of communities (meaning all adults of the relevant
communities) is made mandatory, by law, for all ‘development’ projects that affect them.
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•
Ensure that public hearings (jan sunwais) at local level are made mandatory before any
development policy/law or scheme is decided on, at both central & state levels.
•
Enhance awareness programmes amongst political leaders, senior bureaucrats, other decisionmakers, and the general public, regarding the root causes behind deforestation (and its
connection with global warming and climate change, and the impacts on society and nature),
and of alternative ways of conserving forests while meeting livelihood needs and aspirations.
2. On governance and protection of forests
•
Forests should not be seen in isolation, but in a holistic manner that views other aspects of
land & resource use of the community (including agriculture, water use, and so on) as being
integrated with and impacting upon forest conservation efforts.
•
Ensure that the decision making power with respect to forest conservation is equally
devolved amongst all the rights holders and stakeholders in order to guarantee an equal
partnership and responsibility between communities and government agencies, with
involvement of NGOs and independent experts (“forests are too important a matter to be left
to the Forest Department”)
•
Promote participatory, rather than the current representative form of democracy, in which
local populations are involved in all decisions that affect them, and in which decisions are
based on indigenous knowledge and traditions along with modern knowledge and practices;
this will lead to environmental democracy.
•
Evolve methods and mechanisms to give access and forest conservation related powers to
communities that are closest to a resource, through available laws including the Forest Rights
Act. These should be based on :
o Formulating appropriate institutions, and mechanisms.
o Clear recognition of the fact that that there can be many pitfalls in this (local
inequities, cultural changes, institutional erosion, etc.) and hence provide for
appropriate counter mechanisms to check abuse, especially to ensure conservation and
equity in decision-making and sharing of benefits.
o The recognition that such a system is a subset located within a larger nested system of
institutions that have mandates that are larger and more comprehensive than the local
village, and which provides for appropriate mechanisms of checks and balances (with
larger institutions to deal with issues of regional/national/international nature such as
climate change).
•
Encroachment by vested interests should be driven out (and criminal proceedings should be
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initiated against such people), while encroachments by the poor and marginal people for
subsistence/livelihood needs up to a reasonable cut-off date which discourages any fresh
encroachment, should be given security on their lands, with full involvement of the relevant
village assembly in the decision.
•
Stop undermining self-initiated forest conservation such as CFM in Orissa, by government
dominated schemes such as JFM; respect the complexity, institutional diversity, and sitespecific nature of CFM through provision of legal space and legal recognition of CFM
initiatives, without any dominance of quasi-managerial structure within it.
•
Recognize the significant role of financial measures in forest conservation. Finance and
Planning Commission criterion or guidelines should include extent and quality of forests. So
when deciding financial allocations for states, those performing well in forest conservation
could be given higher priority. Simultaneously, panchayats and other decentralized bodies
should be given the power to generate and control funds related to natural resources. However,
we stress that money is not the most crucial component of conservation; most CFM has been
initiated with other motivations such as securing livelihoods, water, or other livelihood
resources, or out of concern for the environment and wildlife.
•
Devise different strategies for the diversity of situations of villages in Orissa, ranging from
those within or adjacent to forests already doing CFM or JFM, others preparing for these,
some villages nowhere close to forests, and so on.
•
Facilitate the setting up of Biodiversity Management Committees under the Biodiversity Act
in all villages, provided the relevant Rules at the national and state levels are modified to
provide for full empowerment with authority and powers and responsibilities, to perform
conservation and sustainable use functions. The nature of such BMCs should be decided by
the village assemblies after taking into consideration existing institutions that may be able to
perform the same functions, as is provided for in the Madhya Pradesh and Sikkim biodiversity
rules.
•
Operationalize the conservation provisions of the Biodiversity Act (such as Biodiversity
Heritage Sites, or mandatory impact assessment of projects likely to adversely impact
biodiversity) through Rules or guidelines, which even after 5 years of the Act, are still not in
operation.
•
Facilitate workshops on underlying causes of deforestation and consequent impact in other
parts of Orissa, and across India, especially with local communities, government staff, and
NGOs.
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•
Empower village assemblies and village level forest committees to monitor the Forest
Department, in order to achieve the same checks and balances that are available in the Forest
Department’s mandate to monitor what villagers are doing.
3. On securing livelihoods of forest-dwellers
•
Stress the importance of the subsistence economy by carrying out an assessment of how it gets
destroyed (and thereby livelihoods get displaced) in the move towards commercialization and
industrialization, and take appropriate action for safeguarding the same.
•
Explore different ways in which the NREGA can be used to stimulate the local subsistence
based economy, help regenerate natural resources, and reduce rural-urban migration.
•
Recognize the crucial role community initiatives play in forest conservation and protection,
and in livelihood security, and legally empower these initiatives especially against external
‘development’ threats and take-over by the government.
•
Recognize the need to integrate livelihood options (both forest based and non-forest based
livelihood options, keeping in mind that forest produces, especially NTFP, forms the primary
and bonafide livelihood of the forest dependent community) within CFM initiatives or JFM
schemes, especially to stop distress deforestation, or hidden deforestation (e.g. when
CFM/JFM communities ‘steal’ wood from neighboring forests).
•
Evolve mechanisms to make CFM more inclusive, so that all the sections of communities (and
especially the traditionally disempowered such as women, landless, and so on) can participate.
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Annexure I: (Thematic Research Papers)
Annexure I (a)
Title:
Globalization and the ecological crisis (Towards a new conceptual
framework for an effective politics)
Author: Aseem Shrivastava
“The problem of climate change involves a fundamental failure of markets: those who damage others
by emitting greenhouse gases generally do not pay…Climate change is a result of the greatest market
failure the world has seen. The evidence on the seriousness of the risks from inaction or delayed
action is now overwhelming. We risk damages on a scale larger than the two world wars of the last
century. The problem is global and the response must be collaboration on a global scale.”
-
Nicholas Stern, Author of the Official Review on the Economics of Climate Change, quoted in
The Guardian, November 29, 2007
1. phenomenon of migration and ecological refugees
2. social irrationalities of market capitalism, which expends resources to move goods to spots on
the earth where they are already abundant (importing wheat into India), or transplants species
to places to which they are not biologically native (leading to umpteen problems for the local
population), or ships water across oceans
Introductory remarks
What has led the world to the edge of the environmental abyss is a triumphalist global capitalism in
which aggressive corporations have been gouging out the earth’s resources on a scale unprecedented
in history, leading on the one hand to massive resource depletion and on the other to the
destabilization of ecosystems, whose long-held natural balance has been disturbed by unfettered,
competitive, economic growth in the era of globalization. The chief institutional mechanism which
has been facilitating this organized predation is the market, whose “liberalization” in favour of global
corporate elites has been enabled by cooperative governments the world over.
Assuredly, one has to be sceptical of any “solution” to the environmental crisis which leans
predominantly on the market. This paper attempts to clarify the ways in which normal marketsignalling has actually led to the unhindered plunder of nature. It also suggests an alternative way of
looking at the environmental problems that besiege us. Discussion along these new lines might
actually enable a new ecological vision to evolve, also enabling in the process endangered indigenous
communities to not just survive the corporate onslaught but perhaps serve as pioneers for the future.
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But first some clarification of key concepts like globalization is needed to lay down the foundations
of a potentially new understanding of the environmental crises and approaches to address them.
What is (corporate) globalization?
As a point of departure it should be clear that the inescapable goal of capitalists in a capitalist system
is the endless accumulation of capital. That this expansion should happen across space and time and
should disturb the balance of far-flung communities living in relative harmony with nature is equally
obvious. Illusion as it might ultimately turn out to be, the “conquest of nature” is defended as a human
right. The institutions that have been set up to enable unimpeded capital accumulation ensure that
capitalist values take priority over every other. For instance, even the goal of conservation has come
to be looked upon through the lens of the profit-motive, not just by right-wing think-tanks, but also by
mainstream economists. A necessary by-product of such an ideological commitment is the growing
commodification of every bit of earthly nature, facilitating its remorseless exploitation.
Globalization is the latest, most developed form which triumphalist capitalism has acquired since the
end of the Cold War and the exit of the Soviet Union as a contending superpower from the world
stage. We may think of globalization as a term used to describe greater economic interconnectedness
and interdependence across the globe, a phenomenon that has accelerated dramatically over the past
two decades. This is happening at least three different levels.
There is more trade in goods and services between economic units and corporations located in
different countries. This doesn’t imply that trade is necessarily free: while poor countries have been
forced to prise open their markets to products from the rich countries, the latter have been reluctant to
return the favour, as the experience with agricultural products indicates. Historically, countries have
rarely, if ever, industrialized under a regime of free trade. In almost every case, protection against
imported goods and services has been the norm at least until the time that the country is sufficiently
industrialized.
Secondly, since this phase of globalization began in the 1980s, there is far more direct investment in
physical capital (FDI) across national boundaries. Corporations are locating their production units
across the globe according to advantages related to favourable investment opportunities, marketaccess, and the availability of resources, cheap skilled labour, fiscal, environmental and other
incentives. This is leading, from the environmental angle, to the globalization of supply-chains,
resulting in rising energy costs involved in the transport of components, raw materials, and for that
matter, finished goods. The same company may be selling French water in California and Californian
water in France, making handsome profits on both sets of transactions. If the private, corporate cost of
energy does not reflect all the indirect costs of generating it (from the social and environmental point
of view), as is the norm, this environmentally destructive state of affairs can continue for a long time
and lead to precipitous changes in the climate, among other effects for which there is now plenty of
scientific evidence. Such ecological and social irrationality is not a coincidental but a predictable
outcome of global corporate expansion with unfettered markets.
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Thirdly, thanks to the deregulation of finance in Western countries since the 1970s, and to the
telecommunications/internet boom of the 1990s, there has been a dramatic explosion in purely
financial transactions across the globe. If in the early 1970s, 90% of foreign exchange transactions
involved real goods and services, today only 5% does. The rest of the transactions do not involve any
new production: there is only a transfer of ownership of assets. This aspect of globalization is leading
to the rapid financialization of economies like India’s, leading to new, more destabilizing forms of
speculation with potentially deadly consequences for the real economy. From the environmental point
of view, if an instrumental, utilitarian view of nature facilitated capital accumulation and prosperity
for elite minorities across the world for so many decades and centuries, a perilous stage has now been
reached when every patch of earth has now become a mere means for finance capital to expand its
quantitative scale, not caring for long-run ecological, let alone intrinsic, values. Futures markets
abound in every kind of primary commodities.
Just how inexorable is globalization?
Great power invites interpretations of inevitability: it is easy for intellectuals to see reason in it. Driven by powerful
technologies, the expansion of globalization over the past few decades under American auspices has
been so fast, and its penetration into far-flung corners of the earth so close to completion, that it has
come to be seen as inexorable, like gravity, according to some savants. And yet, given the rapidly
closing scissors-movement of peak oil and climate change in which humanity is slowly but surely
getting caught, it would be foolish to assume that it is here to stay.
Even before serious environmental alarms began to go off, the first two experiments with
globalization (1870-1914 and 1945-1973) failed, ended by war and stagflation respectively. The latest
project of globalization is up against much more formidable limits, not merely those imposed by
nature, but also those of human society. Protest and resistance are growing sharply across the globe,
including under totalitarian regimes like China’s, even as experts worry about where they will find the
oil, and how they will limit its effluents, to keep the show going.
Financially, in keeping with John Maynard Keynes’ warnings three-quarters of a century ago,
globalization of markets has led the world to the brink of catastrophe. Crises occur from month to
month. One or another is constantly occupying the minds of regulators and policy-makers. If it isn’t
the sub-prime mortgage crisis, it is the uncertainty over the oil market.
We have to prepare for the end of globalization. It is far easier to foresee its end than to imagine how
the almost insurmountable ecological, financial and other problems it is generating with each passing
day will ever be tackled successfully, especially given the inertia of powerful governments who are
most responsible for taking timely action. It is thus far from unlikely that at some point of time in the
near or not-so-distant future, globalization will collapse under the weight of its own contradictions.
This is not idle nay-saying and dooms-daying, but informed opinion being generated by emerging
environmental and other facts. The question is whether we will be ready for a crisis of unimaginable
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proportions when it reaches the surface of human events. In the absence of “ecologically responsible
citizenship”, we are likely to fall victim to the possibly still preventable events which may unfold in
the future. Failing this, we may well suffer the consequences of “inconvenient” truths.
The cultivated failure of cognition
Most people, including experts, are so caught up executing the commands of the globalized market
economy that they either fail to see the significance and scope of the gathering environmental crises,
or are unable to make the necessary connections and see it as a direct consequence of global capitalist
expansion.
Perhaps there is no greater obstacle to facing environmental crises than the propaganda-driven beliefs
which dominate the consciousness of the educated public, not merely in India but around the world,
especially in the West. The media, increasingly owned by large corporations and working in their
interests, manages to hide the burning end of the noose as it shines the light on the bright, luminous
end of it.
In India, the established facts – of, for instance, fast-melting glaciers, dying rivers, tigers becoming
extinct – fade into manipulated, cultivated oblivion (even if they re-emerge from time to time)
because the media ensures that public attention is fragmented, and fastened on the glories of
economic growth and prosperity and on passing, shallow events which generate saleable sensations.
Thus is corporate hegemony ensured by not allowing ordinary human intelligence, busy with the tasks
of everyday life, to “join the dots”!
Corporate think-tanks, government intellectuals and mainstream economists, keen to justify a
predatory style of growth, sometimes offer the fatalistic argument that species have long been going
extinct, as though the dramatically faster rate of extinction during the past century is not a relevant,
man-made fact. Environmental ignorance is also a false, if frequently used, plea. The Rio conference
on the environment in 1992 had enunciated the Precautionary Principle which disallows governments
from using absence of scientific certainty as an excuse to plunder resources or reduce biodiversity,
whenever there is a perceived threat to them.
Languages are dying, leaving American English as the lone tongue of (An)globalization. But
economists and other observers don’t seem to be alarmed by such trends either.
Environmental ignorance is thus fostered in a multitude of ways to sustain the corporate vision of
“development” for the country. The need of the hour is relentless environmental education of the
public, which establishes and acknowledges facts and has the courage to draw the right conclusions,
regardless of which interests are offended by such intellectual rigour. Only then can a sustainable
vision of collective survival be hoped for. This is the best antidote against the “cultivation of the fog”,
which can only worsen matters in times like ours.
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The growth fetish
In poor developing countries like India, the obsession with economic growth among the policymaking elite, the corporate technocracy and the media (increasingly in the hands of a limited number
of corporations in each region of the country) has acquired demonic proportions, as if growth per se
will enable poverty to be eliminated and development to be facilitated over time. This follows the
growth fetish that has been the norm in the West for many, many decades. Indian economic policies
since 1991 have been made under the aegis of the IMF and the World Bank, whose primary goal is to
maximize the bottom-line for investors, largely based in Western countries, as the experience with
IMF-led policies in dozens of countries since the 1980s indicates.
The truth is that high growth numbers are being touted in order to attract financial investment from
abroad. This not only inflates the value of Indian financial paper but offers viable parking lots for
global finance, whose fortunes are increasingly uncertain in markets in the west, symbolized by such
disasters as the sub-prime mortgage crisis since August, 2007. If the Indian economy can be shown to
be growing at 8 or 10% every year, much higher returns can be guaranteed from financial investments
in the stock, bond and derivative markets. Foreign investment is coming, but much more in the form
of institutional investment by various powerful global funds in financial paper than in the form of
direct investment in physical capital.
The numbers have become all-important. They take the place of careful thinking and scepticism.
Crude numerical data and superficial analysis based on it have taken the place of intellectual rigour.
The quality, ecological character and spread of growth are not considered. Waterfalls, mangrove
forests and rivers are disappearing under the smokescreen of impressive growth data. But it matters
little. The facile assumption is made that a 10% rate of growth is necessarily better for the country
than, say, a 9% rate of growth. It is also casually argued by many economists that a richer India will
have more resources to tackle the environmental challenges like climate change, taking little
cognizance of the fact that the latter may just be growing much faster than the former (we have no
simple way of knowing yet whether such is the case or not).
What is crucial to note is that since this phase of globalization was launched after the end of the Cold
War in 1990, what has been called a “race to the bottom” has begun across the world. This is a direct
consequence of the celebration of “survival-of-the-biggest” capitalism. Countries eager to attract
investments by transnational corporations are outdoing each other in lowering labor and
environmental standards, offering generous fiscal incentives and terms of market-access. The process
continues to be stimulated and facilitated by the so-called multilateral institutions – the IMF, the
World Bank, the WTO and the ADB.
Globalization has unleashed the enormous dangers of a herd effect operating on a world scale. Since
other countries (like China) are clearing their lands for industry, or running down water reserves, we
are told that it is imperative for us to do so too. Otherwise our survival in a competitive world is not
assured. However, this is a specious logic that cannot be sustained in the light of emerging ecological
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facts. It has to be challenged through global, regional and local dialogue, to better ensure that baseline
environmental standards are sustained. In the absence of such dialogue we might well be invited to a
race with other countries on a sinking ship.
The same applies to standards within a country. There is competition for investment not just between
countries but between states within a country; in both cases governments vying with each other to
attract the largest investment to their own regions. What is happening between India and Indonesia is
happening as much between Kerala and Karnataka or, for that matter, between Nebraska and Nevada.
Such ruthless competition for investment on the most favourable terms (from the angle of
corporations only) is new in economic history. And the fact that enormously powerful technologies
are being deployed to achieve narrow corporate goals makes the whole enterprise fraught with
unprecedented environmental peril.
Each lowering of standards and norms means weakening of local communities in order to give
advantages to Transnational Corporations (TNCs). TNCs have no loyalty to communities even in
their own countries. They escape all obligations to communities by having the facility to fly their
capital to far-off places if not given the most favourable terms.
It is then easy to see how potentially catastrophic environmental consequences, like climate change
and vanishing biodiversity, are being precipitated by globalization. International regulatory bodies
like the WTO are headed not by ecologists, but by economists who are convinced of the fundamental
rightness of markets. The more the consensus around globalization and market-fundamentalism
grows, the graver are going to be its long-lasting environmental effects for humanity and other
species. In the near term, the losses, costs and risks for vulnerable communities are already
noticeable. It should be no cause for surprise that the challenge to the corporate consensus is coming
from places where working people, and those excluded by the process of globalized economic
growth, are having to shoulder a disproportionate burden of the costs of globalization.
All this does not imply that there is no alternative to the form of corporate globalization that meets
our eyes today. On the contrary, there is a growing literature re-examining the premises of so-called
“development”. More and more, people are beginning to recognize that desired development rarely
follows automatically from economic growth. Trickle-down effects are almost non-existent in a
context of jobless growth. Moreover, what might be development for some is displacement and loss
of livelihood to many. Instead of a quantitative fixation on numerical measures of growth, attention
has to move to the qualitative content, social spread and ecological character of growth.
It is easily forgotten that, thanks to growing automation across the industrialized world, the
employment-elasticity of growth has fallen dramatically in recent times. While the Indian economy
has been growing above 8% every year for the past five years or more, the rate of growth of
employment has fallen to a mere 1%. In the 1980s, when the growth rate was far more modest (5-6%
p.a.), the rate of growth of employment was 2.3%. The micro-level data corroborates the macro
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picture. For example, Tata’s steel plant at Jamshedpur today produces more than 5 times as much
steel as in 1990, with half the labour.
The model of development being aggressively pursued by Indian policy-making elites pushes for a
form of industrialization in imitation of the Western model which makes intensive use of energy,
water and other resources, and which makes it quite unsustainable in the long run. A different model
of industrialization, absorbing more labour and more in line with Indian traditions – relying on village
industries and handicrafts – may be called for. The work of Daniel and Alice Thorner is forgotten
today: before British colonialism India was among the more industrialized countries in the world. It
was systematically “de-industrialized” by Britain for its own imperial interests. However, after
independence it has continued to follow the same predatory model which today is bearing bitter
ecological fruit. Little wonder that some people have seen the process of capitalist expansion in India
as little better than a form of “internal colonialism.”
The environmental failure of the global market
In a competitive capitalist economy there are two ways to make things cheaper and enlarge your
market share. You can either increase efficiency in production (by using less labour and/or more
productive machinery) or you externalize costs and pass them on to society, to residents of another
country, to the world at large, or to future generations of humanity.
Within countries there are laws and institutions which regulate (cost-cutting) environmental harm.
Across countries there are no binding laws, only conventions, like the Biodiversity or the Toxic Trade
(Basel) Convention which, as we know, are routinely violated. Hence it is no accident that some of
the fallouts of globalization have predictably been the outsourcing of “dirty” industries and the
growth of the trade in toxics. And if climate change has accelerated since the dawn of this phase of
globalization, much of the blame has to be shouldered by transnational forces of capital which have
the power to shift external costs, losses and risks to regions where environmental laws are weaker or
non-existent, making the cumulative situation of the global environment – a de facto commons – ever
more precarious. The externalities generated globally through the working of the “free market”
(which in reality is free only for big capital) can indeed have tragic consequences.
Some years ago the then Chief Economist of the World Bank (and later, Clinton’s Chief Economic
Advisor and President of Harvard University) Larry Summers, in an internal memo, made a case for
the export of externalities (from the affluent nations). He argued that there were at least three good
reasons to believe that “dirty” (polluting) industries should migrate to poor countries. Firstly, the
foregone earnings from the greater mortality (and morbidity) that would follow in the poor countries
would be lower because they are poorer. Secondly, some countries (Africa came to Summers’ mind)
were “vastly under-polluted” as compared with industrialized ones. Finally, the rich were in a position
to demand a cleaner environment not merely because they had more money, but because of “greater
aesthetic sensitivity.” A clean and beautified environment is a cultural privilege of the elite.
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Summers concluded: "I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowestwage country is impeccable and we should face up to that." The poor must be poisoned in the larger
interests of economic wisdom. This is the message.
Call it the near-sighted prejudice of the privileged.
Summers noted that though there were moral and technical counter- arguments to his prescription,
these applied equally to “every Bank proposal for liberalization" as if that was justification enough for
his arguments. He left it at that, thereby implying that prevailing, even banal, flaws in the thinking
and policies prescribed for poor countries by the World Bank were worth compounding in order to
increase the efficiency and “welfare” of the world economy.
The Economist, which was the first to publish Summers’ memo under the mocking title “Let them eat
pollution”, proceeded in its next issue to approve of Summers’ approach: "If clean growth means
slower growth, as it sometimes will, its human cost will be lives blighted by a poverty that would
otherwise have been mitigated." Environmentalists who questioned Summers' logic, the magazine
argued, were to be blamed for "causing great, if well-intentioned harm to the world's poorest people."
The argument assumes that growth will of course lead to development, reducing the scale and depth
of poverty in Third World countries. Trickle-down is not just a promise but a guarantee. Never mind
that in countries like ours hundreds of millions have been waiting decade upon decade for the crumbs
to fall from the tables of the wealthy. It is not growth of every kind that benefits the poor!
Such an approach to poverty as Summers takes is not only ethically repugnant; it is also logically
inadequate, empirically flawed and ecologically myopic. The poor have no health insurance and thus
have nothing to fall back upon should they suffer disabilities on account of the health effects of
pollution. This should provide us with good reason to locate polluting industries near the rich
neighborhoods of the world (since the wealthy can more readily redress the health effects of
pollution).
Further, Summers assumes that polluting large-scale industrialization is the only way to enhance the
economic welfare of the world. What if it turns out that such a path (especially in the era of peak oil
and climate change) is simply unsustainable and that a slower and lower growth path, involving
small-scale rural industries and handicrafts which offer work to many more people, apart from
significantly reducing the global pollution load, is the only viable alternative before humanity,
especially in countries like India? If so, then again Summers’ argument about evening out the
pollution burden of our imperiled planet holds little water.
If one follows Summers (as The Economist does) the life of an Orissa tribal is worth less than that of a
New York financier, African countries must repeat the industrial follies and excesses of the West, and
of course they are not in a position to care either for their health or for the environment around them
as the rich are. The business of environmental conservation is best left in the hands of the rich.
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Is this true? Is the world’s environment safe in the hands of global finance and big business? They
acquire land and its resources to make quick, high profits. As long as resources can be lucratively
exploited and resulting externalities either exported (as instanced by the growing global trade in toxic
waste) or kept far from their world headquarters, why would they have any desire to protect and
conserve nature? On the contrary, the pressures of competition in the global marketplace may well
drive them to move Third World governments to relax environmental standards, clear-fell forests,
drain down or pollute to extinction surface or groundwater reserves, and contaminate the soil. Such
has in fact been the fate of many a ravaged rainforest in the Indonesian archipelago or the Oil Delta in
Nigeria.
Indeed, in keeping with Summers’ logic corporations from rich countries are ever so likely to export
their dirty industries to the South. Why not site iron and steel and aluminum plants near their mines in
Orissa rather than importing the ore to the West and dirty the skies and waters in Pennsylvania? And
doesn’t his logic also effectively support the export of hazardous wastes to poor countries in Africa
and Asia? Following Summers, governments of the Third World will commit ecological hara-kiri in
the end. Moreover, the rich will continue to have environmentally destructive lifestyles since they will
be exempt from bearing the external costs of their consumption. This, in the end, will affect everyone,
including the rich.
On the other hand, communities whose histories and destinies are linked closely with forest, pastures,
rivers and waterholes, and whose long-term interests are thus inextricably bound up with nature in
this way, are so much less likely to mine their ecological capital.
Such deeply flawed thinking as Summers represents has taken hold of policy-making across the world
today, shifting control over resources towards those with the capital to drive development choices and
away from communities that have traditionally lived closest to them. This means that global finance
has become lord and master of the earth, determining the pace and pattern of resource-use according
to its short-term profit-maximizing calculus. The earth itself has turned into a global casino with
every piece of nature a number on the roulette-wheel of investors and speculators. Not only do
indigenous peoples and communities lose, in the long run, such irresponsible thinking and policy
choices contribute significantly to problems like the concentrated accumulation of toxic wastes,
climate change and loss of biodiversity, ultimately imperiling one and all.
Tragedies of the global commons are precipitated by poor overall cost-accounting, either because
environmental costs are ignored altogether by TNCs, or because they are transferred to poor
countries, or because of subsidized production in countries far from the point of consumption raising
the energy costs of transport. If India is forced to import food from Australia, US and Canada, thanks
to agricultural policies conceived to serve narrow corporate interests since the early 1990s, the energy
cost of shipping the food may be of short-run benefit to freight companies. But from the point of view
of humanity taken as a whole, who will fail to see the social irrationality and ecological myopia of
such a trading arrangement (which in any case has nothing whatsoever to do with free trade)?
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Importing food into areas hitherto abundant and self-sufficient in it is not just ecologically irrational,
it violates basic principles of comparative advantage on which free trade theory rests!
What is surprising is that mainstream, free-market economic theory is the first to acknowledge the
three fundamental shortcomings of even a smoothly functioning free market economy. Even in theory,
it has been rigorously established, competitive free markets will not allocate resources efficiently
when it comes to situations in which there are significant externalities (consequences to third parties
from an economic transaction between two others), or where the provision of public goods (whose
supply cannot prevent non-paying users from accessing them) is concerned, or where there is
significant market power (such as monopoly or oligopolies) prevailing in a certain context.
The truth is that as far as the real world is concerned, all these three “exceptions” increasingly
constitute the norm, making traditional economic theory of utterly limited relevance, certainly since
this phase of globalization commenced in the early 1990s. Ironically, the rationalizing role of neoclassical theory becomes much clearer in triumphalist capitalism at war with the planet. Its wellknown theorems of optimality of resource allocation, if taken seriously and applied to real world
situations (as for instance the IMF routinely does), is fraught with severe environmental dangers.
The real world occupies a universe altogether alien to mainstream economic theory. If the polluting
petrochemical plants which produce the polymers used in plastic products consumed by affluent
residents of Greenwich, Connecticut, had to be located in their neighbourhood, urgent measures
would be taken to ensure that transitional alternatives were found as consumption was reduced. But in
the real world the plant may be located on the southeast coast of China, or near a poor neighbourhood
in Mexico, causing grave damage to air quality and public health for people who may be politically
helpless to stem the rot. The products would be shipped by sea, using oil drilled from Middle-Eastern
lands, suffering from imperial wars.
When environmental effects of industrial expansion are indirect and happen at a distance, it is easy for
the people causing the problem (and benefiting from it in the short-term) to become blind to it. The
situation is diametrically different for those who are on the receiving end of the damage. As Nicholas
Stern has recently observed, when one set of people reap the benefits and another set of people pay
the costs, the environment necessarily suffers, because the former have the power to change the
situation, but no incentive whatsoever to do so. The latter have every incentive, but little or no power
to take decisions of collective significance.
The North can, in effect, go on dumping its waste on the South, or extracting its resources at
throwaway prices which fail to reflect ecological costs altogether almost indefinitely. Things are fine,
from the perspective of those who cause the damage, as long as the negative effects of their lifestyles
and actions transpire at a safe distance from them and are localized in the region where the plant is
located. Things are also under control as long the effects are relatively small in the scale of global
ecology. But after half a millennium of world capitalist expansion, such is very far from being the
case. The environmental damage in question is serious, even if seemingly remote: global climate
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change is happening as a direct cumulative consequence of economic growth. It starts becoming clear
that only those who are closer to the receiving ends of the damage in the short-run (rather than the
long-run) are in a position to know to some extent what the true costs are. It is they who “know the
real score” and can keep society alert to the environmental costs of generating its measured GDP,
unequally and unjustly distributed as it is. Because affluent nations and capitalists are getting away
without paying their ecological bills, under the nose of governments desperate to offer concessional
terms on investments, the self-interest of the vulnerable communities is the only basis on which the
long-term interest of society as a whole can be served.
Paradoxically, such people belong to typically poor, often disenfranchised, communities, with little
economic voice to express their costs or benefits in the marketplace. There is no more obvious way to
see how the market will send just the wrong signals as far as the “efficient” level of production and
pollution are concerned. Both the producer and the consumer of paper, for instance, have an interest
in ignoring the (external) environmental costs of water pollution (what economists refer to as
externalities). This will keep the price of paper low. The only people who are in a position to know
the external cost of paper production are those people, living in proximity to the polluted water, who
are adversely affected by the pollution. Also, they are the ones in a position to see clearly the costs to
future generations from such environmental damage.
The market mechanism of price-signalling will be routinely blind to “tipping-points” that may be
actually crossed in various ecosystems on account of market transactions – as long as those who are
the first to feel the losses, costs and risks are priced out of the opportunity of expressing their
economic voice in the market. How are we to know about these tipping-points if the people who
experience their effects are in no position to express their increased ecological distress?
It is for this reason that a legally backed participatory environmental democracy is essential to register
environmental signals, which the market mechanism is ill-equipped to do, especially in the absence of
a government not alert to ecological losses. Corporate market rationality, driven by considerations of
competitive cost-cutting efficiency, is conceptually very distinct from ecologically rationality. If
relied on to tackle serious environmental challenges, as the experience of climate change is making
clear, it will inevitably lead to unmitigated catastrophes. Markets will fail to register approaching
environmental upheavals. This is what has put the market economy at odds with so much of
environmental and climate science today. The intellectual and political hegemony of the market today
makes it appear permanent, which it obviously isn’t.
Thus, most of the Economics profession finds itself on the wrong foot today, insofar as an appropriate
response to the environmental challenge is concerned. By relying on such nostrums of economic
theory as carbon-trading, the day of environmental judgment is merely postponed. A sub-market is
created to allow the polluter to carry on polluting and the illusion that the problem is being tackled is
sustained by the economic gains of those who make money in the short-term from carbon credits.
One innovation to the carbon trade which may actually make a positive dent in the problem is if
indigenous communities who are non-emitters are given carbon-credits by companies who exceed
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their quota. This would create a regional incentive to conserve in areas threatened by loss of forests.
Unlike companies, interested in maximizing profits, communities are more concerned with survival.
If rewarded for conservation efforts they would be less inclined to cut trees. And the money they earn
for their conservation efforts would serve as a safety valve for necessary consumption, saving trees in
the process.
It is no surprise that climate change has come about precisely as a result of the logic of the
marketplace, dominated as it is in the real world by the expanding oligopolistic power of transnational
corporations and the affluent consumers who buy the products they produce, the state increasingly
blind to environmental concerns and imperatives.
To make peace with the market is to make an ultimately losing war with the planet.
“Free” markets and liberal democracy: a symbiotic isomorphism?
Of a vintage even older and more distinguished than the idea of a free market (whose earliest
intellectual advocate was the 18th century Scottish thinker Adam Smith) is the idea of democracy. In
Western thought it can be traced to the Greek city-states and Roman senates, which practiced a form
of direct democracy by entitled citizens for several centuries. Slaves and women were left out of the
sphere of political recognition.
This was quite distinct from the kind of representative democracy which came to be the norm in the
mass societies of the Western world after the American and French revolutions and the European
upheavals of the 19th century. The latter was a popular compromise that emerged between the
bourgeois and working classes in Western countries. Bringing the ancient notion of democracy as rule
by the people together with the political liberalism of European enlightenment thought, “liberal
democracy”, as it came to be called, gave the economic liberty of retaining private property and
control over the means of production to the bourgeois classes, while accommodating the political
rights of the working classes. Thus was formal political equality achieved, though economic equality
and democracy remain a dream to this day.
From our vantage point of concerns of environmental justice and sustainability at the dawn of the 21st
century one may note the remarkable isomorphism that has emerged between the idea of a “free”
market and the idea of representative democracy. In mathematics the word isomorphism is used to
draw analogies between two complex structures, the internal relations between parts of each structure
being very similar to each other.
In the unipolar world that has emerged after the end of the Cold War, the most powerful entities on
earth are giant transnational corporations. They are driven by capitalist imperatives of expansion and
accumulation. They need markets, and a suitable ideology of “free” markets, to transact their
business.
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As such, the idea of a market merely denotes an arrangement for voluntary buying and selling. (In the
real world, of course, some exercise enormous market muscle because of the wealth and privilege at
their disposal, while others are priced out of the system due to the absence of such historically
cumulative advantages.) In order to succeed in the marketplace a company needs to be able to gain
popularity for their brand of products and win over the competition. This is very similar to the manner
in which a political candidate tries to gain the edge over his opponents by fighting under the banner of
a party. In each case a race is on, involving rival competitors.
Just as in a free and voluntary marketplace an individual is understood to exercise her economic
voice, in a “free and fair election” she is able to make heard her political voice. She is a “sovereign”
consumer in the first case and a citizen of a free state in the second. Importantly, she has little power
(in a world shaped so profoundly by disproportionate distribution of wealth and privilege) to write the
menu in either case. She is a citizen for one day and a subject for four or five years. In the former, she
has to choose from the products which corporations (with bulging advertising budgets) make
available to her. In the latter case, she expresses her vote for a wealthy candidate out of a list over
which she has little or no influence. In this way economic and political passivity and insularity is
generated even as the ideology of “free choice” is maintained in society – in both economic and
political matters. Choice is always between alternatives which are pre-determined by others and given
to an individual, not of alternatives that she forges in league with members of her community.
This is the reigning understanding of freedom in the modern world. Free and fair elections and free
markets together have a resoundingly persuasive echo in our ears, the media contributing to effective
elite propaganda through its daily repetition of appropriate mantras. The economic and political
notions of “freedom” have become mutually reinforcing concepts.
With greater American domination in the age of unfettered globalization the entire exercise has
acquired deep ideological overtones, as though with “the end of history” the perfection of justice has
itself been reached in the Western world. Other countries are thus obligated to follow the example of
the “free” world. Countries are required to be “free” in both senses: they must want to have “free”
markets (which practically speaking implies transnational corporate access to the markets, resources
and investment opportunities of every country) and they must want to have “free and fair elections”
(but only if the winner is a votary of the West) periodically to legitimize the whole exercise. If either
or both of these conditions are not met, the country risks an invasion by the hyper-power and its
affluent, well-armed allies.
Crucial to note is that human collectivities and communities have no rights in the Western liberal
tradition. The focus is entirely on individuals and their rights. Crucially, corporations have the legal
status of being “persons”. We shall see later how this failure to ensure the rights of human
communities has implications for the failure of environmental protection.
The survival imperative of participatory environmental democracy
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It is crucial to understand that a merely more representative democracy is typically quite inadequate to
meet the environmental challenge. The reason has to do with the fact that the official representatives
of the people typically do not bear the costs of environmental losses and risks themselves. They are in
a position to escape them because of their privileges. And the privileges are greater; the greater is
their distance from the site of loss.
For long it has been true that the representatives of the people typically live in an urban setting, far
from the countryside which subsidizes and underwrites the industrial lifestyles of city-dwellers. In
India at the moment there appears to have emerged an unwritten cross-party consensus which favours
industrial and infrastructural “development” which is intensive in the use of energy, water and other
resources and has a conscious bias towards cities. The SEZ route to “growth at any cost” is just one
instance of what might turn out to be a harbinger of a full-fledged city-state model of capital
accumulation. Virtually every political leader is forsworn to such a vision of India’s emerging
greatness as a nation. This vision of globalizing India is of necessity inviting radical changes in landuse patterns in favour of industry, infrastructure and real estate, even as agriculture, forests and nature
reserves languish as a consequence.
For such reasons, representative democracy along the lines of the modern West is not adequate to
meet environmental challenges. For sound decision-making in the environmental realm it is essential
not only that people at the receiving end of the losses are regularly consulted, but that they in fact
participate in the process of making decisions. Only then will accurate information about
environmental costs and risks be reflected in decisions taken. Markets located at a safe distance from
vanishing resources are most unlikely to value them accurately. The same is true of bureaucracies
trained to think of urbanization as progress.
Moreover, given that environmental losses are experienced collectively, democracy (with the widest
participation) becomes an essential prerequisite of good decision-making. Signalling through markets
impacts upon individual costs and benefits only and we know from “the tragedy of the commons”
kind of situation that any single individual will have little incentive to conserve, under the assumption
that every other individual is disinclined to do so. The logic applies even more powerfully to
corporations competing for the same resources. The defence of endangered nature can only be
undertaken by equally imperilled communities.
The above situation is only made worse by the fact of “short-termism”, the fast-reducing time
horizons over which corporations carry out resource-planning. In the age of high finance, where every
inch of the earth is being price-tagged and bar-coded for both spot and futures markets, everything
from rainforests to coral reefs are bought to be sold. There is little incentive to invest for conservation
purposes when you know in advance that the resource may not be yours forever, given the
uncertainties that reign in financial markets. So the Hardin solution to the tragedy of the commons –
privatization – is not going to work. This fact in effect converts every bit of the earth into a commons
which you buy cheap in order to sell dear. And you need invest in the long-term ecological quality of
the resource only to the extent of convincing your next buyer.
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The situation is altogether different for communities with a long-term stake in the resource in
question. Therefore, environmental decision-making – involving the use of resources, the damage to
ecosystems and pollution control – cannot be left in the hands of markets. It must be undertaken by
democratically empowered communities with a long-term stake in the natural environment. There is
plenty of evidence for the success of community institutions for the successful management of natural
resources.
All this requires the setting up of legalized community institutions, as opposed to forest bureaucracies
and distant corporations, to manage forests and other resources by which they live. Decentralization
has to be effective, not token. Power must be devolved to local institutions like panchayats and gram
sabhas, keeping in view the danger of the hijack of local institutions by powerful groups.
Are legalized community institutions an adequate environmental safeguard?
The above is not to suggest that problems like deforestation can be prevented or reduced with
guaranteed success if decision-making authority is adequately decentralized under a set of legally
established community institutions. Urbanized, industrial growth is not the only source of
deforestation and other environmental ills. One has to note that the entire ethos of privatization and
impatient greed unleashed by the forces of corporate globalization have not always left intact those
institutions and norms which often sustained ecosystems in a state of balance and saved forests and
water-sources from loss in the past. Examples are available from states like Chhatisgarh and Orissa.
There are at least three ways in which accelerated globalization has impacted the decision-making
context in different regional and local contexts. Firstly, powerful globally mobile institutions, like
TNCs and multilateral banks, are in a position today to influence and insinuate local bodies to take
“democratic” decisions which suit corporate interests. This is especially the case in countries like
India, where institutions like the World Bank have been exercising their influence on policy-making
at every level of the state structure for several decades. If this is true, there is little to prevent local
bodies from voting for the siting of mines, dams or industries on land where their village stands,
provided enough monetary “compensation” is given. For similar reasons, patterns of land-use or
choice of crops (for instance towards bio-fuel) could be shaped by corporate considerations. In this
manner, ecologically myopic and socially irrational decisions can easily get taken by an ignorant
cash-based consensus.
Secondly, in the name of decentralization, as recent experience in places like Chhatisgarh and Andhra
have made clear, local elites have garnered not merely resources but decision-making authority. They
have made handsome monetary gains by betraying the larger interests of local communities in
environmental preservation and striking lucrative deals with contractors and companies.
Thirdly, one has to recognize that the forces of corporate globalization have unleashed a new anxiety
in so many communities which have lived in sustainable coexistence with nature in the past. Fear of
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approaching loss of the natural resource base can easily make people act greedily and precipitate a
“tragedy of the commons” which is neither in anyone’s long-term interest, nor in the interests of
ecological health. Again, social and ecological irrationality can come about as a consequence of the
change in the “motivational matrix” of people’s actions. They may have come to expect to live the
ecologically destructive lifestyles of city-dwellers. In an age of aggressive advertising in the
electronic and print media such possibilities cannot be discounted. The furtherance of an impatient
greed may be one of the more perilous and long-lasting psychological results of accelerated
globalization.
These possibilities have to be contended with and appropriate safeguards built into policies for
environmental protection and human survival. For instance, neutral environmental observers from
outside can be considered for a veto voice in local decision-making if the latter is proceeding in the
direction of irrational resource destruction. Such dangers can be prevented only through active
participation and audit by local communities, supported by external observers, citizens’ bodies and
public accountability and transparency that legislation like the Right to Information Act provide for.
Much more discussion and clarity is needed on such issues.
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Annexure I (b)
Title : Licence to Destroy (Evironmental Regulatory Framework in the Era of
Economic Growth)
Author: Manju Menon and Kanchi Kohli21
India is presently witness to scores of development projects being planned and implemented. These
projects- some of them the biggest, highest, fastest ones to ever come up are touted to be the
harbingers of overall development. They are to be our means to gallop towards double digit growth
rates. But stories pouring in from different parts of the country, especially the economically poorest
ones reveal that the benefits from these projects are for a small section of society that has economic
and political clout. For the environment as well as for those living on the margins of society and who
face impoverishment due to loss of livelihoods, ill health and decreasing access to essential services, a
very bleak future lies ahead unless the present trends are reversed. This poses the greatest challenge to
all environmental and human rights movements in the country today.
New actors, ‘big’ problems
It is not that the problems related to industrial growth did not exist earlier, but the era of globalization
has changed its scale. A large number of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) are into making profits
from natural resources, armed with technologically advanced machinery that displaces human labor,
reduces time and produces more. They source money from burgeoning share markets, which has no
environmental or social consciousness. Tie-ups, mergers and acquisitions bring large and powerful
corporations together. Core sectors such as mining are being increasingly deregulated to allow for
large –scale operations and greater inflow of foreign capital and technology to support these
operations.
The justification for this form of development comes from the acceptance of the Kuznet’s curve, the
favorite econometric toy of neo-liberal establishments from the World Bank downwards. Simon
Kuznet originally developed his theory in the 1960s to explain why inequalities increase when a
country begins to develop economically, but later incomes begin to equalize as the wealth begins to
'trickle down'. Later the Kuznets' Curve was somewhat arbitrarily applied to environmental situations.
It is claimed that many environmental health indicators, such as water and air pollution, show the
inverted U-shape: in the beginning of economic development, little weight is given to environmental
concerns, raising pollution along with industrialization. After a threshold, when basic physical needs
are met, interest in a clean environment rises, reversing the trend. This theoretical understanding has
been woven into the regulatory law and policy framework including on the subject of the
environment. The environment law regime has been reworked upon and what has unfolded before us
21
The authors are members of Kalpavriksh Environmental Action Group
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is ‘regulatory capture’ – a form of corruption that legalizes all past injustices. Lele and Menon have
noted this about the NEP, “... instead of mainstreaming environmental concerns into all development
activities and sectors (its stated goal), it ‘mainstreams’ the current notion of unbridled development
into even the limited environmental regulation we have.” This is true of all environment regulations
today as we will demonstrate in this paper.
International Finance Institutions and corporate bodies have increasingly influenced environment law
and policy formation, through ‘best practices’ and conditional lending. This has occurred at local,
national and international levels. The Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (MMSD)22, the
formulation of the National Environment Policy and amendments to the environment clearance
procedures carried out in 2006 are cases in point.
Using law to legalize destruction
A close look at the series of amendments made to the EIA and CRZ notifications under the
Environment (Protection) Act since the time they were brought into force in 1994 and 1991
respectively reveals that in the recent times there are several mechanisms and ways that have been
adopted to push for changes in law in such a way that destructive development is part of a legally
defined framework. How does this happen?
a) Use of reductionist scien
The new regulatory procedures deploy science to foresee, understand and fix environmental challenges. But
this science is a very reductionist kind of science that breaks down complex environmental and ecosystem
functions or interrelationships into a set of services. This kind of science is also dishonest about the ‘unknown’.
Environmental Impact Studies mostly identify only the impacts that can be quantified and those that can be
mitigated. Areas about which cause and effect relationships cannot be established by modern science are left
out altogether or superficially described. For example; cultural impacts of projects are almost never studied and
therefore not recognized as impacts. Cost-benefit studies are done, but they are at best, arbitrary valuations of
environment services and goods.
b) Mitigation and not prevention
Conservation of ecological spaces has been made vulnerable to a mitigation based approach. Impacts are
assumed as a necessary evil and the best environmental solution available is to adopt techno fixes to minimize
the impact to the extent possible. Market instruments such as monetary compensation of resources lost based
on arbitrary valuation of their environmental services and compensatory offsets are used to justify decisions
that result in large scale and irreversible environmental impacts. Mitigation measures such as the ones to curb
pollution or forest losses have the potential to have their own impacts as they come in the form of restricting
access to land and changing land use by restricting access to them by those whose livelihoods depend on them.
22
The Global Mining Initiative (GMI) created the two-year Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development
(MMSD) project. The GMI is a coalition of ten multinational mining companies with the aim of promoting
the development of corporate social responsibility in the mining sector. (http://www.globalmining.com)
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Ironically these never find mention in the quantification of impacts. In the entire process of impact assessment,
developers and bureaucracy, those with the money and power decide what are acceptable impacts and if
mitigation is adequate.
c) Rule by experts
A paper by researchers Menon et al23 studying the proposed changes to the coastal regulation norms state that
while critical issues how the law will be operationalised are left completely unaddressed, “there is extended
hair splitting over terms such as ‘professional’ and ‘expert’” in the proposed draft.” The entire process of
impact assessment of infrastructure projects is out of any control of local communities. It is made out to be a
‘scientific process’ which values only formal technical and administrative expertise. The regulatory agencies
and the expert advisory committees are filled with technocrats and ex-bureaucrats most of who have close
affiliations with project developers or have spent their professional life planning these projects that they now
have to assess.
The specialized grievance redressal authorities are also dominated by individuals with similar professional
profiles. This makes it impossible to make arguments to them while petitioning against environmental impacts
of projects and expect them to be moved by the fact that impacts fall more heavily on marginalized and
economically powerless and politically underrepresented constituencies. Debates on procedures and not the
spirit of law in the framework of constitutional rights, hold.
d) Violence to validate state decision
The escalation of violence connected with decision making for development projects is an illustration of the
inherent nature of the state. Force is certainly not the only means of the state, but force is a means specific to
the state. The state claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.24 In
almost all the resource rich areas in the country today project affected communities and activists are faced with
the gun, lathis and loss of personal freedoms of movement and speech.
The state of environment regulations
Environment concerns and regulations for environment protection have been repeatedly seen as
‘bottlenecks’ to speedy implementation of projects. In order to overcome these, there has been a
decade long action by central and state governments (pushed by investor and industry lobbies) to
reduce these regulations to mere administrative formalities. A string of amendments to these have
ensured that they are designed to fail their own statements of objects and purpose.
The entire environmental governance framework today rests on a mitigation based, ‘polluter pays’
model. As a result, more and more areas that are wildlife habitats, agricultural lands, critical
23
Menon, M., S. Rodriguez and A. Sridhar. 2007. Coastal Zone Management Notification '07 - Better or bitter
fare? Produced for the Post-Tsunami Environment Initiative Project, ATREE, Bangalore.
24
See the extracts from Max Weber, “Politics as a Vocation”, available at:
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/moriyuki/abukuma/weber/lecture/politics_vocation.html
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watersheds, sensitive coastal and marine areas are being freed of ‘legal and administrative
encumbrances. These areas are to be developed and the environmental and social impacts of this
process are to be managed through market based solutions.
The 1980’s and the early 90’s brought in some legislations for the protection of the environment and
the people who directly depend on the natural resources around them for their survival. Important
among these are the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification (1994) and the Coastal
Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 1991, both under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
a) Environment Clearance
From 1994, with the issuance of the EIA notification under the Environment (Protection) Act, it became
mandatory for development and industrial projects to go through a process of Environment Impact Assessment
(EIA) and public hearing (from 1997) and obtain an environment clearance before they could begin
construction. This was meant to be a precautionary approach to be implemented with the spirit of environment
protection. But what happened in the course of the implementation?
Statistics indicate that from 1986 to 2006, 4016 projects were granted environment clearance by the MoEF. A
much larger number operate without the mandatory permissions. In March 2005, the Supreme Court of India
ordered the closure of all units which were operating without environmental clearance. This was in response to
a writ petition filed by Goa Foundation. Soon after in July 2005, MoEF set into motion a process of seeking
temporary working permissions (TWPs) and post facto clearances through an amendment to the EIA
notification.
The EIA procedures for decision-making on environment clearance were overhauled in 2006. None of the
suggestions made over a decade; to improve the regulatory process, the quality of information for decision
making and enhancing transparency were included. Instead, the reforms focused on speedy clearances.
The public hearing procedures were changed too. This is the only process which challenges the otherwise
routine administrative procedures as diversity of opinions/positions are introduced at this stage. There was an
emphasis to regulate this process too by allowing only people with ‘direct stake’ in the project or its impacts to
participate. In keeping with the reductionist trend, public hearings are robbed of any capacity to function as
spaces for decision making. They have simply been reduced to but a step in finalizing a draft EIA report.
b) Forest Clearance
Since 1980, with the promulgation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, the Ministry of Environment and Forests
(MoEF) has allowed for the diversion of 11, 40,176.86 ha of forest land for non-forest use. Permissions for
forest clearance have been granted to developers of roads, industries, dams, mines and other such activities.
Illegal forest encroachments and activities being undertaken without stipulated clearances are also a bitter
reality. There is significant evidence for this in the large number of damage reports and challans generated by
State Forest Departments; and the growing litigation on this matter.
In recent years there has been a massive up-scaling of legal forest clearance for dams, mines, industries or
infrastructure projects like roads. Out of the 11, 40,176.86 ha approximately 3, 11,220.38 hectares has been
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cleared by the MoEF since 2003, i.e. a quarter of the total clearances in the last 4 of the 26 years of
implementation of the Act.
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Monitoring and Compliance of Environment and Forest Clearance conditions
The critical issue of monitoring and compliance once a project is cleared was given no attention whatsoever.
The MoEF is responsible for long term monitoring projects cleared by it. These include projects such as dams
and mines where work may go on for more than a decade. While the number of projects to be monitored grows
exponentially since the rates of clearance are only increasing, the task of regular monitoring has become a
logistical impossibility. A study done in 1994, when the number of projects to be monitored was fewer,
indicated that upto 94% dam projects that were granted environment clearance were not complying with the
conditions imposed on them25. There have been no instances despite this, of the Ministry withdrawing
clearance to the violating projects or penalizing defaulters.
The Northern Region office (NRO) of the MoEF at Chandigarh in response to a Right to Information (RTI)
application categorically stated that they visit projects barely once a year, when they are supposed to monitor
them on a half yearly basis. They also stated that that there are no norms and protocols of the MoEF for
monitoring and no surprise inspections are carried out.
There are habitual violators in mining and river valley projects, charge-sheeted and imposed fines by state
governments or courts. Yet the new projects proposed by these truant developers continue to be awarded
environment clearances. If precautionary or protective clauses are not being implemented, then is it wrong to
conclude that the Ministry is working merely as’ clearance granting machinery’?
c) The Biological Diversity Act
The Biological Diversity (BD) Act, 2002 is a legislation that was brought into force with the objectives of
conservation of biodiversity, its sustainable use and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of such use.
Under this Act, foreign entities have no access to biological resources in India without the approval of the
National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and even Indians needs to intimate the respective State Biodiversity
Board (SBB).
India had stepped into the era of economic reforms by the time the BD Act was finalized. The process was
initiated soon after India became a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD in 1992), and
agreed to its objectives. The ten years of drafting (of the act) that paralleled India’s growing commitment to the
agenda of economic liberalization; and the next five of its implementation within the 9% growth paradigm
fetish has taken its toll on legislation. Signs of facilitating access to biodiversity and not restricting it are
evident.
A look into the implementation of this Act reveals that while over 250 applications for various purposes have
been approved, there has been little push to implement the clauses for the declaration of Biodiversity Heritage
Sites, mechanisms for the protection of traditional knowledge, or realizing local control over biodiversity and
governance through Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs).
In the BD Act, the provisions for allowing access to biodiversity for commercial use, research, and Intellectual
Property Rights (IPRs) have been set in place. Formats for agreements are ready; applications are being
25 Kothari, A. 2003. We Should Have Gone to Court, Ecologist Asia, 11:1.
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processed and permissions being granted to access hair and blood samples of the Wild Ass or brinjal seed
germplasm. But without the Biodiversity Management Committee (BMCs) established at
panchayat/municipality level, there is no cross checking with local communities about the consequences of
such projects. The stage is therefore set for speedy clearances despite local opposition by this Act too.
Conclusion
Enacting of appropriate legislations and procedures for the conservation of biodiversity and the
environment and their implementation are the responsibility of the MoEF. But in reality, even the
available regulatory processes, however inadequate, have been turned into access or ‘clearance’
legislations. By passive ignoring of progressive clauses or active amendments made to them, the
regulations now only perform the role of legitimizing environmental losses occurring as a
consequence of the development choices being made by governments.
Although each of these laws does have the potential to restrict destruction and strengthen the
conservation agenda, they are best being used to ‘manage’ some of the negative environmental
impacts that a 9% growth rate leaves behind. This may be through monetary or material sharing of
‘benefits’ accruing out of access granted ; or attempting to compensate the losses of rich ecosystems
and interrelationships through simplistic measures like plantations.
Mitigation of impacts, to the extent that it does not trip economic growth, is emerging as the only
prevalent conservation tool. And anyone who is skeptical of such growth is seen as both antidevelopment and anti- environment.
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Annexure I (c)
Title : Economic Liberalization, Decentralized Governance & the Adivasis of
Orissa.
Author: Bhabani Das
Background
The last decade of the 20th century witnessed dramatic changes in the socio-economic trajectory of
the Nation. In 1991, having faced with an unprecedented economic crisis, the Congress Government
under the leadership of Mr. Narashima Rao and Mr. Manmohan Singh resorted to major reform
program in July 1991 (in contrast to Rajiv Gandhi’s Piecemeal 1984 approach). With a view to
improving the efficiency, productivity and global competitiveness, both macro and microeconomic
reforms (liberalization) were introduced in industrial, trade and financial policies (Bhagwati and
Srinivasan, 1993). They strongly reiterated in their theoretical expositions that in the absence of
market failure and distortions, trade could bring about welfare-improving growth (Bhagwati, 1994;
Srinivasan and Bhagawati, 1999). A shift away from the import substitution policies and
liberalization of the trade and investment advocated on the lines of the works of Little, Scitovsky and
Scot (1970), Balassa (1971) Bhagawati (1978) Kruger (1978) . The crucial base of this ‘optimistic’
neo-classical assumption was that markets reflect mutually beneficial voluntary exchange
This paradigm shift in the economic policy of the nation received mixed response from different
quarters of the society. For the last couple of decades, a lot of research has gone into the issue of
growth- to- inequality causality in the tradition of Kaldor (1956) and Kuznets (1955), which discuss
the hypotheses that growth could create or absorb inequality (Papanek and Kyn, 1986, Fields, 1991,
Cogneau and Guenard, 2002). These studies have highlighted that growth of the economy can affect
the poor and income distribution in some way or the other.
Although economic liberalization covers a number of aspects of policy, the central issue is to define
the relative role of the state and the market in the operation and management of the national economy.
The contemporary movement in economic policy reform has involved the retreat of the state and the
shedding of many of its economic functions in favor of the market. In the standard neo-classical
model of the economy, market is a self-regulating mechanism and competition determines which
economic actor will survive or flourish on the basis of their efficiency. The characteristic efficiency of
the market system is believed to advance the absolute welfare of society. But liberalization is context
dependent, not a neutral and deterministic process. The social structure within which liberalization
occurs has a crucial impact on outcomes. The idea that liberalisation will remove politics from the
economy and lead to a more rational and efficient allocation of resources is false. Markets are not
politically neutral but are embedded in social structures. Just as government intervention can be
distorted by an underlying political economy so too can markets. There is no neat dichotomy between
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state-regulation and market; rather both are meshed into existing social (among others) caste, and
gender.
Legitimizing the Panchayti Raj System
Soon in 1993, the government brought in the 73rd constitutional amendment widening and
legitimizing the scope of panchayati raj system across the nation. A new schedule (schedule 11) was
incorporated to the constitution enlisting the roles and responsibilities of the Panchayats. This was
welcomed by every one as a major progressive step towards democratic governance but its
applicability to the tribal areas, especially the scheduled areas was seen in suspension. The
government then appointed a committee under the leadership of Dr. Dilip Singh Bhurai to look into
the specific requirements of the tribal areas and based upon the Bhuria committee recommendations
the Panchayati Raj Act was amended and extended to the tribal areas in 1996. This act is popularly
known as PESA. Some of the salient features of PESA are:
•
•
•
•
•
First of all, PESA has extended the provisions of Part IX of the Indian Constitution relating to
Panchayati Raj to Scheduled Areas of the country with necessary exceptions and
modifications.
Secondly, PESA has elaborated on those exceptions and modification which are to be kept in
mind when a State legislature makes a law or act covering the Scheduled Areas of the State.
Thirdly, PESA has directed the States which have got areas to make an Act on the basis of
PESA within a year of the enactment of PESA.
Fourthly, PESA is directive for the States and not a law by itself.
Finally, PESA has asked the State legislatures to make laws for the Scheduled Areas “which
shall be in consonance with the customary law, social and religious practices and traditional
management practices of community resources”.
One of the highlighting features of PESA is its suggestion that, “every Gram Sabha shall be
competent to safeguard and preserve the traditions and customs of the people, their cultural identity,
community resources and the customary mode of dispute resolution”. In addition to this, the Central
Act of 1996 provides extensive powers to Gram Sabha in the Scheduled Areas in the following
sectors:
i.
Approval of plans, programmes and projects for social and economic development prior to
their implementation,
ii.
Identification
of
beneficiaries
of
anti
poverty
programmes,
Certify utilization of fund spent by the Panchayat.
PESA after giving the above exclusive powers to the lowest unit of grass root democracy has further
provided that the Gram Sabha or Panchayats at appropriate level shall have the following powers:
i.
To
be
consulted
on
matters
of
land
acquisition
and
resettlement,
grant prospecting license for mining lease for minor minerals and concessions for such
activities.
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ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
Planning and management of minor water bodies.
The power to enforce prohibition or to regulate or restrict the sale and consumption of any
intoxicant.
The ownership of minor forest produces.
The power to prevent alienation of land and to restore any unlawfully alienated land of a
scheduled tribe.
The power to manage village markets.
The power to exercise control over money lending to scheduled tribes.
The power to exercise controls over institutions and functionaries in all social sectors.
The
power
to
control
local
plans
and
resources.
Liberalisation and decentralization: Are they competitive or complementary
It is often thought that the liberalization process will kill the essence of decentralization process, as
the withdrawal of national government from the welfare functions and the additional responsibility of
the decentralized units to generate their own revenue will put pressure on the decentralized units, who
in the process will compete amongst each other (often referred to as competitive federalism) and
compromise on their natural resource sustainability.
Competitive federalism is associated especially with the writings of Albert Breton (1987, 1996), and
applies the insights of market competition to the government arena. Market-preserving federalism
(MPF) is a term explicitly coined by Barry Weingast (1993), and has the most explicit structure
associated with it. Specifically, MPF is defined by five conditions: (1) a hierarchy of governments
with delineated authorities (the basis of federalism); (2) primary authority over local economies for
sub-national governments; (3) a common national market enforced by the national government; (4)
hard sub-national government budget constraints; and (5) institutionalized allocation of political
authority.
India's federal system has been characterized as 'quasi-federal', 'unitary with subsidiary federal
features', and a 'federation with a strong centralizing tendency' (Wheare, 1963). Over the past few
decades, this structure has given way to a more decentralized system in which vertical accountability
relationships with state governments has replaced layered accountability to the centre. The result has
been greater competition among states, a decrease in central government control of resources, and a
shift towards more coercive tax bases. India’s constitutional and other legal and administrative
structures with respect to center-state fiscal relations and general power-sharing have not changed
significantly in the decades since the constitution was ratified, in 1950. The conduct of electoral
politics did lead to ebbs and flows in the effective degree of political centralization in the 1960s and
1970s. However, economic decentralization did increase throughout the period, until the 1980s,
including nationalization of banks and other financial sector institutions, as well as more extensive
controls of private sector economic activity.
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Major changes occurred after 1991, when the removal of most national-level industrial licensing
controls allowed states to more freely pursue independent economic policies (Singh and Srinivasan,
2005). However, this political decentralization has not been accompanied by any significant
devolution of funds or authority over local-level economic decision-making (e.g., Rao and Singh,
2003; World Bank, 2004). But it is not a clear-cut case of fiscal decentralization. The states, starting
from quite different initial conditions, have had varying responses to the 1990s decentralization
policy, and the result has been greater regional inequality (e.g., Rao and Singh, 2005). These
developments were accompanied by a broadening of the scope given by the national government to
the Finance Commission, allowing it to make recommendations on a complete range of issues
pertaining to the public finances (Rao and Singh, 2007). However, the essentials of the
intergovernmental transfer system (including Planning Commission and central-ministry-mediated
transfers) have remained relatively unchanged, reflecting both respect for precedent and bureaucratic
inertia. In particular, the transfer system is still a contributory factor to soft budget constraints at the
state level, because of the use of “gap-filling” grants based partly on ex post needs. To the extent that
horizontal equalization considerations are built into the transfer formulas, center-state transfers in
India involve lower effective “retention” of revenues generated by state tax bases (Singh and
Srinivasan, 2006), which may reduce incentives for sub-national stimulation of private economic
activity (Careaga and Weingast, 2001).
Decentralization and Local governance
Presently democratic decentralization and devolution is rapidly becoming a global trend.
Decentralization, which is an integral part of local governance have been increasingly regarded as a
crucial factor for sustainable natural resource management. The outcome of decentralization greatly
varies as the policies for transferring the rights to local governance differs across the developing
countries. Problems include local elite capture, poor coordination and planning, lack of local
community skills and empowerment, inadequate funding and commitment from higher government
officials, among other factors (Johnson, 2003; Capistrano and Colfer, 2005). The stability of
governance systems largely depends on the distribution of benefits from cross-scale linkages (Adger
et al., 2005). According to Berkes (2002), all resource management systems have some external
linkages and drivers at different scales. He argues that failure to recognize these linkages is a central
reason for some unsuccessful interventions in resource systems (cited in Adger et al., 2005). The
same concern is echoed in a two-year study on decentralization processes at different levels - State,
district and village in India and its influence on natural resources by Pari Baumann, Rajesh
Ramakrishnan, Manish Dubey, Rajiv K. Raman, and John Farrington (2003) (a study in Andhra
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka) which pointed out that centralising political forces
constrain both the political and ecological scope of the decentralization agenda.
The study concluded that despite the 73rd CAA:
• decentralized natural resource management has not significantly increased access by the rural
poor to natural resources;
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• the decentralization agenda has not challenged the basic distribution of rights and access to
natural resources established in the colonial period and reinforced in the immediate postindependence period;
• decentralized natural resource management programmes are mainly valued for wage labor by
the rural poor, and, by rural elites, for the opportunity to invest in private property and dispense
patronage;
• decentralization programmes have however created a space for political negotiation at the
district level, thus allowing more strategic local political mobilization;
• in order to exploit these opportunities, decentralized natural resource management programmes
should be more aware of their political and ecological limitations, and more strategic in
resolving these.
The 73rd Constitutional Amendment of 1993 institutionalizes three tiers of local government at
district (usually called Zilla Parishad), block (various local names) and village levels (Gram
Panchayat), collectively called Panchayati Institutions. Gram Panchayats have been vested inter alia
with the responsibility of preparing plans for the management and development of natural resources
within their boundaries. In addition to these formal institutional systems, informal and traditional
natural resource user groups have for long been perceived as having particular local legitimacy for the
management of natural resources. The extent to which such diverse informal groups and use patterns
could be part of a formal system of decentralized management has been much debated, despite the
obvious complexity of this process. The above institutional systems entail different types and
processes of decentralization: deconcentration (the transfer of powers and responsibilities to local
units of the public administration); devolution (transfer of powers and responsibilities to local
government) and delegation (transfer to semi-autonomous groups). Each system has its advantages
and disadvantages for decentralized natural resource management. Some of the advantages of PRIs
include: their statutory mandate; their potential to ‘scale-up’ successful activities, (since they are
vertically integrated into the political structure); their potential to raise local taxes; and their
constitutional commitment towards affirmative action in favor of ‘weaker sections’. More generally it
is argued that institutions for democratic decentralization constitute a human right and that local
governments can provide an environment that is conducive to the growth of associational life. This
potential is often contrasted to the overwhelming evidence that user groups for natural resource
management created by the state under partnership models have only very marginally improved the
livelihoods of the poorest. Proponents for the partnership model would argue that the system of user
groups working in partnership with the government are a means of getting more benefits from the
government; of creating a broader leadership base in which more people can be involved in decisionmaking; of directly targeting the poor and those actually using the natural resource; and generally
developing ‘social capital’ which will stimulate demands for good governance. These two positions
occupy polar extremes and most observers would probably agree that both natural resource specific
user groups and a system of local governance are necessary. The preferred integration between
various models of decentralization depends partly on the position taken on how the two systems
function at present. In turn, ideological positions aside, these opinions are based on very practical
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considerations concerning the capacity of different models to protect the vulnerable, manage natural
resources and foster sustainable development.
Liberalisation, decentralization and poverty reduction: Evidences from the past
With the globalization, liberalization and privatization of the Indian economy the role of the state is
undergoing a paradigm shift from being a producer to a regulator and facilitator. A constant removal
of restrictions on economic activities and fostering private participation is becoming the order of the
day. This thrust on market forces has both positive and negative aspects. The positive aspect is the
achievement of higher GDP growth rate in the economy. On the negative side there is increased
vulnerability of the poor and the marginalised sections of the society in the face of declining safety
net and public good provision. According to Rajesh Tandon of Society for Participatory Research in
India: “There is, indeed, an increasing and deepening divide or schism between globalised and
globalizing India, on the one hand, and marginalised and marginalizing India, on the other. Nowhere
in recent history has the distance –social, economic, cultural and political – between modern India and
traditional Bharat been so stark, as it is today.” The image of a highly educated, professionally
competent Indian and that of Indian companies—operating in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology,
information technology, communications, entertainment, film industry – is far removed from the
reality of the ‘real’ India inhabited by tribals, dalits and landless rural poor in remote parts of the
country, especially in BIMARU states (Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand,
Chattisgarh and Orissa). But globalization and economic liberalisation is a reality, and, therefore, the
question to be asked is, “how to maximize the opportunities and minimize the negatives?” (“The
New Government Policy and Its Implications for the Civil Society in India: Opportunities for
Deepening Cooperation”, Paper presented by Rajesh Tandon to the workshop on Future Development
Assistance from Smaller Bilateral Donors, 6-7 October, New Delhi, India).
There is now substantial evidence that India's success at reducing the incidence of poverty during the
1970s and 1980s was halted, if not reversed, during the globalization era of 1990s. Estimates made at
the World Bank show that the incidence of poverty, which between 1972-73 and 1989-90 fell from
55.5 per cent to 34.3 per cent in rural India and from 54.3 to 34.1 per cent nationally, has in
subsequent National Sample Survey (NSS) rounds, up to 1997 (when the incidence was 34.2 per cent
national and 35.8 per cent rural) never gone below the 1989-90 level and has in fact risen to much
higher levels in individual years. Other estimates (e.g., Gupta 1999) suggest an even greater increase
in rural poverty during 1990s. All the estimates indicate that the gap between rural and urban areas,
which had decreased during the 1980s and the 1970s, increased considerably during the 1990s.
(Streeten Paul, "Globalization: Threat or Opportunity", Copenhagen Business School Press,
2001.p.73). Similarly, Gaurav Datt, Valerie Kozel and Martin Ravallion of the World Bank in their
paper "A model based assessment of India's" found that the rate of average annual poverty reduction
in 1990's was slightly lower than in the 1980's. The 61st round of the National sample survey shows
that during 1993-2005 the annual rate of reduction in poverty was lower than in the 1970s and
1980s(Himanshu,EPW, 2007).
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political,
administrative and fiscal decentralization varies widely from one state to the other. In general, states
have not matched the functions devolved to local government institutions with the necessary
administrative reforms, or by devolving financial powers. As a result, PRIs and Urban Local Bodies
(ULB) have neither the capacity to implement assigned functions – which remain de facto under the
control of state administration – nor do they have the control on resources to make relevant decisions.
(The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida, 2003)
While most states have ratified the 73rd and 74th Amendments in state acts and held elections, the quality of
Decentralized Forest Governance: The Orissa Experience
In Orissa, even after more than a decade of decentralized governance the situation has not changed
much in the sense that the local communities are not adequately empowered. In many a cases there
are loopholes in the policy itself, in some others the implementation is poor and there are leakages for
which the targeted community is sidelined and the objective is not achieved. Some of the issues are
discussed below:
Orissa has the highest proportion of people living below the poverty line (47.15 per cent) as per the
latest estimates of the Modified Expert Group of Planning Commission, 1999-2000. This is in spite of
the fact that it is endowed with rich natural resources in the form of vast mineral deposits, forest,
fertile land, long coastline, and high tourism potential. Again coming to incidence of poverty there is
wide discrepancy on the line of rural and urban division and by social groups as shown in the tablePoverty Ratios by social group, Orissa and India, 1983 to 1999-2000
Social Rural
Urban
group
1983 1987- 1993- 1999- 1983 198788
94
2000
88
Orissa
ST
87.08 83.82 71.31 73.08 73.73 61.37
SC
75.99 65.75 49.79 52.30 69.53 59.52
Other 58.52 47.31 40.18 33.29 41.86 37.87
All
68.43 58.62 49.79 48.04 49.66 42.58
All India
ST
63.89 56.31 47.05 44.35 55.30 52.26
SC
58.96 50.79 48.27 35.44 56.12 54.65
Other 40.90 33.80 31.20 21.14 39.94 36.44
All
46.51 39.36 37.28 26.50 42.32 39.16
Source:-Official NSS data, Haan & Dubey (2005), EPW
Total
1993- 1999- 1983
94
2000
1987- 1993- 199988
94
2000
62.81
45.46
36.32
40.68
59.38
72.03
34.18
43.59
86.22
75.38
56.16
66.24
82.34
65.35
45.92
56.75
70.76
49.39
39.55
48.63
72.08
55.08
33.48
47.31
35.67
49.08
28.67
31.70
37.42
39.13
20.78
23.98
63.27
58.50
40.66
45.57
55.93
51.38
34.48
39.31
46.29
48.42
30.46
35.95
43.67
36.14
21.04
25.87
The majority of the poor in Orissa are rural people and particularly dependent on natural resources for
their livelihoods. They often have poor resource base and have limited and insecure rights over
productive natural resources. These factors jointly contribute towards the vulnerability of rural
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livelihood strategies. Now the question is whether a highly centralized developmental plan or
decentralized mode of functioning with adequate power to the local communities or market driven
strategy can contribute towards sustainable rural livelihoods. Decentralization, it is argued, can
contribute towards sustainable livelihoods through enhanced resource productivity and locally
monitored equity in resource use.
Orissa comprises around 5 percent of India’s landmass; with 36.71 million people it accounts for four
percent of the population of the country, more than 37% area is comprised of hilly forest and has a
coastline of 480 km.
Nearly 85 percent of Orissa’s population lives in the rural areas. Although agriculture as a source of
livelihood dominates the scene, forest constitutes a major component of the natural capital stock that
provides livelihood support mostly to the marginalized section of the society.
Land utilization pattern in Orissa
Net area sow n
37%
Forest area
37%
Misc.T&G
Other fallow s
3%
3%
P.pastures and
Current fallow s
O.grazing land
3%
B&U land
3%
5% Land put to non-Culturable w aste
3%
agri.use
6%
Forest area
Misc.T&G
P.pastures and O.grazing land
Culturable waste
Land put to non-agri.use
B&U land
Current fallows
Other fallows
Net area sown
In Orissa Adivasis are the practitioners of subsistence economy, of food gathering, hunting and
fishing [Birhors, Hill Kharias]. Some tribes like the Juangs, Hill Bhuiyans, Kondhs, and Lanjia Saoras
continue hunting and food gathering along with shifting cultivation. Even the regular agriculturists
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like the Santals supplement their income by hunting and gathering. In a few tribes the economic unit
is the family: such tribes are the Kharias: Mankidi, Mankirdia, Birhor and they are usually found in
the forests of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Sundargarh. They are very poor and live in isolated small
bands and groups and their economy is confined primarily to the forest. The Koyas who are found in
Malkangiri are the only tribe that depends on cattle breeding and animal tending for their livelihood
and the lack of sufficient pastureland is now a heavy pressure on them for which they are adopting
other ways of living. The Mahalis and Kol-Lohars are simple artisans depending on basket making
and black smithy respectively; The Lohars produce iron and wooden tools and other articles for the
use of other tribes with their primitive technology. Swiddening tribes like Kondhs, Saoras, Parojas,
Gadabas, Bondos, Juangs and bhuiyans cultivate broadly four types of land – valley bottom paddy
lands, homesteads/ backyard gardens, uplands and shifting cultivation fields. It is observed in the
district of Angul that among the existing tribe groups, Gonds are better off than the Kisans and
Kolhas. Kolhas remain with worst livelihood condition due to scanty opportunity and less capacity to
trap and utilize the resources.
As different studies revealed, traditionally land occupancy status was lying with the tribal but in the
gradual process of change, it has been transferred to other communities called Chasas [farming
community] by various means of transfer. Now the situation is such that the upper caste / Chasas own
more and productive land than that of the tribal [Kolhas]. The existing tribal groups mostly hold the
up land, which is having a relatively low productivity with poor water retaining capacity. No
irrigation facility is available at the up land to save the standing crops or to opt for bi or multi
cropping system. The tribals in Orissa live close to the forest and it is a major source of livelihood to
most of them.
The present forests of Orissa comprise of three components:
The Govt. owned forests of the erstwhile province of Bihar and Orissa;
The forests of the ex-princely states of the Eastern State Agency(1948-49);
The forests of the ex-Zamindars(1952—57);
In the year 1957-58 Orissa had about 66 thousand sq. kms. of forests in records which formed 42.14%
of the state’s total land area. Over the last five decades 7482 sq. kms of forest area has been lost and
the percentage figure reduced to around 37%.
The Reserved Forests constitute about 45% of the total forest area (2005-06) in Orissa. There has
been considerable shrinkage in the Undemarcated Protected Forests partly as a result of demarcation
and partly due to deforestation. Here only 45% of the total forest area is under the control of the forest
department. The rest of the area is at the disposal of the Revenue Department, where the Forest
Department only protects and tends the crop.
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Percentage of different types of forests in Orissa
Other forests
35%
Reserved Forest
45%
Demarcated
Protected forests
20%
Reserved Forest
Demarcated Protected forests
Other forests
The entire recorded forest area does not have forest cover. According to the State of Forests Report,
2003 published by the Forest Survey of India, Dehradun the actual Forest cover is 48,336 Sq.Kms.
including 207 Sq.Km. of mangrove forests. Out of this tree cover outside forest area assessed
separately and stand at 6,381 Sq.Kms.
Type
Dense Forest (with crown density above 40%
Areas
28,170 Sq.Kms.
Open Forest (with crown density of 10%to
40%)
Scrub Area
20,196 Sq.Kms
4,574 Sq. Kms
Thus, while the recorded forest area constitutes about 37.34% of the total Geographical area of the
State, actual forest cover exists over only 31% of the Geographical area and out of this 13 % is open
degraded forests. The dense forests constitute about 58% (18% of the total land area) and presently
we do not have much of very dense forests. As per the Orissa Human Development Report 2004 the
effective forest cover, defined as the percentage of the closed (dense) forest area having crown
density of more than 40% to the geographical area, was only 24% even by 1972-75. In the course of
the last three decades, it dwindled to around 18% even though the nominal forest cover (total forest
area as percentage of total geographical area) remained above 30%.
Again the geographical
distribution of forest in Orissa is quite uneven. The coastal districts have less than 10% area under
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forests. This includes districts like Bhadrak, Puri, Jagatsinghpur and Balasore. Higher forest coverage
is found in the districts of Kandhamal and Gajapati.
From 1962-68, the forest department issued contracts for concessions in the public forest and a period
of intense degradation followed. From 1968-72, community efforts were made to restore and protect
the forests. From 1972-78, there was another period of degradation associated with commercial
exploitation. By 1980, many village-based groups had emerged to protect adjacent forest resources
and in some places take over the protection of some reserve forest. In 1988, the state passed a
resolution recognizing the role of these communities and giving them responsibilities to guard against
theft and fire prevention in return for collection of fuel wood and other minor forest products. In
1992, the state passed a second resolution and registered some 6,085 FPCs (Poffenberger, 1996).
Meanwhile, hundreds more groups were functioning as FPCs that were not registered. In 1995, due to
the poor condition of the state's reserve forests, the Orissa forest department stopped issuing permits
for commercial felling. This moratorium on felling allowed communities to protect and manage some
of the protected forest in return for collection of some minor forest products.
The economic worth of a forest is largely dependent on floristic composition. In Orissa forests have a
diverse mix of species, which is quite important from the point of view of NTFP. Over time bamboo
pure area has come down from 1375 to 374 sq. km.s. Out of the numerous herbs occurring in the
forests of the state, 130 medicinal plant species have been identified as important. In Koraput,
Kalahandi and Bolangir districts the forest vegetation has the unique ecological distinction in India of
being the natural meeting place of the two giant species namely (Northern) Sal and (Southern) Teak.
Excepting semi-evergreen patches in Puri, Koraput and Kalahandi districts and the tidal forests of
Bhitarkanika area, roughly 94% of the forest fall within the deciduous types. As the Forest
Management Practices favors only a few commercially important tree species, forests are known
under popular economic classes as Sal, Bamboo and mixed.
The forest have been exploited and degraded for centuries and for many reasons. In 1959 the Forest
Inquiry Committee reported that the ex-Zamindari (a part of present undemarcated) forests were
exploited most irregularly with the objective of realizing maximum revenue. The forest Nistar which
deal with the problem of rights, privileges and concession has been very complex. Apart from this
nistar-demand the various other factors that lead to forest degradation are:
a) Impoverishment of tribals leading to over exploitation of forest
Most tribal communities had a clan based land tenure system which provides customary rights in land, trees,
forests etc. The British period led to increased incursion of state and administration in tribal areas, where it was
often resisted violently but put down brutally with support of the British army. Laws such as Orissa Tenancy
Act, 1913 (applicable in coastal districts under direct British rule), Madras Estates Lands Act, 1908 (applicable
in the areas under the control of Madras Presidency) etc. were used for survey and rights settlements in
agricultural land with the main aim of increasing land revenue. Other laws such as Forest Acts (Indian Forest
Act, 1927 and Madras Forest Act, 1885) were used to categorize certain areas as forest lands. Land survey and
settlements and cash land revenue monetized the economy and led to large-scale indebtedness amongst tribal
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societies, and tribals were often forced to part with their lands to non-tribals. The influx of non-tribals
peasantry facilitated by the rulers led to transfer of land from tribals to non-tribals and in plain areas converted
tribals into landless laborers or pushed them onto marginal lands and hilly terrains. Again increasing
importance of forest (timber) based revenue led the British rulers as well as the Princely estates to reserve or
notify more and more areas as forests under various forest laws, imposing restrictions upon the tribals using
these forests land. It came to be conceived as either private or state property, rather than in terms of a territory
that a village held in common (Padel, 1995).
In the post-independence period colonial forest laws and policies were retained as such without change. The
“excluded areas” and “partially excluded areas” inhabited by tribal communities introduced during the British
Raj were retained as “Schedule VI” areas and “Schedule V” areas in the new Indian Constitution, but the so
called protection devices were inadequate and often violated by non-tribals, industrialists and Govt. The State
Government used ingenious methods to avoid recognizing rights on shifting cultivation lands. The communal
tenure of tribes like the Juangs and Kutia Kondhs on their swiddens was completely ignored and these lands
were also settled as government land. This is having wide repercussions on these Primitive tribal groups, often
leading to displacement.
More than 46% of the land in tribal districts is categorized as forests. Declaration of customary tribal lands as
forest has been an important factor in loss of land for tribals. The main legislation regulating forest lands are
the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 and the Orissa Forest Act, 1972. The framework of the forestry
administration is provided by Indian Forest Act, 1927 of colonial vintage on which the Orissa Forest Act, 1972
is based. The Forest Acts provide for control of forests through a centralized bureaucracy i.e. the forest
department, and the laws criminalize almost all local dependence on forests. The forest act and policies also
ensure that the forest bureaucracy has no downward accountability to local people dependent on forests. The
local communities have limited or no rights on the forest land, and have absolutely no say in the management
of the forest. In tribal areas, this is a major problem because almost half the land is notified as forests. The
situation has aggravated with the passage of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. The Forest Conservation Act
1980 states that no forest land may be diverted for non-forestry purpose without explicit permission of the
Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), Government of India. A recent Supreme Court order has banned
the dereservation of any forest land without permission from the Supreme Court.
Similarly, there are forests known as undemarcated protected forests and other forests, whose boundaries are
not even demarcated- it is obvious that no rights settlement has taken place in most of these forest blocks.
Large number of tribal settlements still exists inside these forest areas, which couldn’t be regularized after the
FCA, 1980. This has led to a large number of settlements inside forest lands which show “no physical area” at
all in the Government records. As per data from 2001 Census, there were 443 such villages in the tribal
districts which showed no physical area with a population of 69,000, out of which 72% were tribals. The above
data is indicative, and no comprehensive list of settlements and villages inside forests blocks in the State exists.
However, there can be no doubt that large numbers of villages do exist within the forest areas without proper
legal recognition and are currently being treated as encroachers.
8111 sq. km. (5%) of Orissa have been declared as protected areas (Sanctuaries and National Parks). The state
has 17 wildlife sanctuaries. Most of these protected areas are in the Scheduled V areas or in areas where tribal
population is high. Most of these sanctuaries have large number of settlements within them. For instance, in the
Sunabeda Sanctuary area, there are 34 unsurveyed settlements, mostly inhabited by the Chuktia Bhunjias, a
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primitive tribal group. As per the Forest Department, these 34 settlements are encroachments in the forest, even
though this area is the ancestral homes of the tribals.
The extent of landlessness in tribals is very high. A study taken up in 1978-80 in all tribal areas showed that
22.84% of tribal households are landless whereas 40.46% owned less than 2.5 acres each (THRTI, 1980). An
analysis of the Agriculture Survey data of 1995-96 in the tribal districts shows that the percentage of tribal
landholders having less than one standard acre (defined as being legally landless) of land ranges from 41% in
Malkangiri to 77% in Gajapati. This is in spite of the fact that an average 74% of the land in these districts is
categorized as state land, with forest land at 46% and non-forest land at 26%. Gajapati district has only 14.82%
of its total area under private landholding, with the rest of the land belonging to the government. Around 93%
of the rural households have legal title on only 9% of the district’s land area, even though three-fourth of the
households are either landless or marginal farmers. Kondhmal is another district where 86% of the land is
owned by the State. 66% of the rural households own only 7% of the land area of the district. The fact that
most of the land in tribal districts is owned by the State reflects in the poor landholding patterns of the tribals.
For instance, the Scheduled tribe average holdings in Orissa works out to 1.12 standard acres as compared to
1.43 standard acres for general. More than 50% of tribal landowners are categorized as marginal landowners
with an average holding of only 0.44 standard acres. Even in the remote areas inhabited by the Primitive Tribal
Groups (PTGs) in Orissa, most of the land is owned by the State (being swidden land). This makes the tenure
of the PTGs over their communal land extremely vulnerable. For large proportion of tribal families, these state
owned lands are the only source of subsistence cultivation. Their use of this land has been criminalized and
they are treated as encroachers by the State machinery, and are forced to pay annual fines or bribes to be able to
cultivate the land customarily owned by them. This has led to a process of surplus extraction from subsistence
agriculture practiced by tribal households, and thrusts them further into indebtedness. Lack of secure tenure
also puts the tribals in a vulnerable position leading to economic, social and political marginalization.
Almost all the large dam projects in Orissa are located in areas having higher proportion of tribal population.
One study estimates the total displacement by development projects in Orissa from 1950-1993 to be 79,621
households (Pandey, 1998). However, this is based on government data, which has been challenged by other
researchers. Another estimate is that of 1.5 million people being displaced by development projects between
1951 and 1995, of which 42% were tribals. As per this estimate, less than 25% of the displaced tribals were
ever resettled even partially. Ota estimates that till 2000, about 2 million people in Orissa have been directly
affected by Development Projects in varying degrees out of which about 0.5 million have been physically
displaced losing their home & hearth from their original habitat (Ota, 2001). Except for few irrigation projects,
development projects have not provided land as compensation. More important, since large areas of land
cultivated by scheduled tribes are not legally settled in their names, they receive no compensation when such
land is taken up for development projects.
A common feature shared by most of the tribal people is their remoteness and marginal quality of territorial
resources. In the past, exploitation of such poor regions was found both difficult and uneconomic. But, the
recent rapid technological advancement and unrivalled economic and political strength of world capitalism,
and the rising power of neo-colonialism through the G-8 directly and the IMF, WB, IBRD, etc., as agencies,
have created favorable conditions for the evasion and extraction of natural resources from the ecologically
fragile territories of tribal people. Thus, forced evictions of tribals to make way for mammoth capital-intensive
development projects have become a distressing routine and ever-increasing phenomenon.
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The tribals are forced to live in juxtaposition with alien capitalist relations and cultures, with traumatic results.
They are forced onto the ever-expanding low paid, insecure, transient and destitute labor market. About 40 per
cent of the tribals of central India supplement their income by participating in this distorted and over
exploitative capitalist sector. Many more are slowly crushed into oblivion in their homeland or in urban slums.
Simmering tensions over lack of local control on land and forests in the tribal areas have exploded in recent
years over the issue of land acquisition for industries and mining. For instance, three tribal youths were killed
in police firing in Kashipur, Rayagada district, in 2000, in a protest against a bauxite mining project by a
multinational consortium. More recently, 12 tribals including women and children were killed by the police in
January, 2006 when they protested the acquisition of land by the State for a steel plant of TATAs at
Kalinganagar. Incidentally, the main cause of this resistance was that half the land acquired for Kalinganagar
complex is state land; almost all of which was being cultivated by tribals for generations, and whose rights on
these lands were not settled.
Similar resistance against land acquisition and displacement is taking place in various other locations in Orissa.
At the same time, democratic processes as well as introduction of local self governance have also opened up
new spaces for local communities. These spaces and processes are of deep interest as they manifest the
penetration of democracy and its institutions into the countryside, and its role in ameliorating both the impacts
of territorialisation on well being as well as resolving conflicts and contradictions.
b) Ignoring the role of local participation
The very objective of the state control on the forest is stated to be protection of forest. But after decades of
experience it is found that it is not enough. Without local communities participation check on degradation of
forest, conservation and regeneration of forest is a difficult task to carry out given the resource base of the
Forest Department.
c) Forest area diverted to Non-Forest use
Forest areas are diverted to non-forest use like
Construction of irrigation project
Setting up of industries
Mining activities
Urbanization
Infrastructure building
Forest area diverted to Non-forest use in Orissa
Year
No. of projects
Area diverted to
non-forest use
2000-01
27
1219.06
2001--02
20
1711.74
2002-03
15
508.18
2003-04
23
1493.71
2004-05
9
1274.39
2005-06
26
2153.68
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Source: - PCCF, Orissa, Bhubaneswar, Economic survey,
Govt. of Orissa, 2006-07
d) Increasing population pressure
Increasing Population pressure is believed to be one of the major causes of deforestation. But pressure from
human settlement comes about more from inequitable land distribution than from population pressure. The
inequitable distribution of land holding pattern among and within different social groups, loss of land which is
a major livelihood means due to indebtedness and Govt. policy in case of tribals push them further into the
forest. To make a living the forest area is either misutilised or over utilized or conversion of forest land into
agricultural land takes place.
e) Indiscriminate tree cutting
Indiscriminate tree cutting by the Forest Department either through Departmental agencies or private
contractors is another major reason for the depletion of forest resources in the state. Mature trees are cut down
that have been selected for their timber. The timber trade defends itself by saying that this method of 'selective'
logging ensures that the forest regrows naturally and is once again ready for their 'safe' logging practices. In
most cases, this is untrue due to the nature of rainforests and of logging practices.
Large areas of forest are destroyed due to the machinery/vehicles used to penetrate the forests and making way
for the removal of logs. Trees are cut and soil is compacted decreasing the forest's chance for regeneration. The
felling of one 'selected' tree, tears down with it climbers, vines, epiphytes and lianas. A large hole is left in the
canopy and complete regeneration takes hundreds of years. Again tracks made by heavy machinery and the
clearings left behind by loggers are sites of extreme soil disturbance which begin to erode in heavy rain. This
causes siltation of the forests, rivers and streams. The lives and life support systems of indigenous people are
disrupted, as is the habitat of hundreds of birds and animals.
The globalising effect of demand on timber can be gauged from the number of offences booked by the
respective authorities on illegal felling. During 2005-06, as per the figures reported up to December 2005 the
forest offence cases booked offenders involved, timber and forest produce seized and cases booked under
Section 56 of Orissa Forest Act 1972 and put to confiscation proceedings in the state are as follows:
S.N.
1.
Items
2004-05
2005-06
Total Number of forest
38,753
45,180
offence cases booked
2.
Number of offenders
29,543
7,390
involved
3.
Quantity of timber seized 5,319 Cum
16,200 Cum.
4.
Value of all forest
2,97,20,245
8 Crores
produce seized about
5.
Number of cases booked
1,613
U/S 56
Source:-Department of Forest & Environment, Govt. of Orissa, 2005-06
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f) Policy of the Govt. to encourage monoculture to take advantage of the global demand/ demand of the
corporations
The global market creates pressure to produce certain forest products at the lowest possible cost, often
rewarding cut and run management that lacks inadequate social and environmental investments. Rather than
promoting local development, interaction with the global market could lead to the loss of access to capital
assets and opportunities, and increase local inequity, while transferring risk from corporations and governments
to local people (World Bank 2001). The deterioration of the forests including reserved areas in the
predominantly tribal populated districts brought the socio-economic system into a perilous state. With the
depletion of forest coverage, dependency of tribal groups over forest has decreased substantially and a shift of
livelihood means from forest based to farm based is marked. Many a times the state Govt. has acted as a
facilitator of this process. The natural indigenous forests were cleared by the govt agencies so as to raise
cashew or Eucalyptus plantations. Presently Govt. is encouraging Jatropa plantation. They are referred to as
cash crops because the main reason for their planting is to make money quickly, with little concern about the
environmental damage that they are causing by.monoculture plantations.
g) Shifting cultivation
Shifting cultivation by the tribals lead to the problem of forest degradation. According to an estimate, the loss
of forest area due to Podu was about 2045 sq. miles per year (1981-90). In the ‘80s, the area under shifting
cultivation in the state was approx. 10225 sq. miles i.e., more than 46% of the total forest area (as in 1989-90)
of the state.
According to the Forest Survey of India’s present forest cover in the State is 31% as against 33% of
the total geographical area mandated by the National Forest Policy, 1988. There is thus an imperative
need to accelerate efforts for afforestation and regeneration of the degraded forests for achieving the
mandated 33% forest cover and also to reforest the degraded forests with less than 10% crown density
in the entire recorded forest area measuring 4,574 Sq.Kms. In response to forest degradation in the
state of Orissa Joint Forest Management (JFM) was introduced.
The contradiction and the crisis
As regard decentralized forest governance in Orissa is concerned it dates back to the preindependence days in the form of community forest management (CFM) where the communities
protected the village forests by and large to meet the subsistence requirement such as firewood and
small timber. This practice is found in many areas even now where the people of the degraded forest
areas took the initiative to protect the forests and were later joined by the neighborhoods.
CFMs are loose institutional arrangements managed by village councils, youth clubs or women Self
Help Groups (SHGs). The meaning of protection of forests to them varies in terms of the situational
need and may cover simple things such as eye watching to rotational patrolling.
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CFMs look at forest as development resources in contrast to state policies that are more aimed at
revenue generation. The CFMs have resulted in much forest regeneration of degraded patches and
building social capital. According to a study undertaken by Ashoka Trust for Research on Ecology
and Environment (National level NGO) on impacts of CFM in Kandhmal district which
comes under Schedule V area (consisting of high tribal population), forest cover shows an increase
from 53.7% to 67.2% in the study area between 1991 and 2001. The study findings attribute the
increase in forest cover to protection of forests by local communities. The satellite map of forest area
of Kandhamal given above shows the conversion of open forest (represented in blue patches) to good
vegetation cover as a result of community efforts, FAO Publication, 2005. Unfortunately, the
subsequent policies followed by the state killed the community arrangement. The first onslaught came
on CFM when the social forests developed by the communities were converted to village forest under
the Orissa Village Forest Rules alienating the communities from common lands. The second came
under the JFM arrangement, which necessitated a 50:50 benefit sharing between the community and
the forest department.
The other small duration stint the state experienced during the 70s and the 80s was the social forestry
project with community involvement. Funded by SIDA the project focused on reducing the pressure
on reserved forest by creating social forest on revenue wasteland, which was later, termed as village
forest under the Orissa Village Forest Rules, 1985. The project tried to achieve its physical targets but
miserably failed to bring in the social equity and participation in it. The highhandedness of the forest
officials led to wrong and inappropriate selection of sites and tree species. In additional local level
institutions were missing in the whole project. The net result as pointed out by researchers was
availability of cheap raw material to the paper industries.
Following the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 major changes in the national policies were initiated.
The objective focused on ecological stability and the state governments were directed to prevent
indiscriminate forest conversion to non-forest use. The relevance of the Act on forest conversion and
its impact on the tribals has been discussed in the above section. However, a paradigm shift took place
with the formulation of the National Forest Policy 1988. This marked the official involvement of
communities in protection and management of forests.
JFM is a forestry management practice with the basic objective of forest regeneration and
transplantation. JFM Resolution was adopted that set guidelines for partnerships between local
communities and the state Forest Departments for the protection and management of state-owned
forest resources through forest protection committees. Its stated objectives are: (1) empowerment of
poor and marginalized forest-dependent tribal and other vulnerable and weaker sections of the rural
society by providing them opportunities to participate in the decision-making processes of forest use
and management and gain benefits from it, and (2) regeneration and improvements of vast areas of
degraded forests (GoI, 1990)
However the JFM circular 1990 was more of a policy document, not legally binding. It often ends up
as an arbitrary tool at the hands of the forest officials. JFM resolution approved that local people can
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contribute to protection of the (mostly degraded) forest land and derive appropriate (as per respective
state government rules) benefits from the forests. The Government of India reviewed the JFM
progress in the country during 1999-2000 and after wider consultation with all the stakeholders
decided to further strengthen it and on February 21, 2000 fresh guidelines were issued to all the State
Governments. (Dr. VK Bahuguna)
The circular inter alia provides:
a. Legal backup to the JFM committees,
b. 50% members of the General Body and 33% in the executive with at least one office bearer
should be women
c. Extension of JFM in good forests areas (crown density above 40%) with sharper focus on
activities concentrating on NTFP management.
d. Recognition to self initiated groups
e. Conflict resolution mechanism.
f. Integration of micro plan with the working plan.
g. Contribution for regeneration of resources.
h. Monitoring & evaluation.
Based on central guidelines the state forest department started forming Vana Samrakshan Samities
(VSS). It received a top priority in the department’s agenda and by 2005- 9606 VSS were formed
covering 8518 sq kms.
The practice of JFM in the state has faced several limitations. Firstly, it is due to its uniform structure
and homogenization. While CFM was a loose institutional structure that allowed local adaptability
JFM being rigid does not take into account the village realities. Secondly, the appointment of the
forester as the secretary of the JFM puts the upper hand under governmental control. Thirdly, the high
handedness of the forest department can be seen in the fact that the MOU signed by the community
and the forest department needs the ratification of the DFO and can also be terminated by the
department. Fourthly, the guidelines issued by the Central Government in February 2000, suggests
that the JFMCs be registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. This is not a pragmatic
suggestion as JFMs are incentive-based management options, whereas the Societies Registration Act
is meant to promote charitable activities. This suggestion does not take into consideration the real
nature of the JFMs. (Purabi Bose, 2006). Further the benefit sharing arrangement in JFM negates the
basic purpose of decentralized governance and participation as the forest department sticks to rigid
rules and departs from the essence of forest protection for local forestry needs to commercialization of
forest resources. In addition there are contradictions between the roles of JFMs and PRIs. The 73rd
Amendment to the Indian Constitution institutionalized the three-tier Panchayati Raj model of
governance. This was a significant step vis-à-vis Non-timber forest produces (NTFPs), as this is
related to one of the 29 functions recommended for decentralization to the PRIs. The enactment of the
Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), 1996, further gave mandate to the
decentralized model of governance. The basic problem exists because of the conflicting and
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overlapping functions of JFMs and the PRIs. PESA, 1996, appears to be in conflict with JFMs, as it
seeks to transfer the ownership of NTFPs to the Panchayats. The contradictory nature of PESA, 1996,
with the Forest Policy, 1988, and JFM can be gauged from the fact that the revised JFM guidelines
issued by the Central Government in February 2000, do not even mention PESA. There is an
immediate need to remedy this situation, so as to establish clearly the role and significance of not only
JFM but also that of the PRIs and PESA. There is a need to mitigate these conflicts by bringing about
changes in various acts of the Govt. These changes would go a long way in providing a proper legal
structure and basis to the JFMs and also help in redefining the role of the model of governance.
In 2002 the MoEF launched the National Afforestation Programme by merging 4 centrally sponsored
schemes. The broad objective of the NAP is to:
• Protect and conserve natural resource through active people’s participation.
• Ecological restoration and eco-development
• Evolving village level organization
• Capacity and skill enhancement of rural poor
These objectives are translated in actual terms by formations of Forest Development Agencies. Since
a lot of money is involved in the FDA and the fund transfer has to take place through JFM a lot of
VSS were reorganized overnight and a new FDA based leadership emerged in the villages that
alienated the traditional leaders and sidelined the general public.
A case study from Kandhamal reveals the field reality of FDA and the participation of people in forest
conservation.
Kandamal district is located in the heart of Orissa stretching between 19’34 & 20’36 north latitude
and 83’34 & 84’34 east longitude with an area of 7649 sq.km. It has Boudh district to
its North, Rayadada district to the South, Ganjam & Nayagarh district to the East and Kalahandi
district to the west. Physiographically the entire district lies with high altitude zone with interspersing
inaccessible terrain of hilly ranges and narrow valley tracts which guides the socio-economic
conditions of people and development of the district. More than 50% of population constitute ST
community of aboriginal tribal races. Overall, the district is rank as a backward district in the state of
Orissa (India). In Kandamal district Forest area as a percentage of total geographical area is around
74.64%. Out of the total forest area 35% is under reserved forest, 31% under demarcated protected
forest and 34% under other forests.
Kadamba is a small remote village in Kandhamal district. The village comes under Jhinjiriguda Gram
panchayat of Daringbadi block. It is within Rushimal reserve forest under Bamunigaon range. The
forest is still dense but a small part of it has been degraded for shifting cultivation practice of the
Kondhs. There are 44 Kondh (ST) families living in the village. They collect NTFP from the forest
and resort to shifting cultivation to make a living. These livelihood options are not enough to meet
their needs.
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Earlier there was a community forest management committee in the village initiated by a local NGO.
In 2001 this CFM was taken over by the forest department under FDA. A VSS was formed under the
1993 JFM resolution. A formal organizational structure with the forester as the secretary was formed.
A bank account was also opened. During the CFM phase the villagers had collected some money by
imposing various fees from different NTFP collectors. This fund was matched by a grant of Rs.
50,000 from the department. The villagers also received alternative livelihood assistance in the form
of agriculture implements and seeds. The villagers have also been prompted to get into settled
agriculture and abandon shifting cultivation. At the insistence of the forest department they are
protecting their village forest and as and when they require timber the VSS sits together and decides
upon the amount of trees to be cut. They then inform the forest officials who in turn visit and cross
check the trees to be cut. It is after getting the permission of the forest department that they cut the
trees.
This arrangement is one side of the story. Being allured by the forest department fund they have
formed the VSS and are protecting their village forest. But in reality as their various needs are not by
the arrangement they cut the nearby forest illegally.
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Annexure I (d)
Title
: Liberalisation, Deforestation and Dependence on Forest (A case study of the
most forested district of Orissa, Keonjhar).
Author: Prof. Kishor C Samal
In the past, forests were utilized by the Government of India for commercial interest. The emphasis
on revenue generation had been an important factor in the overexploitation of forest. The objective of
all the forest policies in both, the colonial and post-colonial period has been achieved only at the cost
of the forest dwellers and their life support system (Guha: 1983). After the passing of Forest
Conservation Act, 1980 and its amendment in 1988, protection of forest for environment became,
more than the exploiting of forests for commercial purpose, the main objective. Forests are also the
means of subsistence for forest dwellers since they cultivate forestland and collect forest produce
from it. Besides, even today many people still depend heavily on a very large number of plants and
animal products to meet their daily needs. Be that as it may, there is no doubt that deforestation is
increasing in India as well as in Orissa and also threatening the very livelihood of forest dwellers.
The Deforestation Hypotheses
In general, there are various factors which are responsible for deforestation. Some of these are (i)
commercialization of forest products, (ii) higher price for agricultural products, (iii) lower wage and
non-availability of non-farm jobs, (iv) technical changes that increase agricultural yield, (v) greater
access to forest and market through construction of roads, (vi) absence of well defined and secure
property right of forest dwellers, (vii) higher price of timber, etc. (Amsberg: 1998; Argelson and
Kaimowitz: 1999; Chomitz and Gray: 1996). One research ( Duraippah: 1996) has identified three
main causes of deforestation in India, viz. (i) logging, (ii) agricultural/pastoral encroachment and
expansion, and (iii) fuel wood collection. Construction of big dams, installation of large and smallscale industries and mining activities are also major factors responsible for deforestation in India and
more particularly in Orissa. Besides these immediate causes of deforestation, there are some
underlying causes, i.e. macro-economic factors, which are responsible for deforestation. Some of
these are (i) rise in population and their increasing need for land, food, fuel wood, timber and other
forest produce, (ii) higher per capita income, (iii) economic growth, (iv) external debt, (v) present day
economic liberalization and structural adjustments, etc.
However, how deforestation is affected by some of the above-mentioned factors is ambiguous
(Angelsen and Kaimowitz: 1999). It is argued that the agents of deforestation are small farmers,
ranches, loggers and plantation companies. The action of these agents is a source of deforestation.
There is a broad consensus that expansion of cropped areas and pastures are a major source of
deforestation. No similar consensus has been formed about logging, although it seems to be a direct
source of deforestation in some contexts and an indirect source in other. The adverse consequences of
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tropical deforestation is a matter of rising concern. The term ‘deforestation’ describes the complete
long-term removal of tree cover. The loss of forest cover influences the climate and contributes to a
loss of biodiversity. The economic activity is adversely affected by siltation, flooding, and soil
degradation and reduced timber supplies. This, in turn, threatens the livelihood of forest-dependent
people. Moreover, the increased run-off of rainwater owing to deforestation strips away soil and
consequently clogs lakes and water bodies.
The conventional poverty-environment argument is that poorer families are more likely to clear the
forest either to grow crops or to cut wood, because they have shorter time horizons. It is argued that
poverty and underdevelopment lead to environmental degradation. The counter-argument is that such
families are less likely to do so because they lack the necessary capital to put additional land into
cultivation.
Economic and political factors, according to one view, exert more harmful effects on deforestation
than population growth per se. For instance, according to the United Nations, population growth leads
to the destruction of only small patches of rain forest by farmers who expand cultivation along the
edge of the forest in small amounts (Chhokar et al: 2004). Population growth is not responsible for the
deforestation in larger scale. Large-scale infrastructure projects such as highways, railway lines, big
dams, and industrial and mining projects in forest areas are major factors responsible for degradation
of forest
Over-consumption, it is argued, is also significantly responsible for deforestation. The demand for
cheap beef in fast-food outlets in advanced countries is an example of the adverse effect of
consumption by rich on forest. There has been massive felling of trees in most of the forests of the
Central America and Amazonia to clear them to provide grazing lands for cattle rearing. These
grazing lands are used for a few years and later abandoned while newer forest areas are cleared for
pasture (Ibid). In a similar way, due to a rise in demand for brackish water shrimp in rich countries,
large-scale shrimp farming is practiced in developing countries- most of it in Asia and particularly
after liberalization and globalization. This has led to a massive destruction of mangroves in coastal
areas which have been converted into shrimp ponds, leading to occupational displacement of poor
traditional fishermen in tropical and sub-tropical coastal areas. Thus, in some cases, it is not poverty
but richness that led to massive deforestation.
However, there is no unanimity about the immediate causes of deforestation. Higher prices for
agricultural products, it is asserted, stimulate deforestation. As frontier agriculture becomes more
profitable, the forest dwellers and the migrants from other areas begin to transfer resources into forest
clearing. Additional land is put into agricultural production due to more capital arising from rise in
prices of agricultural products. Thus, increased agricultural prices enhance forest clearing. On the
other hand, there are indeterminate conclusions about the effects of changes in prices of agricultural
inputs on forest clearings. Higher prices of fertilizer may induce farmers to adopt more extensive
cultivation practices that use more land and fewer fertilizers. On the other hand, it can make
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agriculture, in general, less profitable and may lead to a decrease in the amount of land devoted to
production of crops. Various studies show that higher prices of other agricultural inputs like seeds,
pesticides and hand tools reduce forest clearing (Vlachou: 2005).
There is a belief that policies that favor rural wage increases and generate off-farm employment
opportunities for rural people will reduce deforestation. This is because higher rural wages and more
non-farm jobs reduce forest clearing by making agricultural and forestry activities more costly (e.g.,
Pichon: 1997).
Serious doubts have been raised about various hypotheses on deforestation (Angelsen and Kaimowitz:
1999). The population thesis offers only weak support for the explanation that population growth is
the main factor responsible for deforestation. There is little empirical evidence on the link between
deforestation and poverty, as pronounced by the poverty thesis. On the other hand, richer section of
the society are in a better position to clear new forest land, as forest clearing requires investment. The
win-win thesis advocates that economic growth and the removal of market distortions are good for
forest and people. But, this thesis finds limitations since liberalisation, globalization and
consequent currency devaluation lead to higher agricultural and timber prices that, in general,
will lead to deforestation. The making-the-forest valuable thesis postulates that lower timber prices
will discourage sound forest management. But lower prices of timber may both reduce logging
activities and restrain agricultural encroachment stimulated by logging. While forest clearing gives
farmers a claim to the land, increasing the security of such claims may lead to greater forest clearing,
thus contradicting the tenure security thesis. The intensification thesis similarly creates doubts. How
forest clearing is determined by improvement in agricultural technology is not clear without
information regarding the type of technology and the output and without factoring market elasticities.
Though these various theses’ cannot be rejected outright, there are some doubts about the hypotheses.
So, there is a need for rethinking the causes of deforestation. The causes may differ from country to
country and within a country from region to region.
Deforestation in Orissa and Keonjhar District
Forest in Orissa where tribals are mostly living are fast depleting and hence adversely affecting the
livelihood of tribals. The actual forest cover in the state is only 47,033 sq km, which constitutes 30.20
per cent of the total geographical area of the state. Forest of Orissa is unevenly distributed.
The share of the total forest area to geographical area is comparatively higher in Keonjhar district
than that at the all-Orissa level. The percentage of forest area to geographical area was comparatively
higher in Keonjhar district (both in 1990-91 and 1997 at 44. 90 % and 42. 67 % respectively) than that
of Orissa as a whole (at 30.30 % and 30.15 % respectively) for the same period (Tables 1, 2). The
forest cover of the district is 3543 sq km, which is 42.67 % of the total geographical area of the
district. The reserve forest of Keonjhar district mostly consists of steep hills and narrow winding
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valleys. There is coastal climate in some areas in the southern part of the district. Therefore, there has
been development of a distinct plant community in this part. The district consists of a compact area
and its length from the extreme north to the extreme south is around 145 km and the average breadth
from east to west is about 65 km. The forests of the district are of monsoon type.
Two sample blocks in the district are Bansapal and Ghatgaon of keonjhar district (Samal: 2002,
2007). The forest area in the Bansapal block is around 38,935 hectares and the Ghatgaon 8,193
hectares. The sample villages in our study in the district are Santarapur, Sitabinj of Ghatgaon block
and Upper Raidiha of Bansapal block.
The rate of deforestation is higher in Keonjhar district as compared to that of Orissa state as a whole.
The percentage of total forest area to geographical area in Keonjhar district has declined by 2.23
percent point during the period 1990-91 and 1997 while it has declined by 0.15 percent point in
Orissa as a whole. Similar is the case for percentage of closed forest area to the total geographical
area. This share has declined at a higher rate in Keonjhar district, i.e. 3.55 percent point than that of
Orissa as a whole (i.e. 0.93 percent point) over the said period. This is primarily due to heavy mining
activities in the district.
The main source of income from the forest produce of the state government is timber and firewood.
While tenants in the exercise of their nistar rights mostly take firewood away, the timber of the
incremental yield of the forest was going to the contractors, mostly through auction sale. But this
system proved detrimental to forest economy. Therefore, the system of auction through contractors
was abolished. All the forest coupes were given on basis of negotiation o the Orissa Forest
Corporation with effect from 1975.
Other important causes of deforestation, which have been observed in the study area, are the heavy
pressure on the forests due to lack of alternative dependable sources of livelihood and also due to a
growth in the population. Due to the lack of alternative dependable source of livelihood on the one
hand and population growth on the other, households living in and around the forest area are
depending on shifting cultivation -locally called Dangar Chasa. Almost all the households in Upper
Raidiha village and, only Juang of Santarapur village have been involved in such cultivation. In fact,
the gap between one crop to another on a single plot under shifting cultivation has been declining. As
a consequence, it accelerates the extent of deforestation (Samal: 2002, 2007).
Moreover, massive deforestation in the state is also caused by an increase in biotic pressure
(population and livestock) and also due to non-response of forest resources to the increased needs of
the people (i.e. Supply of forest resources is less than the demand for it). Other factors are:
(i) diversion of vast amount of forest areas for non-forestry purposes such as mining,
irrigation, industries, railways, defense etc.
(ii) low priority to and meager public investments in the forest sector development (in the state
budget) compared to other sectors;
(iii) increasing degradation of forest land (NCDS: 2002); and
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(iv) greater dependence on fuel wood for sale.
The main factors responsible for deforestation and forest clearing in our study area are; (i) illegal
felling of trees due to improper forest management as well as an unholy nexus between some
politicians, forest contractors and officers of Forest Department and, (ii) setting up of a large number
of mineral-based projects including open caste mining and mineral processing units, particularly after
the onset of the processes of liberalisation, privatization and globalization (since 1991). During 198291, 9,800 hectares of forest area were diverted to non-forest use, whereas during 1992-2004, around
19,257 hectares have been diverted to non-forest use (Table- 3). Thus, forest area diverted to nonforest use in post-liberalisation era is almost double of that in pre-liberalisation period. Although,
there was a process of deforestation in the state due to factors mentioned earlier, the rate of
deforestation became more in the post-liberalisation period. This is mainly because; liberalisation and
opened up to the private sector (including multinationals), core sector like power, steel, mines, etc.
which they were not allowed earlier. Other factors are: (i) two-strokes devaluation of Indian Rupee in
1991 and its continuing depreciation upto 2003, and (ii) abolition of Freight Equalization Policy in
1994.26 This has led to excessive exploitation of minerals, which were mostly available in forest areas
of the state. However, there are also other agents responsible for deforestation in Orissa and India.
The rate of deforestation is reflected through variables like distance covered and time spent to get the
same quantity of some selective forest items at two points of time (in our study area). Earlier (in
1995), one had to cover about 4.09 km in forest to get one vara (shoulder load) of firewood. But to
get the same quantity of firewood in 2000, on an average a distance of 7.36 km in forest was required
to be covered (Table- 4). It implies that an increase of additional 80 per cent of the initial distance was
26
In January-March 1991, the exchange rate was $1=Rs. 19.62/-. After the two-stroke devaluation in JulySeptember 1991, the exchange rate became $1=Rs25.76, and depreciation of the Rupee continued till 2003
upto a level of $1=Rs50.00. In case of devaluation and depreciation of home currency (Rupee in case of India)
in developing countries that are rich in natural resources, the earning in terms of home currency suddenly
increases. This will encourage developing countries like India and poor states like Orissa for more exploitation
of natural resources since most of them depend on export of natural resources such as minerals like bauxite,
iron ore, etc, forest produce and products of water bodies; and semi-processed mineral resources. This, in
consequence, leads to deforestation, environment degradation and local and occupational displacement of poor
and marginal sections.
Earlier, due to Freight Equalization Policy, the transport cost of minerals, iron ore, steel, etc was the same
throughout India. Investments for value-added items or for mineral processing industries like aluminum and
steel were not forthcoming in the mineral rich states like Orissa. After the abolition of Freight Equalization
Policy in 1994(and after the onset of liberalisation and privatization) such investments have started flowing
into Orissa. Apart from this, the conversion of forestland for non-forest use has meant that the land used for
cultivation in the state also declined (in Orissa, it has declined from 63 lakh hectares in 1990-91 to 57 lakh
hectares, gochar from 8 lakh hectares to 4 lakh hectares in 2005-06). This is according to the Annual Report of
Department of Agriculture, Government of Orissa, As a consequence, food grain production declined from
72.30 lakh tones in 1991 to 35.55 lakh tones in 2002-03
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required to be covered for collecting the same quantity of firewood over a period of five years.
Similar is the case for other forest items such as herbal medicine, food items, and timber etc.
Similarly, comparatively more time was required to be spent to get the same quantity of forest items
in 2000 than that in 1995.
The increasing degradation of forest thus gives rise to the necessity of afforestation, plantation and
regenerating environment in the state in order to protect and promote the livelihood and also to reduce
drudgery of the people. Such environment based works are highly labor intensive and capable of
generating massive employment for people in Orissa (Government of Orissa: 2001)
Issues on NTFP
Besides hydrological benefits such as erosion control and regulation of stream flow, there are other
benefits of forest, which accrue from non-timber forest produce (NTFP). Forest dwellers depend on
NTFPs for food, fodder, fuel-wood, fruits, housing materials, medicines, etc. The issue of livelihood
of forest dwellers is related to sustainable harvest of NTFP. Notably, this has a negligible impact on
the plants and trees in forest.
In India, important NTFP such as bamboo, sal seeds and tendu leaves (known as kendu leaves in
Orissa) are nationalized. That is, these NTFPs can be sold only to government agencies. In Orissa, the
government has authorized the Orissa Forest Development Corporation (OFDC) and the Tribal
Development Co-operative Corporation (TDCC) for procuring these forest products. But it is
unfortunate that all the primary collectors are not availing of this facility. Moreover, due to a lack of
managerial capacity, these authorized corporations are bearing heavy loss over the years. The revenue
yields over years from the nationalized NTFPs are very dismal in Orissa. The objective of protecting
tribal interests in terms of ensuring fair price to their products has not been fulfilled due to rigid trade
options that restrict the number of legal buyers and restrictions of free flow of goods. These have
paved the ways for exploitative alternative markets. Government agencies such as OFDC, TDCC
have grossly failed both in terms of maximizing revenues and in terms of ensuing a fair price to the
primary collectors (Mallick: 2000).
Besides this, the government has been leasing out different NTFPs to private agencies for
procurement from time to time. Though, there is a Committee to decide the prices at which different
NTFP have to be procured, forest dwellers are also being exploited by the middlemen/private
agencies who purchase their collections at lower prices (RCDC: 2000).
The Government of India has passed a new legislation for Schedule-V (tribal) areas called as the
Provision of Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, which makes Gram Sabha/
Gram Panchayat the owners of NTFP. In line with this, a recent policy strategy, Policy on
Procurement and Trade of NTFP announced on 31st March 2000, that the Government of Orissa has
entrusted 67 NTFP to Gram Panchayats in the state (both scheduled and non-scheduled areas) in
terms of ownership and control in order to make procurements and also for the purpose of marketing
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and processing of NTFP for more benefits to the primary gatherers. It is observed that in most of the
cases the representatives of Gram Panchayats are not aware of the NTFP Policy (Ibid). The new
NTFP Policy has divided the non-timber forest products into four categories viz. (i) minor forest
produce [60 items], (ii) non-timber forest produce (seven plant based oil seed items excluding one
non-declared item), (iii) forest produce which are not to be leased out, and (iv) nationalized forest
produce such as kendu leave etc. However, the above categorization of NTFP does not seem to be
scientific. Out of the total 60 minor forest produce, the ownership of which was given to GPs, only
about 10 to 12 items are being traded. Moreover, the comparatively higher revenue/income generating
forest produce like kendu leaves, bamboo and sal seed are still under the control of the government.
Giving a stake to people in the sustainable use of forests and involving them in their management
could reduce the ‘Tragedy of Commons’. This is now a widely acknowledged principle and Joint
Forest Management (JFM) is already in operation in most of the states (including Orissa) in India.
However, participation of the people in decision-making on issues like selection of land and species is
limited. Apart from this, JFM has several problems in Orissa, such as a weak and controversial legal
framework as well as weak links between the JFM committees and panchayats (Mallik: 2002).
The important non-timber forest products that are found in Keonjhar district are kendu leaf, sal seeds,
mohua flowers and seeds (control of its trade vests with state Excise Department), honey and wax,
resin, tasar, myrabolon, tamarind, sal leaves and siali leaves and fibres. These NTFPs play an
important role in the rural economy of the district as forest dwellers, who hardly get their food from
agriculture, depend on them. Most of the NTFPs are collected from the reserve forest as well as from
the Khesra forests. NTFPs like tamarind, mohua flowers and seeds, and kendu leaves are mostly
collected from Khesra forests. Kendu leaf is a major raw material for bidi industry, which provides
employment to a larger number of people. As mentioned earlier, the kendu leaf trade was completely
nationalized by the state government, with effect from 1973 crop-year.
Towards the late 1960s, collection of sal seeds assumed an importance to the forest dwellers and
particularly to the tribals, when its industrial use as oil for making soap, chocolate, etc was
discovered. With its nationalization (with effect from 1983 crop year) and fixation of remunerative
price under the Minimum Wage Act by the State Government, substantial income accrues to tribals
engaged in collection of sal seeds during April-June every year.
Sample Villages
Santarapur is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious village that is composed of SC, ST, OBC,
general caste, and Muslims households. Compared to the other two villages, viz. Upper Raidiha and
Sitabinj, Santarapur is well connected with road, transport, and has access to communication and
health services. The special feature of this village is that most of the households that are involved in
trading of the different forest products belong to a minority community. As compared to others, socioeconomic conditions of this category of households are better.
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Among the three sample villages, Upper Raidiha village is unique in the sense that the village is
surrounded by forest. Moreover, about 69 per cent of total households of the village are tribal
(belonging to Juang, Bhuyan and Majhi) and 50 per cent of total households belong to a primitive
tribe, i.e., Juang. Almost all the households are mainly dependent on shifting cultivation, for their
livelihood. To supplement their livelihood they also depend on different non-timber forest products,
mainly food items such as mango, jackfruits, etc.
Sitabinj village is characterized by both traditional and modern economic activities. Sabar and Munda
are two ST groups in the village. Sericulture is a traditional occupation of the Munda tribe. The
villagers are mainly dependent on settled cultivation. Both the villages, Sitabinj and Uper Rahdiha are
not connected with all-weather road and do not have access to electricity and telephone.
The present study covers a total of 203 sample households from the three sample villages. The overall
share of ST population in the sample is around 60 per cent. About half of the sample population is
literate, and around one fifth is land-less. All the categories of land in the area are rain fed. Paddy is
the main crop in non-forest land. Most of the sample households have multiple occupations, which
fact emanates out of their necessity for survival. Around 28 per cent of the totals earning members are
primarily engaged in cultivation and 21 per cent in NTFP collection (Samal: 2002).
Nature of Dependence on Forest
The nature of dependence on forests is broadly divided into three types, viz., (a) for own household
consumption only, (b) for selling purpose only, and (c) for the purpose of both household
consumption as well as selling. Except food items and cultivation of forestland, the percentage share
of households depending on forest products for the purpose of their own household consumption only
has declined over time (Samal: 2002). The nature of dependence on forest for some of the
households’ has changed over time from singular purpose of own household consumption to
combined purpose of own household consumption and selling. This changing nature of dependence
on forest is observed particularly for the items like firewood, timber and sal leaves. Finally it is
observed that the nature of dependence on forest has changed over time from collection of food items
towards non-food items. It is to be noted that due to deforestation, availability of food items in
forest has declined.
A very small percentage of total sample households have been depending on different forest produce
for selling purpose only and this share has declined over time. The SC households are comparatively
less dependent on forest for this purpose as they are more dependent on their caste-based traditional
occupation. The percentage of sample households collecting timber has declined from 9.36 in 1995 to
4.93 in 2000 and; those collecting NTFP from 18.72 to 14.29 during the same period (Ibid.).
Sal seeds, char seeds, sal leaves, kusum seeds, bahada, rahani, panasi, char seeds, etc are collected
by primary collectors for the purpose of selling only. These primary collectors sell their forest
produce to traders in both their villages and in nearby Dhenkikote, Gonasika and Kanjipani markets.
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It is observed that except the primary collectors of timber, others do not get the price equivalent to the
minimum wage fixed by the government for their items. For example, a male primary collector of
dry fuel-wood has to spend about nine hours of time to collect and sell of a vara (shoulder load of 50
kg weight) of it. In return, he gets Rs. 25 only.
The overall percentage share of total households who were depending on food items and herbal
medicine for both consumption and selling in 1995 has declined since 2000 (Ibid.). The nature of
dependence on forest items such as firewood, timber and some of other NTFP is found to have
increased over time. The forest dwellers particularly tribal such as Juang, Bhuyan, and Munda do use
herbal medicines as and when they suffer from health problems. But, due to deforestation, the
availability of such plants in forest has also declined.
Degree of Dependence on Forest
The degree of dependence on different occupational categories has been analysed in two ways (i) on
the basis of work participation rate and (ii) on the basis of percentage share of income from each
occupational category.
It is observed that percentage of sample households primarily depending on forest has declined from
24.40 in 1995 to 21.72 per cent in 2000, mainly due to non-availability of forest produce over time
(Ibid.). However, dependence on forest particularly of women (on part-time basis) has increased.
The degree of dependence on the basis of income is analyzed in terms of percentage share of income
from forest to total income from all sources. This share is different from village to village and among
households in a particular village and over time. The forest dwellers are depending on a diverse
portfolio of activities and income sources, and hence most of the sample households have multiple
income sources. Around 89 per cent of the annual net income of the trading community is coming
from trading of forest produce and another seven per cent from other business.
Overall, in case of non-trader community, the forest was contributing 18.54 per cent of annual net
income in 1995, which has marginally increased to 19.75 per cent in 2000. It is to be noted that
annual net income per household has increased by 2.96 per cent while income particularly from
forests has increased by about one per cent. The share of income from forests can be divided into two
groups’ viz. (i) income from collection of different forest products and (ii) income from cultivation of
forestland. In both the cases, percentage share of income has marginally increased, though the share
of income from latter source is quite lower than that from former.
Forest contributes around 23.34 per cent of total income for ST households, 17.85 per cent of “others”
and 7.55 per cent of SC households respectively (Ibid.). It is to be noted that SC households have not
been depending on cultivation of forest land/shifting cultivation. Comparatively women have
contributed a higher percentage share of income from forests. This trend is found across the social
categories of households though it is higher for ST and lower for SC. In this context, the role of
a woman is also prominent.
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Finally, unlike non-food forest products, the degree of dependence on food items of forest has
declined over time. Putting it in different way, the dependence on forest has been changing from food
to non-food items of forest. Multiple factors are responsible for such change in dependence on forest.
The important one among them are (i) fall in availability of food items in forest due to extensive
deforestation, (ii) dependence of forest dwellers on non-food items due to less availability of food
items in forest and lack of alternative dependable sources of livelihood, and (iii) easy access of forest
dwellers particularly those who are living in the vicinity of forest area to forest land for cultivation
(though illegally) (Ibid).
Our study has calculated man-days of work in a year instead of hours of work per week. It was found
that around 23.71 per cent of total man-days employed per household were spent for collection of
forest products in 1995. This has increased to 24.92 per cent in 2000. Around three per cent of total
man-days of work employed per household were spent on cultivation of forestland. Forest is
providing comparatively higher percentage of total employment followed by cultivation and non-farm
wage labor (Ibid.).
The overall percentage share of total employment in collection of forest products was comparatively
higher (13.23 per cent) in the case of women than their men counterpart (i.e., 10.48 per cent). This
trend is found across all the social categories of households and over time except in the case of trader
households. Interestingly it was found that this share for women has increased from 13.23 per cent in
1995 to 15.87 per cent in 2000, while for men it declined marginally from 10.48 per cent to 9.05 per
cent over the same period (Ibid.). Thus the employment potential of forest sector particularly for
women is comparatively higher. But, while it is compared with the return in terms of money income
from this sector, we found that by spending about 25 per cent of total man-days of employment in
forest sector, particularly in collection of forest products, about 19 per cent of total income was
earned in 2000. The ratio was similar even 5 years previous to this period. Thus employment in forest
sector particularly in collection of forest product is not remunerative in nature.
Summary, Conclusion and Policy Implications
In Orissa, deforestation has increased since 1991 due to (i) liberalisation and privatization, (ii)
devaluation and depreciation of Indian Rupee upto 2003, and (iii) abolition of Freight Policy. The rate
of deforestation is higher in Keonjhar district compared to that at the all-Orissa level. The various
causes of deforestation in the district are: (i) unholy nexus between commercial interests and some
officials of Forest Department, (ii) shifting cultivation, (iii) biotic pressure, and (iv) non-forest
development projects like mining, industry, railway etc, more particularly in the post-liberalisation
era. Due to deforestation, the availability of forest items particularly of food items has largely
declined. As a result, the nature of dependence of forest dwellers on forests has changed from
gathering food items towards gathering non food items and also particularly towards cultivation of
forestland.
The share of income from forest in the total annual net income of the households has marginally
increased during 1995-2000. Dependence of forest dwellers on forest items is: (i) for own
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consumption only, (ii) for selling only, and (iii) for both consumption and selling. They also depend
on forestland for cultivation. However, very small proportion of households has been depending on
forest products for purpose of selling only and this share has been declining over time. Most of these
primary collectors sell their forest items to the middlemen.
The degree of dependence of forest dwellers, on forest (in terms of the share of income from forest)
has remained almost same during five-year period. But as compared to the time spent on collection of
forest products five years back, now more time is required and more distance needs to be covered to
get the same quantity of forest produce. Thus, the real income from forest has declined over the years.
Still forest dwellers, particularly the tribal, are depending on forest, as they don't have any other
alternative dependable source of livelihood.
Instead of declaring the villages of forest dwellers as revenue villages there is necessity of
afforestation of village land, and temporary lease of forestland to them for raising crop for livelihood
(and not for commercial purpose). JFM has invited many problems. There is a need of more
empowerment of Gram Panchayats and local level institutions and GPs should be also be given some
power for management of forest without any interference from Forest Department officials. Control
over forest should be transferred from the Revenue Department to the Forest Department, whereas as
of now it is with the former.
Some suggest the role of market forces as a solution to the problem of deforestation and the
consequent scarcity of forest products. But self-correcting adjustments to scarcity may cause various
new problems particularly for the poorest households. Local subsistence farmers would have to forgo
other production in their household land when they begin planting trees. Moreover, the landless
households may suffer even more since they do not have the option of planting trees on their own
lands and they will be deprived of their jobs in agriculture when agricultural land is converted to farm
forestry due to operation of market forces. In some cases, the private sector may play some role,
particularly for afforestation of degraded forest and waste forestland. Thus, these lands may be leased
to private party for farm forest while natural forest should remain under the government’s control.
There is also the problem of encroachment of forestland that must be checked. There is a need for
regularization of encroached forestland, not on the basis of distinction between pre-1980 and post1980 or that proposed by the TFRA (2006), but on the basis of distinction between encroachment for
livelihood and encroachment for commercial purpose. The former may be regularized while eviction
is desirable in case of the latter.
The view of various stake holders (of Keonjhar district) in a workshop held at Keonjhar was that
poverty and lack of alternative source of livelihood force the poor forest dwellers to act as an agent in
the hands of illegal traders of timbers, NTFP and wild animals. This is one of the reasons of
deforestation. Hence attack on poverty in the locality is the most important requirement for the forest
dwellers as well as forest protection. Adequate measures for generation of employment and income
based on forest resources have to be taken. However, there is also a need for livelihood diversification
and reducing the dependence on forests in the study area.
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.References:
Amsberg, Joachim Von (1998); “Economic Parameters of Deforestation”, The World Bank Economic Review, Vol.12,
No.1, January, Pp133-53.
Angelson, Arid and David Kaimowitz (1999); “Rethinking the Causes of Deforestation: Lessons from Economic Models”,
The World Bank Research Observer, Vol. 14, No.1, February, Pp. 73-98.
Chokar, K B, M Pandya and M Raghunathan (2004); Understanding Environment, Sage Publication, Delhi.
Chomitz, K.M. and D.A. Gray (1996); “Roads, Land Use and Deforestation: A Spatial Model Applied to Belize”, The
World Bank Economic Review, Vol. 10, No.3, September, Pp487-512.
Duraiappah, A (1996); Poverty and Environmental Degradation: A Literature Review and Analysis, CREED, Working
Paper Series No. 8, UK.
Government of Orissa (1986); Department of Revenue, Orissa District Gazetters, Keonjhar, Bhubaneswar.
Government of Orissa (1992); No. TD- 1 (IFAD)- 18/91/2628/HTW, Bhubaneswar, 10th April 1992, Harijan and Tribal
Welfare Department, Bhubaneswar.
Government of Orissa (1993); Protection of Reserved Forest and Protected Forest Areas by the Community and
Enjoyment of Certain Usufructs by the Community, Notification No. 16700-10F (Pron)- 20/93- F & E, dtd. 03/07-1993,
Bhubaneswar.
Government of Orissa (2001); Directorate of Economics and Statistics; Economic Survey 2001 and Various Other Issues.
Guha, Ramachandra (1983); “Forestry in British and Post-British India: A Historical Analysis”, Economic and Political
Weekly, Vol. XVIII, Nos. 44/45-46, October 29/ Nov. 5-12, Pp. 1882-96 and 1940-47.
Maler, Karl-Goran (1998); “Environment, Poverty and Economic Growth”, in B Pleskovic and J E Stiglitz (eds) Annual
World Bank Conference in Development Economics 1997, The World Bank, Washington.
Mallik, R.M. (2000); “Sustainable Management of Non-Timber Forest Produces in Orissa: Some Issues and options”,
Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 55, No. 1, July-September, Pp. 384-97.
Mallik, R.M. (2000); Impact on NTFP Policies on Sustainable Livelihood of Forest Dependent Communities in Orissa:
An Empirical Exercise, (mimeo), NCDS, Bhubaneswar.
Pinchon, Francisco J (1997); “Colonist Land Allocation Decision, Land Use, and Deforestation in the Ecuadorian
Amazon Frontier”, Economic Development and Cultural Change, Vol 44 No 4, pp. 127-64.RCDC (2000), Jungala
Khabar, various issues, 2000, 2001, Bhubaneswar
Samal, Kishor C (2002); Forest and Livelihood: Case Study of Keonjhar District of Orissa, (mimeo), (A Report of the
Research Project Funded by CDS, University of Wales, Swansea, UK.), Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for Development
Studies, Bhubaneswar.
Samal, Kishor C (2007); Poverty, Social Capital and Natural Resource Management, Rawat Publications, New
Delhi/Jaipur.NCDS (2002); State Development Report, Nabakrushna Choudhry Centre for Development Studies,
Bhubaneswar.
TFRA (2006); Vlachou, Andriana (2005); “Environmental Regulation: A Value Theoretic and class-based Analysis”,
Cambridge Journal of Economics, Vol 29 No4, July, pp 2559-72.
Table 1
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Sl
No
Forest cover in Keonjhar district and Orissa (1990-91 and 1997)
(In Sq. Km.)
Particulars
Keonjhar
Orissa
1
2
1990-91
1997
1990-91
1997
3
4
5
6
1
Total geographical area
8303
8303
155707
155707
2
Closed forest
2033
1739
2754
26101
3
Open degraded forest
1697
1804
19661
20629
4
Mangrove forest
-
-
195
211
5
Total forest area
3730
3543
47205
46941
6
Total forest Area as % of
44.90
42.67
30.30
30.15
geographical area
(-2.23)
(-0.15)
Note: # Figures in parentheses show change in percent point from 1990-91 to 1997.
Source: Govt. of India, State of Forest Report, 1991 and 1997, Ministry of Environment and
Forest, New Delhi.
Table 2
Percentage distribution o f closed forest area in Keonjhar district and Orissa (1990-91 and 1997)
Sl
No.
Particulars
Keonjhar
Orissa
1990-91
1997
1990-91
1997
1
2
3
4
5
6
1
Percentage of closed forest area to total
forest area
54.50
49.08
(-5.42)
57.94
55.60
(-2.34)
2
Percentage of closed forest area to
geographical area
24.49
20.94
(-3.55)
17.69
16.76
(-0.93)
3
Percentage of closed forest area of the
district to total (CFA) of the state
7.43
6.66
(-0.77)
100
100
4
Percentage of total forest area of the district
to total forest area of the state
7.90
7.55
(-0.35)
100
100
Note: # Figures in parentheses show change in percent point from 1990-91 to 1997
Source: As in Table 1
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Table 3
Forest area diverted to non-forest use in Orissa
(Since inception up to 2004)
Sl. No.
Year
Number of projects
Area diverted to
non-forest use
(in hectare)
1
2
3
4
1
1982
1
3.43
2
1983
4
124.02
3
1984
18
2000.89
4
1985
5
517.38
5
1986
3
770.38
6
1987
5
952.90
7
1988
9
975.63
8
1989
13
1737.38
9
1990
24
2714.92
10
1991
5
3.17
11
1992
7
508.84
12
1993
8
4729.25
13
1994
3
788.92
14
1995
6
317.94
15
1996
12
1354.61
16
1997
14
1902.49
17
1998
53
4722.35
1999
18
2000-01
27
1219.06
19
2001-02
20
1711.74
20
2002-03
15
508.18
21
2003-04
23
1493.71
Total
275
29056.89
Source: As in Table -1
Table-4
Average distance and time covered per day to get same quantity of some
important forest products at two points of time (1995 and 2000)
Sl
No.
1
Forest Items
2
Average Distance covered per day (In
Km)
1995
2000
Distance to
cover after 5
years
% of
Additional
3
4
5
Average time spent per day (In Hours)
1995
2000
Time to spent
after 5 years
% of Additional
6
7
8
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1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Firewood
Food
Fodder
Housing
Materials
Medicine
Timber
Sal Leave
Mahua
Wild
Animals/Birds
4.09
7.36
79.95
3.89
6.55
68.38
3.49
3.87
3.27
6.33
4.55
6.27
81.38
17.57
91.74
3.43
3.40
4.08
5.91
5.41
6.51
72.30
59.12
59.56
4.65
5.90
4.07
3.45
5.19
8.07
9.22
6.51
4.85
7.85
73.55
56.27
59.95
40.58
51.25
4.80
4.40
3.60
3.80
4.70
6.61
7.65
6.81
6.09
6.50
37.71
73.86
89.17
60.26
38.30
Source: Samal (2002)
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Annexure I (e)
Title : Economic Growth and Deforestation: A study of Orissa Economy
Authors: Sushanta Kumar Nayak27, Samir Ranjan Samantra, Pradeep Kumar
Mishra
Introduction
The economic liberalization process in India was started in the year 1991.The basic aim of the process
was to make a transition from an inefficient to an efficient economy, producing a satisfactory growth,
and thereby creating a substantial impact on poverty28. The first objective of the process i.e. a
satisfactory growth has already been achieved. Keeping this in view many argue that India and its
States have reaped the benefit of the liberalization process.
Economic growth generally connotes the growth of National Income. The growth of income can be
comparable with the gain in weight of a person and it can be said that when the weight of a person
increases he becomes healthy. The gain in weight of the person can be viewed in two ways. Firstly,
proportionate gain in weight of all organs of the body and secondly, disproportionate gain in weight
of some parts of the body (for example, bulging out of the belly of the person). This second type of
gain in weight is a disease-ridden gain in weight. A similar analogy also applies to the growth of an
economy. In the first way, an economy grows proportionately in all sectors and such a growth is
supposed to be a healthy growth. In the second type of growth, one or some of its sectors grow
disproportionately as compared to other sectors. This is not a healthy growth at all. This second type
of growth is known as a growth with inequity. When the growth is coupled with inequity, different
types of distortions occur in the economy. The distortion can be reflected, both in the outcome
variable as well as in the input use-patterns particularly of the natural resource like forest, water,
mineral etc.
The use-pattern of forest products as inputs for the production of different goods gets distorted when
the growth-pattern of the economy is distorted and results in deforestation. The term “deforestation”
has many connotations. Deforestation, defined broadly can include not only conversion of forestland
to non-forest use but also degradation that reduces forest quality—the density and structure of trees,
the ecological services supplied, the biomass of plants and animals, the species diversity and the
27
The paper has used extensively an unpublished paper of the author with Prof Atul Sarma, “Post Reform
Economy of Orissa: Implication in terms of Growth and Equity”. We acknowledge the contribution of Prof
Atul Sarma in this regard.
28 Jagdish Bhagwati and T.N. Srinivason, (1993): India’s Economic Reforms, Ministry of Finance, Govt.
of India, New Delhi.
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generic diversity29. In a broad sense it includes not only conversion of forestland to non-forest use,
but also a degradation that reduces the quality of forest. Different schools of thought30 have
articulated different reasons of deforestation. The impoverishment school believes that the major
cause of deforestation is the growing number of poor. The Neo-classical school believes- open access
property right as the main determinant of deforestation. The political-ecological school arguedcapitalist investors as the main agent of deforestation. The present attempt aims at articulating a third
school of thought.
Nexus between Economic Growth and Deforestation
The famous Kuznet curve hypothesis postulates that as income goes up there is an increasing
environmental degradation up-to a point after which environmental quality improves. If deforestation
is an indicator of environmental quality, then the same theory is applicable to the nexus between
forest degradation and economic growth. Here the nexus is quite clear- when the GNP increases the
input demand also increases. The Forest sector is an important input to the different sub-components
of the National Income. The input demand of different sectors differs as given in the input-output
table of any economy. Thus the forest input that goes into a particular sector is an indicator of
deforestation caused by that sector.
When different sectors of the economy grow, the demands for inputs also grow. Forest resources are
also inputs for all sectors of the economy. Thus economic growth leads to a rise in the demand of
forestry output. This can be articulated in a simple model. Let us take Fi=Existing Stock of Forest
Resources, Vi= Useable output produced by the forest sector in a given time (example leaf, matured
timber and bamboo etc. and minor forest products in general) and Di=Demand for forest products.
Here Vi is the useable output that can be used without affecting the existing forest stock. If the
demand of forest products (Di) is same as Vi then, it is a case of sustainable resource use. If on the
other hand, Di is greater than Vi then existing stock of forest resources (Fi) reduces and lead to
deforestation. There is enough literature to prove the point that forest cover is declining across the
world and Orissa is no exception to this.
With the above understanding of the concept of deforestation the present study attempt aims at
analyzing the following:
•
•
•
29
30
The growth of GSDP and its sectors in Orissa in the post reform period and to compare the
same with that of India.
To examine whether the present trend in the growth in Orissa’s economy is equitable or not.
To quantify the demand of forest inputs used by different sectors and to identify the sectors
that uses the maximum forest resources and cause deforestation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation#Definitions_of_deforestation
Ibid.
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•
Finally it aims at suggesting some remedial measures.
Section I
Distorted Growth Orissa Economy
From 1993-2002 growth of GSDP31 of India was 5.7 per cent whereas that of Orissa was 3.8 percent.
In 1993-04 the per capita income of India was Rs.8759/- and that of Orissa was Rs.5607/-, which was
64 per cent of the national average. In 2002-03 per capita income of India grew to Rs.12496/- (at
1993-94 price) and that of Orissa grew to Rs.6817/-, which was 55 per cent of the national average.
Therefore, we can conclude that there has been divergence between the per capita income of India and
Orissa during the period of economic reforms. This rapid increase in distance is basically due to a low
growth rate in Orissa as compared to India. Therefore it can be said that Orissa has not been able to
reap the benefits of the reform process and its per-capita income is diverging from the national
average over the period of time under consideration.
The income of a country or a state can be divided into three sectors -- namely agriculture, industry
and service. By adding of the income from these three sectors the total income is computed.
Therefore, growth rate of economy is dependent on the growth rate of these three sectors.
During 1993-02 in India, the national growth rate of agriculture was 2.18 per cent whereas that of the
same in Orissa was 0.17 per cent. In industry the national growth was 5.9 per cent and that of the
same in Orissa was 1.49 per cent. In the service sector India could grow at a rate of 7.87 per cent
whereas the growth rate of Orissa was 6.73 per cent. From these estimates it is clear that in Orissa, the
industry and agriculture sector remained stagnant over the period of time under consideration. This is
the reason as to why the per capita income of Orissa grew at a rate of 2.5 per cent, which was much
below than the national average of 4.03 per cent. Therefore, we can argue that stagnancy in the
agriculture and industry sectors is the main reason behind the accelerated growing distance in per
capita income between India and Orissa.
When we compute the contribution of agriculture industry and service sectors to the total growth, then
in Orissa their respective contributions are 3.42, 31.11 and 65.47 per cent. In India the contribution of
these sectors are 11.64, 21.57 and 66.79 per cent respectively. Therefore, we can say that in Orissa
and India the contribution of the service sector to growth rate is the highest as compared to the other
sectors. In Orissa the contribution of industry is the least. During the period 1998-2003, Orissa’s share
in GSDP in the agriculture, industry and service sectors was 29.59, 21.83 and 48.58 per cent
respectively. Hence it is seen that agriculture and industry contribute very less to the overall growth as
compared to their weight in GSDP on the one hand, and the service sector is contributing a
31
Computed from the GSDP data as given in the website of Central Statistical Organization Govt. of
India, accessed as on August 2005.
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disproportionate percentage of around 65 per cent to growth as compared to its weight in GSDP
(48.58 per cent), on the other. Further, in 1999-2000, according to National Sample Survey
Organization32 68.4, 10.7 and 20.9 per cent of the total employment was generated by agriculture,
industry and service sectors respectively in Orissa. When the agriculture sector contributes 3.42 per
cent to growth and generates 68.4 per cent of employment and service sector contributes 65.47 per
cent to growth by generating 20.9 per cent of employment than it is impossible to presume that
growth of income would be equitably distributed. Therefore, the disproportionate growth and
employment generation as compared to the share in total income of different sectors, is a basic
indicator on the basis of which one can conclude about the nature of distortion of the economy of
Orissa.
Table 1
Economic Indicators
Comparative position of Orissa vis-à-vis India
Type
Indicator
Time
Orissa
1(a)
Per capita Income (Rs)
1993-94
5607
1(b)
Per capita Income (Rs)
2003-04
6817
2
Growth rate Per capita Income
1993-03
2.5
(%)
3
Growth rate Income (%)
1993-03
3.8
3(a)
Growth agriculture (%)
1993-03
0.17
3(b)
Growth rate Industry (%)
1993-03
1.49
3(c)
Growth rate Service (%)
1993-03
6.73
4
Contribution to GSDP/GDP
growth
4(a)
Agriculture (%)
1993-05
3.42
4(b)
Industry (%)
1993-05
31.11
4(c)
Service (%)
1993-05
65.47
5
Share in GDP
5(a)
Agriculture (%)
1998-03
29.59
5(b)
Industry (%)
1998-03
21.83
5(c)
Service (%)
1998-03
48.58
6
Share in Employment
6(a)
Agriculture (%)
1999-2000
68.4
6(b)
Industry (%)
1999-2000
10.7
6(c)
Service (%)
1999-2000
20.9
Source: Indicated in the text of the paper
India
8759
12496
4.03
5.7
2.18
5.9
7.87
11.64
21.57
66.79
24.07
21.82
54.11
58
12
30
Section II
32
Computed from NSSO (2001), Employment and Unemployment Situation in India, Part-I, NSS 55th round (July 1999June 2000), May 2001, NSSO, Department of Statistics, Government of India. Since data of all the population is not
available, the weighted average of rural and urban data is used. The percentage of urban and rural population is used as
the weights.
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Different dimensions of distortion of Orissa economy
We feel it necessary to examine- how this distorted economy of Orissa is reflected over time. During
1993-99 in India, poverty reduced by 9.87 percentage points whereas in Orissa reduction was by 1.433
percentage points. Between 1999-2000 and 2004-05, poverty in Orissa declined by only 0.75
percentage point and the incidence of poverty in Orissa was the highest in India34 in 2004-05. During
1993-99, the per capita consumption expenditure in India increased by an amount of 13.70 rupees
whereas in Orissa the increase was only of 1.66 rupees35. Further, during the same time the distance
between India and Orissa in terms of per capita consumption of expenditure increased from 2.66
rupees to 14.75 rupees (at constant price of 1993-94)36. In rural unemployment rate, the distance
between India and Orissa was 0.3 per cent in 1993-04. This increased to 0.5 per cent in 1999-200037.
Incidence of rural unemployment has increased from 2 to 2.86 percent and the urban unemployment
from 6.7 to 6.86 percent between 1999-0438. Also, not much improvement was observed39 in the
urban unemployment rate during the same period. The impact of this distortion has also been felt in
the overall Human Development Index also. During 1991-2001, in India, the index has gone up by 23
per cent, whereas in Orissa the increase was 17 per cent40.
In the post-reform period in Orissa, the growth rate of total enterprise was higher than the pre-reform
period, but in terms of employment a reverse trend was observed41. Therefore, the growth in
enterprise in Orissa was not employment intensive in post-reform period. Perhaps this is the reason
why the intensity of educated unemployment in Orissa is skyrocketing in the post-reform period. In
1987 the proportion between numbers of live registration to placements was 70:1 in Orissa and 90:1
in India and in 1999 the figures of Orissa and India went up to 420:1 and 232:1 respectively.42 Thus
the intensity of educated unemployment has increased six times in Orissa as compared to two and half
times in the case of India.
Government of India (2002), National HDR 2001, Planning Commission
Press Information Bureau (2007): Poverty Estimates for 2004-05, Governmenment of India, March 2007.
35 Government of India (2002) Op. Cit
36 Ibid.
37 Ibid
38 NSSO (2005), Employment and Unemployment Situation in India January-June 2004, Ministry of Statistics
and Programme Implementation, Government of India and Government of India (2002) Op Cit.
41 Central Statistical Organization (2001), Economic Census 1998, as reported in Economic and Political
Weekly, December 29, 2001.
42 Statistical Abstract of India,2001, as reproduced in Economic and Political Weekly, December 21, 2002,
p.5063 and Statistical Abstract of India 1990, Central Statistical Organization, Ministry of Statistics, Govt.
of India.
33
34
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Table 2
Outcome Variables
Comparative position of Orissa vis-à-vis India
Type
Outcome Variables
Time
Orissa
1(a)
Poverty (%)
1993-1994
48.56
1(b)
Poverty (%)
1999-2000
47.15
2(a)
Inflation and Inequality adjusted Per
1993-1994
94.87
capita Consumption Expenditure (Rs)
2(b)
Inflation and Inequality adjusted Per
1999-2000
96.53
capita Consumption Expenditure (Rs)
3(a)
Rural Unemployment rate (%)
1993-1994
1.5
3(b)
Rural Unemployment rate(%)
1999-2000
2.0
4(a)
Urban Unemployment rate(%)
1993-1994
6.6
4(b)
Urban Unemployment rate (%)
1999-2000
6.7
5(a)
Human Development Index
1991
0.345
5(b)
Human Development Index
2001
0.404
6(a)
Growth of total Enterprise (%)
1980s
3.13
6(b)
Growth of total Enterprise (%)
1990s
3.59
7(a)
Growth of total Workers (%)
1980s
2.97
7(b)
Growth of total Workers (%)
1990s
2.84
8(a)
Ratio of numbers of live registration to
1987-88
70:1
placements
8(b)
Ratio of numbers of live registration to
1999-2000
420:1
placements
Source: Indicated in the text of the paper
India
35.97
26.10
97.53
111.28
1.2
1.5
4.6
4.8
0.381
0.472
3.04
2.36
2.14
1.71
90:1
232:1
Section III
Extent of deforestation and use of Forest Resources as inputs by different sectors
The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER)43 has prepared the input-output table
for Orissa Economy for the year 2003-03. In that year the gross value of output of the Forestry and
Logging sector was Rs.160991 Lakh at current price. If the forest area of the State is 58136 Sq.km,
then per hectare output comes to Rs.2769.21/- at the price of 2003-04. One estimate44 shows the
annual flow of direct use value of Parlakhemundi forest (excluding recreation value) at 2000 price as
equal to Rs.901/- per hectare. After adjusting it to the 2003-04 price it comes to Rs. 1000.97/-. In
other words, the extraction of forest resource is equal to 2.77 times what it can produce. Thus if we
take these conservative estimates as the average forest product produced per annum, then the rate of
deforestation per hectare in Orissa comes to Rs.1768.69/- and for the state as a whole it comes to
43
NCAER (2007): Social Cost Benefit Analysis of the POSCO Steel Project in Orissa ,NCAER, New Delhi, pp
45-50.
44
B.Nayak (2001): “Economic-Ecologic Values of an Indian Forest: A Case Study” Indian Journal of
Agricultural Economics Vol.56,No.3, July-September, pp 325-334
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Rs.1028.23 crore per annum at 2003-04 price. The same study 45 has also found out the per-hectare
value of forest as equal to Rs.26662/- at 2000 price, which comes to Rs.29577/- at 2003-04 prices46.
In a recent compensation package by the HINDALCO47, the per hectare value of forest in Sambalpur
was estimated to be Rs. 16313.24/-. By taking the estimates of Nayak48(since it is on the higher side),
one may argue that in Orissa 347644.4 hectare of forestland is deforested every year. If this trend
continues, the existing stock of forest will deplete in around 16.72 years time49. In the case of POSCO
the deforestation rate is computed as 946.11 hectare of land per annum (See Box-1). Therefore it is
important to analyze the sector wise forest resource use-pattern in Orissa.
Box-1
Deforestation due to the POSCO project
The input-output table prepared for POSCO by NCAER points out that in Orissa Economy, Gross Value of output
in Iron and Steel as equal to Rs.6624.36 crore and input from forestry sector as used in Iron and steel industry as
equal to Rs.147 lakh. POSCO’s output is estimated to be Rs.12600 crore per annum. In that case the forestry
resources to be used will be equal to Rs.279.83 lakh per annum. By using our above estimates, the total forest
cover loss per annum will be equal to 946.11 hectare by POSCO alone. In a similar way one may predict the
expected loss in forest cover for any other project in Orissa.
The following table gives a sector wise forest resource-use break-up in the year 2003-04.
Table. 3
Sector wise forest resource used, growth rate and contribution to growth in Orissa
Sector
Percentage of Forest Growth rate
Contribution to growth
resource consumed
6.87
0.17
3.42
Agriculture
61.37
1.49
31.11
Industry
31.76
6.73
65.47
Service
Source: Computed from Appendix-1 and Table-1 &2.
45
ibid
A study in Maharastra calculated the average value of Maharasrta forest as equal to Rs 17274.95 at 1993-94
prices, which comes to Rs 30935.98 by taking average inflation rate of 6 percent per annum. For detail see
G.S.Haripriya (2000), “Integrating Forest Resources in to the system of National Accounts in Maharastra”,
Environment and Development Economics, 5 (2000), pp.143-156.
47
In response to the RTI petition filed by Jairam Meher to, South Forest Division Sambalpur, PRO South
Forest Division Sambalpur, replied, vide letter No 1430/PIO- Dated 20-04-07 that Hindalco acquired 45.46
Hectare of Gramya Forest, where 664 No of different varieties of trees were there and Hindalco paid a sum
of Rs. 741600/- to the government as compensation for the forest alone and in that case per hectare value of
forest comes to Rs. 16313.24/-.
48
Nayak (2001), Op.cit.
49
It may be noted that the calculation is a simple estimate with the assumption of growth of forest due to
natural growth and aforestation programme as equal to zero.
46
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Table 3 shows that the major user of forest resource in Orissa is the Industry and Service sector. If a
detailed subdivision is made, then within the agriculture sector- the forestry sector consumes 6.51
percent; in the industry sector- beverages and tobacco, wood and furniture, paper and printing
industry and chemical industry consume 5.82, 40.82, 6.82 and 3.62 percent respectively. In the
service sector, the consumption by construction and hotel industry is 11 and 9.9 percent respectively.
Thus, the manufacturing sector is growing at a rate of 3.8 percent, contributing only 11 percent to
growth and consuming around 61 percent of the forest resources. The construction sector is growing
at a rate of 1.98 percent, contributing 2.82 percent of growth and consuming 10.97 percent of the
forest resources. However, the growth rate of the hotel sector is difficult to find out as aggregate data
is only given as trade, hotel, transport and communication. Thus the sectors like manufacturing,
construction and hotels are the major consumers of forest resources in Orissa.
The above picture of consumption pattern of forest resources depicts an inequitable nature of use of
forest resources. Because of the inequitable consumption of forest resources, deforestation is taking
place. Theorist believes that growth is sin qua non for elimination of poverty and to increase
employment. If we see the data on poverty reduction between 1993 and 2004 the reduction in poverty
in Orissa was 2.16 percentage points, whereas at the all India level reduction was 8.47. Table 2 also
points out an increasing unemployment rate, both in the rural and urban sector (over time) in the
State. In other words, despite growth, poverty and unemployment rate has not reduced significantly
in Orissa; rather a distorted economic structure has emerged over time, which is reflected at the
grassroots level also (See the story of Laxman given in Box-2 and the story of the Papanga forest in
Box-3).
Box—2
Everybody wants to have a house decorated with wood: Laxman’s Story
_____________________________________________________________________
Laxman came to Sambalpur in the early part of 1980s. He started one thela shop selling boiled eggs in front
of the Laxmi talkies — a Cinema Hall. At that time he was young and just married. He was somehow able to
manage his family with his income from the business. His business went on and Laxman managed to build
friendship with many well-qualified young people who later on became bank officers, OAS officers and even
academicians. His family grew. In the beginning of the 1990s the video-culture started, people stopped
visiting the cinema hall for watching movies and Laxman’s income started declining. Constrained by his
increasing family size he searched for some other alternatives for his livelihood. Then, he started one small
Pan and Tea Shop in 1995 in front of the forest office, but could not get enough income for the sustenance of
his family as his family size grew to eight. In the year 2000 he managed to build friendship with some forest
officials and started illegal timber-plank business. His modus operandi was very simple — he hired some
local unemployed youth (who are basically school dropouts) and engaged them in bringing timber plank
(Sal,Paisl,Sesum and Teak) from nearby Mura and Parmanpur jungle (on bicycle ) and selling them to
people who were constructing their own house in Sambalpur city. When he was asked — ‘who are your main
customer and why do they want to have wood when steel substitutes are available in the market?’ He
answered — ‘Everybody wants to have a house decorated with wood. I have supplied wood planks to retired
conservator of forest, top government civil and police officials and doctors ………… when you want to
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construct your house I will be happy to supply you wood planks as you like’. Then, when he was asked if he
did not fear the police, he smiled and replied, ‘Bhai! I pay Quota to everyone starting from police to forest
official and incase of magistrate checking we are well informed in advance ......... when we are supplying
timber to big officials they protect our interest’.
However, since the last 2-3years Laxman does not seem to be very happy as the boys whom he employs as
labor are reluctant to carry timber planks from the forest for the fear of the Maoists who have made inroads
into this territory.
_____________________________________________________________________
Note: The name Laxman is a fictitious name to hide the identity of the real respondent.
Box-3
Development, Deforestation, Monkey and plight of the poor: Story of Papanga denuded forest
The Papanga forest is situated near Bheden – a block headquarters, around 30 kilometers away from
Bargarh in Orissa. People say that it was a dense forest during Surendra Sai’s struggle against British rule
in 1827-1862. It was a place, where Surendra Sai was hiding in various caves to carry forward his guerilla
warfare against the British rule. Up to 1980s people would avoid moving in these foothills region out of a
fear of wolf and bear who moved around this area- particularly in the evening times. Thanks to the
Hirakud Dam –large chunks of the forest areas were cleared and converted to a double cropped agriculture
land. Pressure on Papanga forest increased as the demand for wood increased which in turn was due to an
increase in the demand for agricultural implements and housing materials. Soil erosion started due to
deforestation. Now a denuded mountain is visible – one can only see stones and bushes that are in stark
contrast to the different legends associated with the Papanga forest that the local people narrate.
There are 15 villages surrounding Papanga hills. The average income of the people has increased due to
irrigation facilities. Small farmers are cultivating various vegetables and sugarcane along with paddy to
supplement their income. There is no fear of bear, as the species has become extinct in the region since the
1980s. Its place, has instead been taken by a new dangerous animal that threatens the peace of the
surrounding villages – “Monkey”! The monkeys come to the villages in search of food as the Papanga
forest is denuded, and they destroy the vegetables garden. Some time, they even enter the villages and
destroy the katcha roofs of the houses and injure children. The rich farmers are not affected by the
monkeys as they have concrete roofs and do not grow vegetables. The sufferers are the poor and the
marginal farmers. They cannot kill the monkeys, as they are believed to be the incarnation of lord
Hanuman. Under the circumstances there is little that they can do and how long they will have to suffer
the loss of vegetables garden is anybodies guess Now many of the sufferers, particularly the youth have
adopted some new trades – desi liquor business, satta and jua (gambling) have emerged as a new
livelihood option in the region. They prepare desi liquor and supply to the nearby areas and towns. One
can even notice drunken people creating nuisance in villages in the evening times. Satta and Jua is
rampantly played in the area and many have become paupers in the process.
Source: With inputs from Sri Barun Padhan from Khaupali, Papanga.
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Section IV
What is the way out?
The basic characteristic of Orissa’s economy (as given in Table.1) is agrarian. Agriculture contributes
29.59 percent of the GSDP and employs 68.4 percent of the total work force. The industry accrues
21.83 percent of the GSDP and employs 10.7 percent of the workforce. If we want growth with
equity, then obviously agriculture should get the first priority, which includes cultivation, fishing,
forestry and logging. If the I-O table for POSCO were correctly computed then any rational planner
would go for that sector where output and employment multiplier are maximum. In that case the
agriculture sector would get the priority, as its employment multiplier is 10.86. The table in the
appendix-1 shows the forest resource used and the output and employment multiplier of different
sectors in Orissa’s economy. A careful examination of the table reveals certain interesting facts.
•
•
•
The Spearman Rank correlation coefficient between employment multiplier and percentage of
forest resources used is 0.582 (significant at 0.01%). Thus if the state goes for employment
intensive sector for investment then there will be a pressure on forest depletion
The Spearman Rank correlation coefficient between the output multiplier and percentage of
forest resource used is 0.047 (significant at 0.05%). Here also if the state goes for output
maximization then there will be a pressure on forest.
Pearson correlation coefficient between output multiplier and employment multiplier is 0.078,
which is feeble and statistically insignificant. In other words, there is no relationship between
output-multiplier and employment-multiplier among different sectors of Orissa’s economy.
Because of the above relationship the State can opt for investment in selective sectors like food crops,
cash crops, plantation crops, animal husbandry, food products, cotton silk products, and leather and
leather products on a selective basis where employment multiplier is more. Alongside, an emphasis
should be given for those industries that produce ‘substitutes of wood construction material’ so that
these can ease out pressure on forest from construction and hotel industries. Memorandum of
Understanding for industrial investment must spell out loss in forest cover and the initiatives to
generate forest by the concerned parties. The wood and furniture industries that consume the
maximum forest output needs a close scrutiny as the sector is related to small village carpenter and
their livelihood is dependent on this sector. Therefore, a-forestation programme should be done
through village councils where representatives of the carpentry community must be ensured for a
sustainable use of forest products. It must also ensure the plantation of trees having commercial
timber values under private initiatives as there is a strong demand for Sal, Piasal, Sesum and Teak
wood for the housing and construction sector in the State (See the story of Laxman in the Box- 2).
Creation of employment avenues for the local youth is also likely to reduce the unemployed youth’s
motivation to join the deforestation trade. Finally, concerted efforts have to be made to regenerate the
denuded forests. This is very necessary if we have to save our deformed society and give the
economic model on which it (our society) rests, a meaningful form (See the story of Papanga forest
given in the Box-3).
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Sector
Food Crops
Cash Crops
Plantation Crop
Other crops
Animal Husbandry
Forestry and logging
Fishing
Coal and lignite
Crude petroleum, natural gas
Iron ore
Other Minerals
Food Products
Beverages, tobacco, etc.
Cotton + wool + art silk textile
products
Wood, furniture, etc.
Paper & printing, etc.
Leather and leather products
Rubber, petroleum, plastic, coal.
Chemicals, etc.
Non-metallic products
Iron & steel
Non ferrous metals
Metal products except mach. And
tpt. Equipment
Tractors, agri. Implements,
industrial machinery, other
machinery
Electrical, electronic machinery
and applications
Transport equipments
Miscellaneous manufacturing
industries
Construction
Electricity
Gas and water supply
Railway transport services
Other transport services
Storage and warehousing
Communication
Appendix--1
Sector Employment
Code
Multiplier
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
Output
Multiplier
Percentage of
forest resource
used
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.07
0.29
10.86
2.75
3.52
0.68
4.15
1.72
1.43
1.4
1.35
1.45
1.22
0.71
0.51
0.02
0.35
2.11
5.36
3.23
1.45
1.16
1.49
1
1.4
1.33
2.24
2.08
6.51
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.97
5.82
7.93
13.68
1.68
3.71
0.74
1.12
4.06
0.69
0.47
1.93
1.79
2.41
1.65
2.12
2.97
2.21
2.36
1.84
0.15
40.82
6.82
0.00
0.10
3.62
1.61
0.61
0.02
3.29
2.44
0.10
1.06
2.5
0.01
0.99
0.97
2.83
2.45
0.03
0.02
2.85
1.79
0.55
0.68
0.67
0.95
1
0.76
2.34
2.15
2.27
1.59
1.94
2.05
1.8
1.48
0.68
10.97
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
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Trade
Hotels and restaurants
Banking
Insurance
Ownership of dwellings
Education and research
Medical and health
Other services
Public administration
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
1.15
2.74
0.32
0.42
0.42
0.89
1.13
1.26
0.64
1.37
2.11
1.37
1.53
1.15
1.24
2.48
1.96
1
1.48
9.89
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
9.42
0.00
Source: NCAER (2007): Social Cost Benefit Analysis of the POSCO Steel Project in Orissa, NCAER, New
Delhi.
Note: Column 2 and 3 are directly taken from the Report and column 4 is computed from the data given in the
Report.
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Annexure II: (Case Studies)
Annexure II (a)
Title : Globalisation and Deforestation: A Case Study Of Lapanga (Sambalpur,
Orissa)
Autor: Pradeep Kumar Mishra
Introduction
There is a long history of forest protecting by resident communities in Orissa. In fact, people have
developed ingenious and location specific methods to protect and harvest the forests. However, of late
the communities are facing a new threat to their protection efforts. These are largely due to the
vigorous industrialization and mining drive that has been undertaken by the state (of Orissa) for the
purpose of economic development. The threat is present not only as a simple case of loss of forest and
therefore loss of livelihood, but also as one that potentially spells a complex web of changes at a
systemic level for community lives. Lapanga, a village in the Sambalpur district of Orissa is presently
a case in point.
For Lapanga, the forest has a different status as far its ownership and use is concerned. Unlike other
villages, the forest represents a classic example of individual sacrifice for communal life of this
village. This is because a section of villagers have helped generate forest for another section by
donating their own forest (raeeti50) land. It is crucial to note that despite the fact that the people in this
village have never made any attempt to encroach the forest area, they are nevertheless still suffering
as a result of a massive loss of land in the 50s ( due to the construction of Hirakud dam). In view of
the fact that the forest is being grown on private land, the Lapanga forest has been recorded as Praja
Rakshit Jungle (forest protected by tenant) in revenue record. The forest department has never had to
bother about guarding this forest or putting restrictions on the community for harvesting it.
The uniqueness of the Lapanga forest case lies in the forging of a community identity on the one
hand, and of fostering closer linkages among the people of the village on the other. As a matter of fact
the village is so reputed for its conservation efforts that people when referring to “Lapanga”,
automatically mean the forest when the village’s name is invoked outside its territory. Similarly
within the village the forest acts like glue connecting every segment of the village. The conservation
efforts of this village has a very inspiring effect on other villages around it and serves as an example
for community based protection of forest.
Why study Lapanga?
50
Private
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The village now faces both direct and indirect threats to its conservation efforts from half a dozen
industries that are being set up in its vicinity. These projects throw up challenges both to the integrity
of the forest as well as to the community of the people in this village as they form an organic whole
around it. The deforestation caused in Lapanga is also having a negative impact on the nearby villages
and vice versa.
It is in the light of this deforestation that the case study shall attempt to study:
1. the responses of the people to this crisis,
2. the kind of changes it has brought to bear upon the people both at a community (village) level
and individual level
Location
The Praja Rakshit Jungle of Lapanga (PRJ) comes under the Thutikatarbaga beat under the Rengali
section of the South Sambalpur Forest division of Sambalpur district in Orissa51. It is located between
210 44I 15.93II N longitudes and 840 00I 18.33II latitude. The Lapanga village is located approximately
35 km north of Sambalpur and 15km south of Jharsuguda. The PRJ is flanked by the Lapanga village
on the south-east, the Bheden nullah on the north, the State Highway-10 on the east, the Hindalco’s
Talabira-I mines and Khinda forest on the west and north-west. The jungle is spread over an area that
is slightly above 400 acres52. The villagers however contest the official figure and assert that the area
would be more than what the official figure states.
Environmental setting of the study area
The area predominantly contains low level laterite soil. The soil characteristic varies from heavy clay
with kankar to loamy to sandy loam. The maximum temperature of the area is recorded at 47.80 C
during May and minimum temperature is recorded at 120 C during December. The weather mostly
remains hot and humid throughout the year. As per the local IMD station at Jharsuguda, the average
annual rainfall is 1460.9mm. The relative humidity of the study area varies from 21-87 %. The
Hirakud reservoir is located at approximately 0.5-2 km in North-west of the PRJ with the water body
breaking in to the peripheral paddy lands intermittently. The topography is partly flat and partly
undulating and gradually slopes as one move from the village towards the reservoir. Most of the
depressed land remains filled with the back water of reservoir for a quarter of the year. One of the key
features of the ecosystem in the case study area is the mutual influence of Hirakud reservoir on the
forest and vice versa thus making it a rare ecosystem of the country. The regular visit of migratory
birds from Siberia to the Hirakud dam is suggestive of this fact.
Flora and Fauna
51
52
-Revised Working Plan of Sambalpur Forest Division 1999-91 to 1999-00.
The Census 2001 report mentions that the total forest area of the village amounts to 30.79 hectors. However the land
record of the village as shown in http://www.bhulekh.ori.nic.in put the total forest area excluding the encroached
portion at 418.69 acres.
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The forest can be classified as tropical deciduous forest. It lies within the grate sal belt. (See tables for
the available flora and fauna in the village)
Socio Economic Profile
The village is home to a number of castes-typically signifying the evolution of the village around the
notion of ‘self-sufficing village economy’. However, kuluta a middle level peasantry caste forms a
sizable part of the village’s population. The other castes in the village include kamar (Potter) luhura
(blacksmith), dhoba (washer man), keuta (fisherman/ preparing puffed rice), Brahmin (priest), and a
host of ST and SC people. Occupation wise agriculture and other primary sector engagement accounts
for 62.9% (sl.no.17+18+19 in table three) and provide the maximum employment in the village. (Also
refer the table for other demographic profile and occupation distribution)
The forest protection in the village is closely interwoven with the socio-economic life of the people.
In particular, occupational need is the primary impetus to go for forest protection. Nevertheless it will
be a sweeping generalization to conclude from this that it was only the occupational need that was
instrumental in launching the forest conservation initiative. In fact the spontaneous donation of land
for forest from raitee land suggests that the need was more than occupation-linked. This is further
evident from the fact that the villagers launched the initiative when there was no forest protection in
the area and enough forest was still available to meet their need. Thus the presence of a supra
economic and arguably a cultural element seemed to have been pervading the community psyche. The
desire to protect forest stems from the villagers’ inclination to keep something for their posterity53.
“We protect the forest to continue and uphold the prampara (legacy) of our forefather” said,
Duryadhan Pradhan, President of the village forest protection committee. The tie with the forest is so
special to the villagers that every year on the full moon day of the month of Chaitra, all the villagers
observe a festival in the forest and fasten thread around the trunk while prying for the wellbeing and
prosperity of the villagers.
The Organizational Structure
For the protection and management of the PRJ the villagers have evolved a three-tire structure viz. the
General Body, the Jungle Parichalana or Management Committee and the Upadesta or Advisory
Committee. The membership, duties and responsibilities of these three layers are clearly defined.
•
53
General Body -All the households (HHs) sans the temporary residents of the village are the
members of the general body. However the praja (tenant) have a preeminent position in the
general body. The praja here mean those HHs who have donated land for forest growing in the
past. As the original praja families have expanded, the numbers of tenants have also increased
now. However the other residents can also participate and contribute to the process.
Singh N.M. and Kumar K. (1993) ‘Savings Forest for Posterity’. Down to Earth, Vol. , No. , p. 26.
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Advisory Committee
(Upadesta)
Forest Management Committee
(Parichalana)
General Body
•
•
Forest Management Committee- This is the most crucial body in the link. It consists of
eleven persons from among the general body. The Forest committee is responsible for
conducting the day-to-day business. The job of the body includes inter alia deciding the ways
and means of harvesting crop, penalizing offenders, resolving inter-village conflict arising out
of forest offence etc.
Upadesta Committee- The committee requires to counsel the jungle committee on any
matters referred to it either by the forest management committee or the general body. Like the
forest management committee it has also got eleven members nominated from among the
general body. Generally the members are elderly persons.
Historical Context
There is some confusion regarding the exact date of origin of forest protection in the village as
villagers and researchers have different versions to offer. Many villagers trace it to three or four
generations in the past. On the other hand Singh and Kumar54 and Mohapatra55 traced it to 1936. The
initiative however is a little older and apparently dates back to the following years of the Dewar
Settlement. We based our argument after reconstructing two interlinked versions of the people. In fact
the second version is suggestive and qualifies the first one. In the first place forest was grown on land
drawn from people’s private land after they donated it for the cause. Secondly, recounting from their
memory the villagers further said that the effort started after the first settlement. The first
comprehensive settlement in the study area was the Dewar Settlement of 1908 as before that no
proper settlement could be done owing to the continuous agitation by Vir Surendra Sai56.
54
Ibid
Mohapatra R. (1999) ‘On The War Path’. Down to Earth, Vol. , No. , pp. 6-7.
56
Sambalpur District Gazetteers (1971), p. 357
55
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It is said that, worried at the gradual loss of the forest cover in the village, the people of Lapanga
decided to conserve it. A semi-judicial body called the gauntia panch was set up in 1936 to oversee
the forest protection. Moving a step further people donated around 75 ha of land for conservation of
forest. Impressed at the indigenous effort of the people to protect forest, the land was exempted from
tax paying57. In view of the tenant’s donation of the land for forest, the Lapanga forest is known by
the name Praja Rakshit Jungle (PRJ) meaning “tenant conserved forest”. Hence the rights and
privileges enjoyed by the praja are superior to non-praja. The meaning of praja in the present context
is however limited and only refers to those people who have donated land for forest. The other
landholder having RoR, the sukhbasi (a landless person) of the village also have rights in the forest.
Methodology Used
Both primary and secondary sources have been consulted to conduct the present case study. The
primary sources include interviews (unstructured), recording of peoples views following FGD and
interaction with a cross sections of people from Lapanga, Khinda, Talabira and Chaltikra. Books,
journals, news paper and selected internet site constitute the secondary sources of the present case
study.
Current Situation
Key Facts
In recent years the forest destruction caused by mining and industrial activities pose a grave danger to
the forest conservation efforts at Lapanga and to village forests surrounding it. Mining by M/s
Hindalco and the laying of a pipe line by M/s Bhusan Steel is exposing the PRJ to both direct and
indirect depletion threats. However, more then that the non compliance of Court order and official
inaction is complicating the problem.
The problem started when government permitted M/s Hindalco to construct a pucca road over a tract
of land called godanda (meaning a road for the movement of cattle) inside the Lapanga village forest.
The godanda, a narrow tract of road with an average width of 4-5 meters runs through the forest and
was in existence since long. The company wanted to use it, for the movements of its Volvo trucks
carrying coal from the Talabira-I mining area to its captive power plant at Hirakud, by expanding the
godanda road. The people of Lapanga opposed the permission saying the construction of the road
would damage their forest. Besides Lapanga, people from Khinda, Talabira, and Maliatikra also
opposed the move fearing that their village forest would also get affected as they lay close to the area.
The forest committee of Lapanga filed a writ petition in the High Court challenging the government
order. It petitioned the Court to quash the order and maintain the status quo. The Court, however,
admitting the existence of luxuriant forest growth on both the side of godanda, gave a qualified
permission to construct the road after imposing certain conditions.
57
The Banabarata , Vasundhara (Bhubaneswar), September 2006, no. 34
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The conditions inter alia include not breaching the existing length/width of the godanda while
constructing the road. The court also debarred the user agency to fell or chop any trees while
undertaking the construction of the road. The Court further directed the company to embark on a
course of plantation on both the sides of the road. However, unrest amongst the villagers refuses to
die down since the construction of the godanda road. Media reports point to regular bandhs58 and
dharnas59 by the villagers (people from lapanga, Khinda, Talabira) in the locality. The reason for the
agitation is the violation of the Courts order by the company and the official complicity to the
company’s mischief. In direct violation of the Courts order, the company has felled many trees and
widened the road more than the permitted width. As a result nearly 1.5 km length and 5-20 meters
width of forest have been destroyed to develop the godanda road. It may be of pertinence to mention
here that the company has only constructed an earthen road leaving the forest at the mercy of to
severe dust (both earthen and coal) hazards. The company is also causing serious damage to the
forest by overburden and dumping of earth to the forest adjacent to the mine. (See photo)
Besides development of the godanda, water pipeline lying by M/s Bhusana Steel ltd. inside the forest
pose another threat as a source of forest destruction. Though felling in terms of area is far less
compared to the development of godanda yet intrusion by the company employees for maintaining the
pipeline is increasing the chances of biotic pressure. Against this backdrop it is pertinent to mention
here that many tracts adjacent to the PRJ area are at a state of induced scrub due to constant biotic
interference. Again M/s Bhusan is also seen to be destroying forest at Bhubra dunguri despite
vigorous protest by the local forest protecting community of Khinda. The forest protecting
community of Lapanga now fears even more destruction to the PRJ as M/s Bhusan plans to lay its
second pipe line beside the present one. Flying coal dust and other dust generated due to mining and
the constant movement of the trucks inside the forest could mean serious jeopardy to the life of
vegetation of PRJ. Sadly the forest is facing this problem from two roads running parallel to each
other, one through the godanda and the other through the Khinda village road. The godanda is used by
M/s Hindalco and the Khinda by M/s Bhusan to ferry the fly ash generated from its Steel plant near
Thelkoili. The present ash dumping site of Bhusan is located almost centrally between the village
forests of Ghichamura, Khinda and Chaltikra. The fly ash dumping of Bhusan has run into serious
controversy as the company is doing it illegally after it failed to dump it in its approved ash pond at
Larrypali60. Recent news paper report talks of acid rains in the area. Informed sources attribute it to
the chemical transformation of SO2 into H2SO4, and this is possibly occurring due to fire in the coal
mines and the captive power plant in half a dozen Sponge Iron factories running within a radius of 2-5
km of the forest.
58
A Hindi word meaning 'closed', is a form of protest used by political activists in some countries in South Asia
like India and Nepal.
59
A dharna in Hindi is a fast undertaken at the door of an offender. In India as a means of obtaining
compliance with a demand for justice, such as payment of a debt.
60
Environmental Impact Assessment & Environmental Management Plan of M/s Bhusana
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Though the immediate impact of the coal dust and other dust has not been assessed in the area, well
founded research proves that they tend to damage forest. Further major part of the dust tends to
collect in the lower portion of the plants risking the existence of creepers and herbs the most.
Many villagers have reported about the disappearance of some of the medicinal plants in the PRJ in
recent past.
BOX-I
Professor Arta Bandhu Mishra an environmentalist and professor of Life
Science Sambalpur University says that dust particle significantly reduce
photosynthetic performance of plants as it clogs up the stomata cell.
Similarly iron ore dust due to industrial uploading can cause significantly
more injury to the plants then natural ground dust because of its angular
structure and the presumed ability to damage stomata cell.
Key Issues:
Rationalization of Public-Private Partnership
The industrialization drive of the state has come in handy to the forest department to push for the VSS61
scheme in the area. This is seen by the department as an effort to strengthen control and facilitate acquisition of
forests for the ongoing industrialization drive. Until now the department had never bothered to manage the
village forests of Khinda Talabira and Chaltikra in general and Lapanga in particular-thanks to the self-driven
initiative of the community in the protection of forest. Now after the setting up of industries and other
activities ancillary to the industrial operation, forests are needed to be acquired from these villages. The
acquisition is facing stiff resistance from the villagers for reasons varying from compensation to destruction.
However, compensation for the acquisition of forest became the immediate ground to use it as a cover for VSS
by the forest department. A couple of years back the department advised Khinda to adopt VSS when the village
did not get any compensation for the acquisition of their village forest despite their protection since 1974.
Conversely Lapanga got compensation for the loss of their village forest during the same time. When the
villagers brought the difference of treatment to the notice of the authority, the department advised the villagers
to form a VSS. The villagers were allegedly told by the officials that till the time they did not form VSS the
department couldn’t help them in their fight against the industries for forest destruction. The argument quickly
found favor with the people for monetary gain and more crucially the assurance that the presence of forest
department would deter the forest destruction by the industries.
Forest Protection is Less Rewarding
The organic unity that used to link the people with the forest for years, is now losing ground. The invasion of
industries has made a section of the people believe that forest protection is less rewarding. On the other hand
61
VSS or Vana Suryksha Samiti was introduced by the state government following the Joint Forest
Management guideline of the Government of India. Government of Orissa introduced a resolution in July
1993 where by the villages are required to form local level committee, called the VSS to protect and manage
forest adjoining the village. The element collaboration of both government and people for the protection
forest is the central part of the scheme.
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the hope that forest can be traded for a white collar job or a good compensation is capturing the imagination of
the poor people living on wage earnings from urbanized local elite. The glamour of job and availability of
works in the unorganized sectors seem to be the immediate causes. This has to some extent delegitimized the
need for the protecting forest- contrarily (& sadly) promoting the idea that forest protection was official
business and not a community responsibility.
Breach of the Rule of Law
Media reports and people’s account point to increasing violation of rules by the companies and the
concomitant failure of administration to take action. Arguably the new found love for ‘growth-centric
development through industrialization’ of the state has found echoes in the working of the administration. As a
matter of fact, the District Level Nodal Agency (DLNA) headed by the District Collector plays a significant
role in the single window clearance policy of the government. Thus the administration’s laxity and complicity
with the agenda of industrialization has probably to do much with its important role in maintaining an
investor’s friendly climate in the state’s bid to provide a proactive industrial policy. On several past occasions
the administration has shown leniency to ensure the compliance of the industries on specific complains. In a
number of cases involving the violation of FCA 1980, the administration has failed to initiate timely action.
The case of felling by M/s Bhusana in Bhubra dunguri involving the Khinda village forest and the destruction
of forest by M/s Hindalco in its mining area are cases in point.
Growing Litigation and Resource Drainage
In view of the dispute with the corporate houses, the people of the area are getting dragged into needless
litigations. The move to oppose forest destruction by M/s Hindalco and M/s Bhusan is now landing the
villagers in police cases. The fear of litigation and police harassment are having a demoralizing effect on the
spirit of forest protection. It should also be mentioned here that the people of Lapanga are now facing a severe
resource crunch after a court case against M/s Hindalco. As a result they are finding it difficult to even pay the
salary of the watchman guarding the forest.
Non-compliance of Supreme Court Order
The Supreme Court (ref: T.N. Godavaramana versus the Union of India case) directed all the state governments
to conduct a fresh survey of the forests. As per the directive the states were required to record all forest
irrespective of their growth on any land i.e. on forest land or otherwise by forming a District Level Committee.
The DLC in the district has ignored many such lands having good forest growth and recorded them as gazing
land instead. This has precisely led to the transfer of many lands having good forest growth to the on-going
industrial project without applying the provisions of FCA 1980. Hindalco has allegedly acquired many such
lands in the Talabira project.
DC Land and Forest Protection
DC land is the leased land given out to oustees of Hirakud dam project as an exgratia. A substantial part of the
DC land has not been settled in favor of the leasee to this date owing to lapses in the Major Settlement. The DC
land is intimately connected to forest protection in the case study area. In Lapanga and Khinda for example
people have raised forest voluntarily over their DC land to meet post displacement challenges and other
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livelihood concerns. Now lands from such forested area have been transferred for setting up of industries. As a
result people have had to suffer the double burden of non compensation and loss of control over forest.
Loss of Top Soil and Deposition of Silt in Hirakud dam
Loss of forest has a critical implication for erosion of top soil and consequently loss of land productivity. In
their study Murty and Patra62 have mentioned alarming loss of top soil in the case study area adjacent to the
Hirakud reservoir. This would mean more sedimentation in the reservoir. Ever since its inception, the
reservoir’s capacity to hold water is declining at a rate of 0.4% per annum. It is estimated that by 2002 twentyseven per cent of reservoir had been buried with silt63. Thus the present loss of vegetation would compound the
problem of siltation affecting all the purposes for which the dam was built. The recent agitation by the farmers
of the area regarding the scarcity of irrigation water due to the alleged diversion of dam water to the industries
assumes significance against this backdrop. In view of the mounting pressure from the farmers it is feared that
the industries might be asked to explore the underground water. The area which has seen loss of a substantial
forest due to industrial operation could lead to further depletion of ground water eventually leading to massive
socio-economic and environmental dislocation.
Growing Social Dis-harmony
The industrialization in the area has triggered a new spate of conflicts among the people thus terribly disturbing
the prevailing social harmony. Protest and resistance has become a regular feature in the area owing to the
failing of industries. In fact the preceding years have seen many open confrontations of the villagers with the
companies such as M/s Bhusan, M/s Hindalco, M/s Shyama DRI and M/s Biraj Steel etc on many issues.
However, worried at this kind of unified resistance, the companies are now trying to promote factionalism by
providing one group with some financial succor thereby pitting one against the other. In fact many ‘horizontal
and vertical’ split within the village are now visible in the area. Two factions are seen to be fighting against
each other in Khinda regarding the dumping of ash in the vicinity of the village forest.
Loss of local Biodiversity
The loss of biodiversity is another cause of concern. The forest which is home to a wide diversity of floral and
faunal life now faces the gradual extinction of a lot of them. This is precisely because of the movement of
heavy vehicle, operation of heavy machinery and blasting in the Talabira-I coal mine and other industries in the
area. Murty and Patra have mentioned the extinction of a lot of useful medicinal plants in the Lapanga and near
by forest.
Man-Animal Conflict
The Google earth map shows that the Lapanga, Khinda and Ghichamura forests act like a connecting patch
between the vast forests located to the North-west on the one side and the Badrama sanctuary on the other (see
map). Animals fleeing are therefore likely to happen in the area because of the weakening density of this forest
62
Murty A. & Patra H.S. (2006) ‘Ecological, Socio-Economic Security & Health Impact Assessment due to
Coal Mining: A case Study of Talabira Coal Mines in Orissa’.
63
Supkar K.K.
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patch after the increase in industrial and applied activities. Industrial activities are now leading to straying of
animals to human habitat and the ensuing conflict. In the last 2-3 years, Human-animal conflicts have been on
the rise. As per official information there have been six incidents of human killing by elephants in the locality
during the last seven years. Similarly 137 instances of crop damage and six cases of house damage have
happened within 10 km radius of Jharsuguda town since 2003.
Erosion of Socio-economic Security of Women
Deforestation has brought the issue of social and economic security of women into sharp focus. Poor women of
the area considerably supplement their household income from NTFP gathering, bidi rolling64 and working as
wage in the farm sector. They used to manage a part of the kendu leaves (used for rolling bidies) from the
village. However, in the recent years there has been an unprecedented decline of kendu bushes in the area.
Understandably, acquisitions of bush bearing land together with extensive damage of leaves by way of
collection of coal dust on the leaf surface have led to the dwindling of kendu bushes. In fact, many fadis have
been closed down by the Kendu Leaf department in the area due to insufficient or poor leaf quality. Likewise,
the collections of other NTFPs like siali leaf, char, mahua, sal seeds and hill brooms have come under severe
stress. Given that sal tree is the dominant species in the local forests, collection of sal seeds has suffered
extensively. Over and above this, farm activities in the area have also significantly dropped after large scale
acquisition of paddy land and forest. All these have led to an undeclared retrenchment of woman wage earners
from farm sectors. While deforestation has led to large scale economic dislocation of the women work forces,
there has been no corresponding creation of new jobs for them. In fact the emergent economic structure after
the industrialization processes have been set rolling has a strong element of gender bias with much of the
causal labor jobs going to the male. This has pushed the women to the margins of ‘new poverty’. The other
problem faced by the women pertains to the gradual loss of privacy thus leaving them vulnerable to insecurity.
Following the large scale industrialization drive and deforestation, women now face great difficulties to
manage call of natures and other related issues as a result of intrusion by industrial forces to places exclusively
meant for their use. It is useful to mention here that in the village setting it is the customary practice-not to
infringe upon the area used by women viz. the bathing ghat etc. by the male folk to ensure privacy and security
for them.
Problem of Environmental Refugee
Mining has produced an estimated 50,000 environmental refugees in Orissa65. However unlike the macro
refugee situation there has been so far no migration in the village or around it. However, the people particularly
women are experiencing massive livelihood displacement. The problem is extremely grave for the marginal
farmers and share croppers who are dependent on other’s land as well as NTFP gathering as they would
supplement a part of their income from the local forest. The land adjoining the mining area is now hardly
cultivable. In view of the close proximity to the large pit - water drains out of the field leaving the field dry.
Again the run off from the overburdens are burying the field with toxic matter and coal dust.
64
Bidi rolling and NTFP collection constitute a major source of income for women in the village. The
proportion of women engages in household industries to the total workers accounts for 31.3%. Similarly
they constitute 91% of the total people engage in the household industries (See box).
65
Sahoo Sabeswar, (2007) ‘Forward March of Capitalism in Orissa’. Available at
http://countercurrent.org/school.110607.htm
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The Industrial Policy- 2001 and Industrial Policy Resolution-2007 of Orissa
In the middle 80s the state of Orissa was in the news for starvation death and selling of children by
destitute people for pecuniary purposes. However, today there is a dramatic shift and the state is in
news for a different reason. The reason is the ability of the state to attract large scale investments
courtesy the Industrial Policy-2001 (IP-2001). The IP-2001 is arguably a paradigm shift in the
development goal of the state precisely for the reason that it attempts to model a path of growth
through massive investment in industries. It underlines that the state should leverage its abundant
minerals and other natural resources to attract more investment by taking advantage of the post reform
opportunities. In fact, till date the state has been able to generate a whopping rupees 400,000 crores of
investment in various industries such as steel, power, alumina and aluminum. The dominant
perception guiding this policy was that enhanced investment in industries would trigger growth and
growth in turn would lead to increased employment and eventually help in removing poverty.
Admittedly the share of industry to the enhancement of the state GDP was the central logic of the
policy. The major portion of the IP-2001 are therefore concerned with-‘how to achieve an investors
friendly climate’ so as to make the state a desired destination for industrial investment.
The Industrial Policy Resolution-2007 (IPR-2007) published on the second day of March 2007 sought
to consolidate even further the objectives stated in the IP-2001. In continuation of the proactive
industrial policy of IP-2001 the government suggested many steps inter alia the deregulation of labor
laws, simplification of existing rules and procedures, tax reforms, amendment of land rules and
creating necessary infrastructures. To de-bureaucratize the existing procedures relating to clearance of
investment proposal a single window system was now created at various levels. Of the various
institutional mechanisms proposed the “Team Orissa” that was formed deserves a special mention.
Team Orissa shall mean the broad institutional framework of the government that is engaged in
industrial facilitation and investment promotion in all key areas. This will act like the vanguard in the
industrial drive of the state. Similarly in the district and at the state level DLNA and State Level
Nodal Agency (SLNA) were brought into being for a faster clearance of pending proposals for
investment. In consideration of the importance of reforms, the government has in the meanwhile
enacted the Orissa Industries (Facilitation) Act- 2004 and also drafted corresponding rules for this
purpose. The state government has also expressed its intention to announce a comprehensive land
policy to address the issues relating to identification and procurement of lands. Besides this, the
revenue department along with IDCO was entrusted to implement the Land Bank scheme. The IDCO
in association with the DLNA shall identify suitable tract of government land for transfer of those
land to IDCO. The state government shall take steps to develop five industrial corridors to intensify
the industrial activities in a closed area. Last but not the least, the government proposes to extend a
SEZ status to selective industries thereby promoting even further industrialization.
Out of the five industrial corridors the Sambalpur-Jharsuguda-Rourkela corridor comes in the case
study area. Additionally the grant of SEZ status to two industries very close to the case study area is
of critical significance to the present study. In fact IPR-2007 talks of promoting SMEs or industrial
clusters around heavy industries. The presence of heavy industries like M/s Bhusan Steel, M/s
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Vedanta and M/s Adity Aluminum (the later two are under construction) within 5 km radius of the
case study area make it now even more vulnerable to further industrialization and thus to the risk of
depletion of forests in the area. In view of the relaxation and incentives accorded to the SEZ and
industrial corridor the area might suffer further loss of forest cover without much hitch. It is relevant
to inform here that till 2005-06 the state has diverted 31273.71166 ha of forest for various projects.
List of Plant Species available in the Lapanga PRJ.
Sl.No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
Common Local
Name
Sal
Mahul
Kendu
Dumer
Lim
Kusum
Aam
Arjun
Harda
Siali
Sahaja
Gamhari
Bija
Sisoo
Karanja
Harsingha
Dhaura
Anla
Char
Bahada
Panas
Bel
Scientific Name
Shorea robusta
Madhuca indica
Diospyros melanoxylon
Ficus glomerata
Azadirachta indica
Schleichera trijuga
Artocarpus heterophylla
Terminalia arjun
Terminalia chebula
Bauhinia vahlii
Terminalia tomentosa
Gmelina arborea
Pterocarpus marsupium
Dalbergia latifolia
Pongamia pinnata
Nyctanthes arbotristis
Woodfordia fruticosa
Emblica officinalis
Buchanania lanzans
Termina bellerica
Artocarpus heterophylla
Aegle marmelos
List of animals found in Lapanga and surrounding forest
SL. No.
66
Common name
Scientific name
See http://www.orissa.gov.in/forest&environment/index.htm
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1
2
3
4
5
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Small Indian civest
Hyena
Hyena hyena
Common mongoose
Herpestres edwardsii
Jackal
Canis aureus
Fox
Vulpes bengalensis
Indian Giant Squirrel
Ratufa indica
Common hares
Lepas sp.
Striped Palm Squirrel
Funambulus palmatum
Rhesus monkey
Macaca mulata
Indian cobra
Naja naja
Common Krait
Bungarus caeruleus
Russel’s Viper
Vipera russelii
Python
Koel
Eudynamis scolopacea
Common Crow
C. splendens
King Vulture
Sarcogyps calvus
Owls
Hill Mynah
Gracula religiosa
White
Breasted Halcyon smyrnansis
kingfisher
21
Brahminy Duck
Tadorna ferrugninea
22
Pochards
Aythya spp
23
Red Wattled Lapwing
Vannelus indicus
24
Coot
Fulica atra
25
Jungle crow
Corvus marorhynchos
26
Golden
Backed Dinopium benghalense
Woodpecker
27
Red Vent Bulbul
Pycnonotus cafer
28
Red Jungle Fowl
Gallus gallus
29
Grey Hornbill
Tockus birostris
30
Spur Fowl
Galloperdix spp
31
Grey Quail
Coturnix coturnix
32
White Backed Vulture
Gyps bengalensis
Note: The table only gives an account of animals and birds coming to the Lapanga PRJ and does not include
other animals which comes to the near by forest across the SH-10 and Bheden nullah.
Migratory birds coming to the case study area
Sl. No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Common name
Great Cressed Grebe
Little gribe
Spotbilled
Little cormorant
Indian shag
Darter
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7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Pond heron
Purple heron
Night heron
Egrets
Painted stork
White stork
Blackibis
Flamingo
kestrel
Table Showing Population and Occupational Distribution of Lapanga as per 2001 Census
Sl. No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Indicators
Total
No.
Households
Household size
Total population
Sex ratio (females
per 1000 males)
Total no. of SC
population
Total
ST
population
Total no literates
Total workers
Main workers
Marginal workers
Cultivators
Agricultural
labourers
Workers
in
household
industries
Other workers
Proportion
of
main workers (%)
Proportion
of
marginal workers
(%)
Proportion
of
cultivators to the
total workers (%)
Proportion
of
agricultural
Total
459
Male
Female
5.0
2,188
1005
1,091
1,097
412
213
199
656
330
326
1,369
1,011
797
214
143
147
813
599
487
112
132
106
556
412
310
102
11
41
347
30
317
374
36.4
331
44.6
43
28.3
9.8
10.3
9.3
14.1
22.0
2.7
14.5
17.7
10.0
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19
20
labourers to the
total workers (%)
Proportion of in 34.3
household
industries to total
workers
Percentage
of 37.0
Other workers to
total workers (%)
5.0
76.9
55.3
10.4
Severe damage to vegetation due to dumping of mine
Overburden
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Dumping of overburden on Khinda Village Forest
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Clearing of Lapanga Village forest for widening of
Road
Community Protected Lapanga Village Forest
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This was once the plantation site of INDAL. Where have the plants vanished now?
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Annexure II (b)
Title
: Community Struggle for Forest Conservation: (A Case Study of Banadurga
Jungle Surakshya Committee, Khedapada, Nayagarh).
Author: By Mr. Sankar Prasad Pani
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I am thankful to the members of Banadurga Jungle Surakshya Committee,
Khedapada for their sincere effort in protecting the forest and being an inspiration for others. Indeed it is their
passion for forest protection that has prompted us to look at their forest management practices for a deeper
understanding. I am thus highly indebted to all the members of the committee and especially to the pioneers of
this forest management committee who foresaw that the forest needs to be prioritized in anticipation of the
days ahead when the fumes of industry engulf forests from everywhere and man is left searching for an ounce
of pure oxygen. No oxygen cylinder can meet the demand for oxygen that only the trees can fulfill.. Hence it is
even more pertinent to acknowledge these people here for their endurance and courage in fighting the battle
against industrial forces for protecting the patch of forest that they have been guarding for more than two
decades.
I am thankful to Prasant Mohanty and Rana Roy of Vasundhara, Bhubaneswar for rendering guidance in
preparing the case study.
I am thankful to all the staffs of Vasundhara for providing necessary helps and technical support in preparing
this case study.
Abstract
The entire case study throws light on the following aspects:
•
•
•
Community initiative in conserving forest.
Traditional forest management practices
Industrialization and forest degradation.
Background
The natural affinity of the village people towards the forest has made them saviors of a denuded
forest, thus making it one of the best community protected forest. Their contribution in saving the
forest is also acknowledged by the Government of Orissa and as a token of appreciation the Bandurga
Jungle Surakshya Committee has been awarded the prestigious “PRAKRITI MITRA AWARD”.
However the struggle still continues to protect the forest in spite of belligerence from the industrialist
and non-cooperation from District administration. In addition to the resistance, they have also been
prohibited from collecting firewood from that forest which has been regenerated and cared for by
them.
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Location
This is a case study of a group of few village communities who have a strong commitment towards
conserving the forest. The name of the forest is Khedpada Revenue forest (Khesra Jungle), which is
geographically situated at 200 12’ 20”N and 850 06’ 50” East with an altitude of 102 meter and which
is 8Km away from the District head quarter of the Nayagarh district in Orissa. The area of the
protected forest is around 860 acre. The forest comes under khadagprasad beat of Khedapada section
of Nayagarh forest range. Nayagarh District is located towards the west of Puri district and is
surrounded by Cuttack district in the north, Phulbani district in the west, Ganjam district in the south
and Khurda district in the east. The District of Nayagarh lies between 190 54’ to 200 32' north latitude
and 840 29' to 850 27' east longitude. Key Ecosystems:
The area comprises of mainly khondalite rock and laterite soil. The average rainfall is 1138mm and
the average number of rainy days is 76.7. This district is at a higher altitude than the sea level and is
above flood level. The river Mahanadi flows along it’s the eastern boundary. The climate of the
district is characterized by extreme temperatures in summer and winter.. The forest is predominantly
constituted of Sal though different tree species are also found. Adjoining the forest are two small
irrigation dams - Pitei jhar and Panipolia.. The area represents an integration of aquatic and hilly
forest ecosystem. The water bodies help in harbouring aquatic birds and animals and this in turn has
enabled an increase in the faunal diversity of forest.
Flora and Fauna
Once a denuded bald forest, this has been converted into a green and dense Sal forest with the effort
of local forest protecting villages. It has gradually become a hot spot for wildlife of that locality.
Unfortunately just when the ecosystem is about to be restored to its natural and wild status, industrial
activity has brought disturbances to the growth of wild animals. This forest is also a corridor for
elephant and other wild animals besides being a home to most of the wild species as mentioned in the
table below:
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PANIPOILA DAM
AREA OF THE PROTECTED FOREST AN BIRD’S EYE VIEW
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THE EYE CATCHING SAL FOREST
LIST OF ANIMALS FOUND IN THE COMMUNITY PROTECTED FORESTOF KHEDAPADA
Local Name
Bajra kapta
Badodi
Banbiradi
Barha
Balia kukur
Bilua
Gurandi
Chittal
Kutura
Heta
Musa nepali
Sambar
English Name
Pangolin
Shortnoosed fruitbat
Jungle cat
Wild boar
Wild dog
Jackal
Mouse deer
Spotted deer
Barking deer
Hyena
Flying squirrel
Small Indian civet
Scientific Name
Menis crassicaudata
Cynopterux spinax
Felis cahaus affinis
Sus scofa cristatus
Cuon alpinus dukhunensis
Canis sureus
Tragulus minna
Axis axis
Muntiacus mintijack
Hyaena hyaena
Petauristaphili philipinensis
Vivericulla indica
Mayur
Kapta
Peacock
Dove
Pavo cristatus
Sari
Kochilakhai
Kumbhatua
Harada chadhei
Dahuk
Bhaliakhai
Myna
Common grey bill
Streptopellchin oensis
Gracula religiosa
Anthrococeros coronatus
Cantropus sinensis
Crecapus phoenicopterus
Amanronis phoenicury
Tikos birostris
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Bankukuda
Bhadabhadalia
Bani
Godhi
Gokhar
Rana
Laudonkia
Dhamana
Jungle fowl
Gallus gallus
Caracas bengalensis
Acridotheres tristis
Cargeland monitor
Vernus monitor
India cobra
Naja naja
Branded krait
Bungarus fasiatus
Common green whip Dryophis nasutrus
snake
Rat snake
Ptyas mucosus
LIST OF TREES FOUND IN THE COMMUNITY PROTECTED FOREST
Local Name
Asan
Anala
Bahada
Bela
Bija
Gamhar
Haland
Harida
Jaisand
Karanj
Khair
Mahula
Nima
phasi
Sal
Sahada
Sirisa
Sisso
Kochila
Kendu
Baunsa or Bamboo
Scientific Name
Terminalia tomentosa
Emblica officinalis
Terminalia belerica
Aegol marmelos
Gamelina arborina
Adina cordifolia
Terminalia chebula
Listea sebifera
Pongamia glabra
Acasia Catechu
Madhuca latifolia
Azardica indica
Anogeissus
Shorea robusta
Streblus asper
Albizia procera
Dalbergia latifolia
Strychnos nuxvomica
Socio Economic Issues
The socio economic conditions of the said locality speaks of the the affinity of the people to mother
earth through agriculture and allied activities. Once upon a time, a part of the basic needs for
sustenance was managed by the available forest products. However, the present scenario is different
as though the people are contributing efforts towards conserving the forest, yet, they are not able tot
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benefit from it. This in some way is discouraging these forest protecting communities. However it is
only their will power and affinity for the forest that has sustained their motivation to conserve the
forest despite the fact of almost zero benefit accruing out of it. The economic condition of most of the
people who are predominantly cultivators and agricultural laborers is not sound.
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE AS PER CENSUS OF INDIA2001
Indicators
Balugaon
Kadua
Khedapada
TOTAL NO OF
HOUSEHOLDS
TOTAL
POPULATION
SEX RATIO
% OF SC
POPULATION
% OF ST
POPULATION
TOTAL WORKERS
% MAIN
WORKERS
% OF MARGINAL
WORKERS
% OF
AGRICULTURAL
LABORERS
% OF
CULTIVATION
WORKER
% OF NON
WORKER
% OF OTHER
WORKER
% OF LITERACY
572
35
203
2769
170
955
978
8.6
828
0
876
18.4
4.1
0
0.2
978
25.2
66
32.4
291
23.9
10.1
6.5
6.6
34.5
10.6
39.9
23.2
53
22.0
64.7
61.2
69.5
34.2
36.4
35.4
73.2
75.2
68.4
Historical Context
The mechanism evolved by some so-called illiterate villagers in Nayagarh district of Orissa to
manage67 their forests has attracted educationists in United Kingdom. Now students in UK study the
forest management techniques of the villagers in their curriculum.
The ancient forest management method of “thengapali” system—turn of baton—is now being
studied at the Andrews’ Endowed Church of England Primary School and Glasllwch Primary School
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Forest management skills of villagers UK students research in remote Orissa, Organizer, and June 25th 2006.
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as a geography subject. The topic makes an effort to investigate the extensive indigenous knowledge
of people and the practices followed by communities. The practice has been recognized as having
scientific validity at par with scientific forest management practices as prescribed by the forest
department.
Thirty-two years ago, residents of Kesharpur, a small village in Nayagarh district resolved to protect
and help regeneration of nearby Binjhagiri Hill. To execute the plan their immediate mantra was
“Love Trees”. After many years, now the love has taken the form of a people’s movement and has
spread out among 65,000 households in 850 villages leading to a situation where communities in
Nayagarh district alone protects 2.5-lakh acres of forest area. Around 4,000 volunteers can be seen
patrolling forests on any given day. This is despite the fact that 10,000 Sal-leaf plate makers, 8,000
Kendu leaf-makers, 6,500 fuel wood sellers, 5,000 bamboo artisans, 4,000 beedi rollers, 200 forest
traders and 100 wood carvers eke out their livelihood from the protected forest.
Often self initiated forest protection and management practices have come under severe criticism and
doubts have also been raised on the technical and ecological validity of such practices. However, the
practice of forest dwellers in order to protect forest across some districts of Orissa has attracted forest
management gurus all over the world. Success stories of forest protection have been cited from a
number of villages in Angul, Dhenkanal and Nayagarh districts of the state.
According to the thengapali system, every evening baton is left at doors of one or more adjacent
household(s) in a village (or a hamlet). One member from each of those households is then required to
take the responsibility of patrolling a forest patch for the following day. With batons in their hand, the
volunteers ensure that nobody enters the forest and steal forest pr produce. Besides regular
surveillance, the villagers also impose self-restrictions of not letting their goats into jungles as goats
nibble down tender shoots. Many communities who critically depend on forest have now adopted the
thengapali management system. The number of villagers involved in managing their own forest
resources is now estimated to be over 12,000.
In Orissa, it would be a very rare occasion in the post independence era where villagers in such a
number have come out for a common cause that ironically will not yield any immediate benefit. The
journey to success has never been a cakewalk. Some hard decisions coupled with willing sacrifices of
the people involved have set in motion into what has become a movement that is alive from 1970s.
From the year 1960 to 1970, the Kesharpur and its adjacent villages had witnessed as many as six
droughts. By then, villagers had noticed visible change in climatic conditions in the area. There was
considerable decline in rate of rainfall and people bore the brunt of excessive hot air in summer. The
effect was also witnessed in agricultural field. Agricultural production came down. Situation
worsened to such an extent that marginal farmers started migrating to distant places in search of work.
This success story has influenced the villagers throughout Orissa for protection of forest. The present
case study is also one of them.
Governance System of in BJSC, Khedapada, Nayagarh
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The essence of forest management has spread to the whole of Orissa. Nayagarh being the epicenter of
Community forest protection was able to attract e people to gather and chalk out a plan to restore the
degraded Rasol forest. Only seven people have pioneered this movement of forest protection in the
year 1979.In the year 1984 the number was extended to 75 people hailing from four different villages
such as Khedapada, Balugaon, Jayamangalprasad and Ghuntasahi. These people decided to
collectively protect the Rasola village forest and the adjoining Reserve Forest forming a joint forest
protection committee. The said committee protected around 860 acres of forest areas.
Present scenario:
In 1996, the said Rasol Jungle Surakshya Committee was divided into three sections such as Sanhamara,
Jaymangal prasad and Khedpada. The present case study depicts the management practices of Banadurga
Jungle Surakshya Committee Khedapada. The committee consists of 45 members from three different
villages such as Balugan, Khedapada and Kadua. The committee members elect their President, Secretary,
Vice president and Assistant secretary. The membership fee at present is Rs. 25/- which includes both fee for
Jaguali68 (Rs.20/-) and miscellaneous expenditure (Rs.5/-).In this way Rs. 1125/- is collected every month as
membership fee. From this total collected amount, Rs 900 is given to JAGUALI. The basic principles of forest
management followed by the committee are thinning, cleaning and coppicing.
COMMITTEE MEMBER ON DUTY
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Community hired forest watchman.
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MEETING OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS
THENGAPALI: Everyday one member from the committee or his representative in rotation basis
(called as PAALIA) goes to the forest along with the Jaguali to watch and ward the forest. The basic
purpose is to prevent illegal tree cutting and forest produce collection. If anybody is caught stealing
the forest produce then that person is produced before the forest committee and the committee decides
on the punitive measures. Thus the committee has its own sanctioning power to deal with such cases
and this also instills a fear in mind of the people and prevents them from stealing the forest produce or
cutting the trees. Unfortunately, there is no space for woman as part of the management system and
this is a lacuna that exists in the current system. At the end of the month, the committee would pay
these guards. The committee nominates its Secretary and President who then take charge of managing
the committee and its affairs. The committee also earns revenue by selling the firewood and other
forest produce. The members get benefit only by collecting the firewood. In this way the committee
was successful in managing the forest and was able to fetch an award from the State Government. The
award itself speaks of the contribution of the community in protecting forest.
After the inception of Joint Forest Management in 1993 by Govt. of India, the forest department tried
to lure these committees into registering as Van Samarkhyan Samiti (VSS). With the incorporation of
the JBIC fund for forest management from April 2006 the process of conversion of Community
Forest Management (CFM) Groups to Joint Forest Management (JFM) became more rapid day by
day. Protection of forest by community or the Govt. mechanism does not make any difference and the
objective of both the system is the same. However here the forest department is putting all its effort to
convert the CFM groups to JFM irrespective of their unwillingness. In this process the said
organization totally finds itself in the clutches of the forest department. After repeated pressure from
the department this committee has also applied for JFM status in the year 2003 and is waiting for its
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registration. Unfortunately, one of the conditions from the forest department would require t the
committee that will register as VSS to break off its relations with the MAHASANGHA. The
mahasangha is a federation of several village forests Committees (CFM) groups and not surprisingly
is more powerful than the forest department since more number of forest committees are under the
Mahasangha Banner.
State Of Forest Conservation in Orissa69
Orissa is located on the eastern coast of India and covers a total area of 15 570 700 ha. Its population
of 37 million inhabitants (Director of Census Operations, 2001) works out at 2.4 people per hectare;
Orissa accounts for 4.7 percent of India’s total area and 3.6 percent of its population (NCAER, 1999).
Orissa has 5 813 600 ha of forestland, but only 4 836 600 ha of this is covered with vegetation (FSI,
2003). The main forest types are northern tropical semi-evergreen and moist deciduous. The main
commercial timber species are Sal (Shorea robusta), Piasal (Pterocarpus marsupium) and Asan
(Terminalia tomentosa); and among the main non-timber species are Bamboo, Kendu (Diospyrus
melanoxylon), Mahua (Madhuca indica) and Tamrind (Tamrindus indica). Orissa follows the
National Forest Policy of India, which emphasizes the need for balance between ecology and local
use rights. The Orissa Forest Act of 1972, which is modeled on the Indian Forest Act of 1927,
provides the legal basis for forest management and serves as an important tool. Since the act was
enforced, a number of additional laws and rules have been framed to control and manage various
activities related to the planning, control and development of forests and wildlife resources. In 1980,
forestry became a matter for central government control, and the Indian Forest Conservation Act was
passed. This act aimed to control indiscriminate deforestation by obliging states to obtain central
government approval before forestland can be used for non-forestry purposes. States must also
compensate for the forestland affected, by establishing plantations that are twice the size of the
deforested area. The act has been very effective in slowing down the rate of deforestation, but less
successful in controlling the process of forest degradation. The Orissa Forest Department (OFD) was
established in 1936, during the colonial period, and is currently headed by a Principal Chief
Conservator of Forests. The forest area is divided into 27 forest divisions, each of which is under a
divisional forest officer; the smallest management unit is a “beat”, which is under a forest guard.
Working plans are updated once every ten years, and research, extension and training services are
involved in maintaining and improving the quality of forest management and ensuring a sustainable
supply of goods and services.
Type 1: National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries
National parks and sanctuaries cover 5 percent of the state’s land area and 13.7 percent of its forest area,
encompassing most critical habitats. Two national parks cover a total of 99 070 ha, and 18 wildlife sanctuaries
cover 697 115 ha. Similipal Tiger Reserve has an area of 275 000 ha, and overlaps with Similipal National
69 1
www.orissaforest.org
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Park (84 570 ha) and Similipal Sanctuary (190 500 ha). The Wildlife Wing of the Forest Department, with its
staff of wildlife wardens, is responsible for wildlife management under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
Type 2: Rererved Forests
At present, OFD manages 1 964 321 ha of reserved forests. These were constituted under the Indian Forest Act
of 1927 (see Annex 3), which restricts communities’ rights to the collection of fallen fuel wood and non-timber
products from these forests. Reserved forests are well demarcated and managed according to a long established
written code, which is updated every ten years. Some of these forests have been managed since 1886, when
grazing control and fire prevention was introduced and regeneration operations implemented.
Type 3: Protected Forests
Protected forests constituted under the Indian Forest Act of 1927 cover 2 400 836 ha and are managed by OFD.
The boundaries and rights of local communities for this group of forests are not yet clear, and the forests have
transitional status only. Protected forests are divided into demarcated protected forests and un-demarcated
protected forests, depending on the progress made in forest settlement. According to law, the land is under the
revenue department’s control, while tree growth is under the OFD. Most protected forests are close to or within
the geographical boundaries of revenue villages and are recorded in the Revenue Department’s Record of
Rights as, for example, gramya jungle (village forest). This is confusing, as village forests are legal entities
under the Orissa Forest Act. Before independence, protected forests belonged to princes and landlords. The
State annexed them after independence, declaring those with some evidence of earlier management “deemed
reserved forests”, and the others “protected forests”. These forests are reported to include some shifting
cultivation areas, which are used by approximately 150 000 tribal families. Land with a slope of more than 10
degrees has been declared government land and has not been surveyed even though some tribes traditionally
live on such hills. This has resulted in public unrest and fears of eviction in the communities who are the
rightful owners of the land.
Type 4: Joint Forest Management
In India, JFM was formally introduced with adoption of the 1988 Forest Policy, but participatory forest
management has a much longer history in Orissa, which OFD has continued by encouraging local communities
to protect and manage government forests close to villages. The Swedish International Development Agency
(SIDA)-assisted Social Forestry Project gave new impetus to the movement from 1984 to 1994, when timber,
fuel wood and fodder plantations were established on village land in cooperation with local people. Village
forest committees (VFCs) were officially constituted to protect and manage these newly created forests under
the Village Forest Rules of 1985. On 1 August 1988, the Government of Orissa issued a resolution making
provisions for villagers to undertake legally defined responsibility for protecting the forests adjoining their
villages in return for concessions that help them to meet their requirements for fuel wood and small timber,
under section 24 of the Orissa Forest Act 1972. Divisional forest officers were made responsible for
constituting forest protection committees (FPCs) for selected villages. A further step was taken by Government
of Orissa Resolution of July 1993, following the Government of India resolution on JFM of 1990. The Orissa
resolution provides detailed guidelines for local community involvement in the protection of forests through
the formation of village-level forest protection committees, called Van Samrakshan Sammittees (VSS), with
their own executive committees, duties and responsibilities. A state-level steering committee, chaired by the
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Forest Minister, was also constituted to monitor and guide implementation of the resolution. These and other
initiatives, taken at different times and by different agencies, gave rise to a movement towards participatory
forest management, as summarized in evolution of participatory forest management in Orissa
SL No
Type of committee
Number
Area In Hectare
1
Village forest committee (VFC),
1985
9141
118122
2
Forest protection committee (FPC),
1988 and 1990
4928
1007705
Van Samrakshan Sammittee (VSS),
1993
4
Unregistered forest protection
group (CFM)
Source: OFD, 1999.
1473
142318
769
114841
3
Participatory JFM arrangements for the protection and regeneration of degraded forests are now well
established in Orissa. According to the latest available report, in 2003 (see Annex 4) 6 822 VSS were
protecting 652 258 ha of forest. OFD’s main responsibilities in JFM are: assisting in the selection/demarcation
of the forest area for JFM; preparing the JFM micro-plan, and obtaining approval and budget for its
implementation; transferring sound silviculture and soil conservation skills to VSS members; and guiding the
implementation of JFM micro-plans. Recent resolutions indicate that there is a tendency towards greater
decentralization and benefit sharing with communities
Type 5: Community Forest Management
Community forest management (CFM) represents the antithesis of State forest management, and is sometimes
referred to as “self-initiated community forest management”. In Orissa, CFM has no legal basis and is purely
informal. Several local tribes are known to have their own active forest protection groups, but very little has
been reported or written about these. However, according to a Directorate of Social Forestry survey, there were
2 509 CFM groups/villages in 1999, informally covering a total area of 186 900 ha throughout the state. CFM
is more widespread in protected than reserved forests. A sample survey in three districts shows that local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), OFD and the communities themselves are all instrumental in initiating
the CFM movement (Singh, Sinha and Mukherji, 2005). CFM is a very healthy sign that communities are
taking responsibility for controlling forest degradation and deforestation. The communities involved in CFM
can be a group of households, a settlement or hamlet, a cluster of villages or even a federation of 80 to 90
villages; the areas under protection range from a few to 10 000 ha. Planning and control of CFM appears to be
steered by village or hamlet representatives, who are selected or elected according to local customs and
traditions. These traditional institutions are responsible for organizing meetings, where rules and regulations
for the management and monitoring of CFM forest resources are collectively decided. The committees also
decide how benefits from the resources should be shared, and set punitive measures (social and monetary) for
offenders. In CFM, all management issues are discussed and decided in the specific context of the village
concerned, taking account of the local community’s needs. This village-level operation makes CFM one of the
most decentralized systems in existence.
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Type 6: Private Forest Management
Actors in the paper industry approached the government for allotments of forestland for plantations that would
satisfy the industry’s raw material requirements; so far, however, their requests have not been fully satisfied.
Many paper mills are now encouraging farmers in Orissa to grow plantations of Casurina, Acacia and
Eucalyptus species. The industry assists individual farmers by supplying seedlings and through buy-back
arrangements. One Orissa company, the JK Paper Mill helped farmers to establish 18 471 ha of plantations in
12 districts. To begin with, the mill had to struggle to encourage farmers to plant trees, but once a few
successful plantations had been planted, more and more private farmers started to approach the mill. The mill
expects to be procuring all its hardwood requirements from plantations in the near future.
Case Study
The local communities were protecting the forest around Rasola village in Nayagrh district. This
experiment forms the subject matter of a small case-study undertaken by Vasundhara to understand
the role played by communities in protection and the impact of setting up a small-scale industrial
plant in and around this area. The research methodology for collecting information and findings of
this case study has been elaborated below:
Methodology
The methodology involved collecting information from primary and secondary sources, details of
which are very briefly explicated below.
A. Primary Source
• Interaction with Local Community
• Firsthand information collection during spot visits
B. Secondary Source:
• Working Plan for the Reserved Forests of Nayagarh Forest Division 1981-2001.
• Website of forest department, Govt. of Orissa
• Website of Govt. of Orissa
• Understanding forest tenure in South and Southeast Asia, trends in forest ownership,
forest resources own tenure and institutional arrangements: are they contributing to
better forest a management and poverty reduction?
• Case studies from Orissa, India by K.D. Singh, J.P. Singh Bhaskar Sinha
• Revival of Nayagarh sugar Mill: agro technical review.
• Orissa Industrial Policy Resolution 2007
Time line of Facts
1979
7 persons initiated the forest protection in Rasol Khesra Jungle. The
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initial membership fee was 10 Rupees.
1984
The seven-member committee expanded to 75 hailing from 5 different
villages such as Khedapada, Balugaon, Jayamangalprasad and
Ghuntasahi .The membership fee was 15 rupees.
1984
Land alienation to IDCO for establishment of Nayagarh Cooperative
Sugar industry Ltd at Panipoila. The nature of land is 119.06 Acre of
Khesra forest and 20acre of land is of no objectionable type.
1/1/1989
A meeting was held at Panipoili where 4 villages i.e. Khedapada,
Balugaon, Jayamangalprasad and Ghuntasahi decided to collectively
protect the Rasola village forest and the adjoining Reserve Forest
forming a joint forest protection committee involving 65 people from
these 4 villages. Around 860 acres of forest areas were protected by
community efforts 2 people each from four villages go to forest for
patrolling and protection regularly
20/12/1989
A meeting was held on the issue of forest protection between villages
involved in forest protection and sugar mill authorities and the company
agreed to hand over the areas in the sugar industries areas Cooperative
sugar Mill authorized the village committee to protect the forest areas
accrued by Sugar mill areas in their letter communicated to President,
Banadurga Jangal Surakhya Committee (BJSC)
1990-1998
Government of Orissa leased out the Sugar Mill to Dharini Sugar Mill
Ltd. and the company never felled the trees from the areas.
1994
The BJSC got Prakruti Mitra Award (An award of the Orissa State
Govt. for excellent work in conservation of environment and forest) for
their outstanding work in restoring a degraded forest to a healthy and
green Sal forest.
1999-2000
Government of Orissa managed the sugar mill through state co
operative and but it came to a halt in the year 2000.
20/06/2004
The sugar factory is leased to M/s ECP Industries Ltd and renamed as
Nayagarh Sugar Complex Ltd.
December2004 Operation of Sugar Mill by the M/s ECP industries
2/08/2005
The sugar factory management started cutting the trees with JCP
machine in the community-protected forest outside the factory lease
area. As a result communities started protesting against the factory
owner to stop tree felling. In retaliation to the peaceful protest made by
community, Mr. Trailokya Mishra, the lease owner of the sugar mill
threatened the people of dire consequence if any one protests for felling
trees. The protecting committee lodged an F.I.R. in Nayagarh police
station and complained to D.F.O. regarding the illegal tree felling,
threatening for murder. There after the DFO ceased the vehicle used for
felling of trees.
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17/01/2006
18/07/2006
22/02/2007
Representatives from the affected stakeholders meet with the CCF,
Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India, Regional Office,
Bhubaneswar.
Petition filed by Orissa Jungle Manch (a state forum for protecting
forest) before Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of Supreme court
of India for Violation of Forest Conservation act 1980 in conversion of
the forestland for industrial use. The case is still being heard before the
CEC.
The community noticed that the JCP machine is being used again to cut
the trees for making a road. In this instance nearly 1000 matured Sal
trees have been cut and completely rooted out from the soil for building
a plane road. The said forest protecting community again brought this to
the notice of District Authority but no action has taken yet. The apathy
of the Govt to such serious issues also discouraged the people for
protecting the forest.
Key Issues
1. Though the community is still protecting the forest by employing watchman, it is unable to pay the
remuneration to the watchman. Soon after litigation was initiated against the industry, the communities
who are protecting the forest were also barred from collecting the firewood, coppicing the trees and
other management practices. As the source of revenue for the community to manage the forest was the
revenue collected after selling the firewood and the allied plant products, the ban has crippled the
management.
2. The standing tree area in the leased land of the factory which was protected by the community as per
the agreement signed between the factory management and community in year 1989 is now being
denied to the communities by the present management. After more than 18years of taking care for and
helping the land to be covered with the present mature and productive tree, the community is not ready
to accept that all their effort in growing the trees will finally cater to the need of the boiler for the said
sugar factory. Obviously, the bone of contention is the non-execution of the agreement for Watch,
Ward and Benefits of the trees. On the other hand, the forest department does not have enough
manpower to watch and ward the forest, so if the community people are not allowed to watch and ward
the forest then it will not take much time to see forest denuded of its tree cover. With a mounting of
pressure on the local community from the industrialist, these people are now looking for other
alternative and demanding that the value of the standing trees in the lease area of the factory that was
cared for by the community needs to be evaluated and their contribution should be compensated in
term of money.
3. The ECP sugar factory authority is harassing the community by lodging false cases against them.
People are feeling unsafe. The company is harassing the people by selectively targeting and registering
false cases of theft against the people this adds an extra burden on the communities. According to these
people each one has to pay Rs 5000 only for getting out of the police snare. If the case goes to the court
and once a person is entangled with litigation then money and time will be wasted till the disposal of
case. This is an important reason as to why people have lost interest in forest protection.
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4. The money and muscle power of the factory owner is successful enough to create a fear psychosis in
the mind of the people keep them away from forest. This will slowly result in the factory authority
gradually gaining control over the entire forest area.
Current Situation
The above case study is but a microcosm of what is happening in Orissa. Doubtless, with the current
thrust on industrialization across the state, there is little hope that the situation can be reversed. If at
all, it will only worsen, not only in the case of the above-mentioned study area, but also across the
state of Orissa. The above case study gives but a glimpse of what is in store in terms of the dangers to
forest covers in the light of the industrialization policy (in tune with national economic liberalization
programme) that is being pursued by the present regime. Our study included visits to the said site area
to understand the ground situation in one site area. However it also included research through primary
and secondary sources as has been mentioned above. The purpose for the same was to try and
understand the role of other factors that seem to lead to this problem across Orissa.
Extent of forest degradation in the present case study:
Nayagarh is well known for community initiatives in protecting the forest. So the people and forest
are the two inalienable part of the ecosystem. The growth of forest is the output of effort of the
community and the role of the forest in the day-to-day life of the people is also equally noteworthy.
Same is the status of the four villages of Nayagarh in the present case study. However with the
inception of the Nayagarh Cooperative Sugar industry in the year 1984 and its operation in the year
1990, it did not have too much of an adverse effect on the forest. In the process of establishment of
the Factory it acquired around 140 acre of land out of which around 119.06 Acre is the Khesra
forestland. This was the first stage of forestland becoming a prey for industrial activity. The
degradation is not limited to nature of land but also affected its adjoining forestland and wildlife.
However, in the beginning every thing was smooth between forest protecting community and the
factory management till 2005. Since all the land acquired by the factory was not used for industrial
activity. The then factory managing committee had authorized the community to watch and ward of
the said forest coming under the factory lease area. However, now the factory is cutting the trees to
feed its Boiler plant for its industrial activity. The Boiler consumes nearly 4 trucks of wood log for
maintaining the desired temperature.
In addition to the industry, forest mafias are also responsible for destruction of forest. In general, the
forest mafias are quite active in their operation in forest areas protected only by forest department.
However in community-protected forest they seldom dared to traffic the timber. This has now begun
in the said area also.
The most noteworthy adverse effect is the weakening of the community interest and willpower in
protecting the forests. Since the litigation in court has begun, the communities have been prohibited
from taking part in forest management practice. Though it is a fact that the community is still keeping
a vigilant eye on the forest and thus saving it from the timber mafias, it is also true that it is unable to
coppice and cleaning the forest. As a part of good forest management practice thinning, coppicing and
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cleaning are essential for the health of a forest. If these practices are not followed then the forest will
grow in an unorganized manner. Secondly that management practice was a sustainable practice since
the twigs and firewood are the source of revenue for the committee and source of fuel wood for the
members who are involved in the management practice. As the people are not getting benefit from the
forest because of the embargo by the forest department, it is also discouraging them from protecting
the forest.
FACTORY IN FORESTLAND: A CASE OF ENCROACHMENT
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The Larger Picture – ORISSA INDUSTRIAL POLICY RESOLUTION 2007
Transforming Orissa into a vibrant industrial State remains an important goal in the beginning of the
new millennium. With its abundance of mineral resources, long coastline and inland waters, the rich
bio-diversity of its forests and a rich cultural Heritage, Orissa ought to become a privileged
destination for industrial investment. The economic reforms and the liberalization process initiated in
1991 provide an important opportunity to the State to leverage the natural resources to attract
investment, both domestic and international. At the same time, the combined forces of economic
globalization and governance-decentralization, pose new challenges to the policy-makers and call for
a profound redefinition of the way, Government can effectively support business. Against this
backdrop it has become necessary to win the trust of the industry by demonstrating the commitment
of the Government to attract investors; create a positive perception of the State as a desired
destination for industrial investment. Obviously, the same policy should also have an objective of
ensuring an industrial development that is sustainable. However, in practice, from 2002-2005 onwards
and within a span of 3 years 42 MoUs, out of which the government signed 40 steel plants and 2
aluminum plants. Till date 65 MoU have been signed in the field of Steel, Alumina and Power sector.
This includes the Highest FDI ever made in India that is of 54,000 Crore rupees by POSCO a Korea
based steel company. Next to POSCO is Mittal steel plant the biggest steel tycoon of world for which
a MoU has already been signed. It is a matter of pride for the state government that it is able to attract
the world entrepreneurs to its state. At the same time this puts paid on the problematic question of
“sustainability” of such a development.
By the end of year 2004-05, around 30,331 hectares of forestland had already been diverted for
industrial purpose. Now-a-days deforestation is a global issue and rapid industrialization has
augmented the deforestation process all over the world. The densest forest of world, Amazon forest is
also not free from the snares of such a development. The Indian subcontinent is also in this ruthless
rat race to achieve the GDP targets. However, it should not be forgotten that it is only the community
efforts that are able to conserve few patches of forests. These have often had to face blows from
Industrialists and sometimes Government. Since the Govt. is single-mindedly pursuing growth that
can be measure in terms of the GDP factor, it is not willing to compromise with its developmental
agenda. In this process, the forest and forest protecting communities are sacrificed at the alter of the
God of development. The Govt. is trying hard to maintain the state of forest more in record than that
in reality. Now the Orissa Govt. is claiming that it has 31% forest cover. However the number of
MOU signed with different companies raises serious doubts about the possibility of retaining the
forest area intact. The mineral wealth of Orissa is also another cause of luring the industrial tycoons to
the state. Industrialization in forest areas or on agricultural lands will not only affect the people who
are displaced for the projects. It will have a wider impact on the state and its resources. Large-scale
deforestation for industrialization has become a major issue in Orissa, particularly in western Orissa,
which is known as the home to heat and drought. Deforestation may lead to havoc in this region as the
atmospheric temperature usually goes up to 50 degree Celsius here during summer. What will the
impact of further deforestation and large-scale industrialization in those areas be? The sad irony is
that Orissa government has not even endeavored to make best use of the vast landscape of Kalahandi
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and Nuapada with black cotton soil. Provided with extensive irrigation facility, these districts would
meet the vegetable and onion demands of the state and enable the state to export also. But horticulture
and agriculture are still some of the neglected areas not only in these districts but in other parts of
Orissa also. The excitement over the rush of steel and alumina giants into the state with an aim to
drain its natural resources as fast as possible, has propelled the Orissa government to sign 43 MoUs
with different Steel Companies including major players in the international market like TATA Steel,
Korean steel giant POSCO and a world leader like Mittal Steel. ‘Development through large scale
industrialization’ is the key message given by the reigning government and top-line bureaucrats to the
people of Orissa. People are deluded to believe the myth that no development is possible in the state
without going by the norms dictated by these corporate giants.
It is also evident from many more cases in the past that the state government remains silent about the
illegal activities of different industries. It is not surprising to know that the industries have started
their activity without obtaining proper environmental clearance and forest clearance. As a matter of
law, no project activity should be started without obtaining environmental clearance. In the case of
Vedanta Alumina it was noticed that almost half of project activity was completed without obtaining
environmental clearance. This is the state of rapid industrialization in Orissa. This shows that the
government is fully committed to the cause of industrialization in the state at the risk of jeopardizing
all environmental concerns.
Industrial policy of Govt. and Deforestation:
Table 1: Mineral Wealth of Orissa
Mineral
Reserves (106
tones)
% India’s
Reserves
Rank in
India
Chromites
183
98.4
1
Bauxite
1.626
69.7
1
Graphite
1.5
32.6
1
Manganese
ore
49
31.8
1
Dolomite
563
12.2
1
Quartzite
-
-
1
Pyrophyllite
-
-
1
Fireclay
88
12.5
2
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Quartz
15
1.9
4
Coal
44.304
23.8
4
Iron ore
3.120
26.0
5
The above table shows the richness of mineral resource that the state is blessed with. Orissa tops the
list in mineral abundance in minerals such as Chromites, Bauxite, Dolomite, Manganese, Pyrophyllite
Graphite and quartzite. This is the reason why industrialists are queuing up before the state
government. Secondly the liberal industrial policy and primary focus on industry has significant
impact on the industrial affairs of the state.
A critical analysis made in the context of Orissa reveals the role of the following actor’s vis-à-vis
deforestation and forest degradation:
• As most of the mines are found beneath the forest cover, such activity seems to be a major
factor in forest degradation.
• Rapid industrialization and infrastructure development to meet the needs of industrialization
has augmented the process of forest degradation.
• A claim that is made by the govt. -that the community is a major factor in degradation of the
forest seems to be ridiculous. It cannot be denied that the people are collecting the forest
resource for their bonafide use. At the same time their contribution in strengthening the health
of the forest cannot be overlooked. Even the present case study speaks of the community
contribution in forest protection. Rather it can be called as the sustainable use of the forest.
• It has also been noticed that the Orissa Forest Development Corporation, which is a
commercial wing of forest department, is also cutting the forest in the name of coupe
operation under forest management plan.
Recommendations
Some recommendations that emanate out of this study are:
Industrialization should be need based not greed based.
Development should not be at the cost of environment and should not result in paralyzing
the ability of future generations.
Principle of intergenerational equity should be emphasized.
In the name of attracting the investors environmental norms should not be relaxed.
In the context of the global scenario relating to environmental disasters and in particular
the potential impact of climatic change, the state should take cognizance of the same and
take enough precautions to avoid manmade disasters.
Community efforts to protect the environment should be given due recognition and
promotion.
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Another learning form this case study is that the common resource like forest and water bodies were
safe till the factory was with in the ownership of the Cooperative Management. The moment the
factory was sold to a private person, the factory management started claiming its ownership on the
forest and adjacent water body Piteijhar. Only the factory was sold to the company but not the
standing trees and the water body that was being regulated by mutual understanding by Village
Panchayat. So privatization is a threat to these types of common resources. What needs to change is
the form of ownership of the control of means and resources of production. in order to ensure a
sustainable balance between social and ecological concerns.
Sl.
No.
Forest Cover
Name of the Geographical
Very Moderately Open
Total
Dist.
area
Dense
Dense
Forest
Forest
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Percentage
8
1
Angul
6375
0
1712
944
2656
41.66
2
Balasore
3806
0
154
155
309
8.12
3
Bargarh
5837
0
552
319
871
14.92
4
Bhadrak
2505
0
22
7
29
1.16
5
Bolangir
6575
0
352
600
952
14.48
6
Boudh
3098
1
808
443
1252
40.41
7
Cuttack
3932
0
265
359
624
15.87
8
Deogarh
2940
0
784
590
1374
46.73
9
Dhenkanal
4452
0
505
776
1281
28.77
10
Gajapati
4325
0
1620
864
2484
57.43
11
Ganjam
8206
0
1191
759
1950
23.76
12
Jagatsingpur
1668
0
4
14
18
1.08
13
Jajpur
2899
0
82
180
262
9.04
14
Jharsuguda
2081
0
157
132
289
13.89
15
Kalahandi
7920
0
1145
1115
2260
28.54
16
Kandhamal
8021
175
3157
2119
5451
67.95
17
Kendrapara
2644
0
150
56
206
7.79
18
Keonjhar
8303
0
1713
1523
3236
38.97
19
Khurda
2813
0
211
151
362
12.87
20
Koraput
8807
0
729
828
1557
17.68
21
Malkangiri
5791
0
911
1301
2212
38.20
22
Mayurbhanj
10418
99
2910
996
4005
38.44
23
Nuapara
3852
0
585
628
1213
31.49
24
Nayagarh
3890
0
1121
484
1605
41.26
25
Nawrangpur
5291
0
683
440
1123
21.22
26
Puri
3479
0
71
28
99
2.85
27
Rayagada
7073
13
1085
1963
3061
43.28
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28
Sambalpur
6657
0
2281
1007
3288
49.39
29
Sundargarh
9712
0
2722
1303
4025
41.44
30
Sonepur
2337
0
200
112
312
13.35
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Forest Cover Based on assessment of satellite data by the Forest Survey of India
(2003 assessment)
Based on assessment of satellite data by the Forest Survey of India
(2003 assessment) Sq. Km. .
Very
Dense
Moderately
Dense
Open Total
Tree
Cover
288
27882
20196 48399
6381
General Information
Item
Geographical area.
Recorded Forest Area.
Forest Cover(2003 assessment of FSI)*
(a) Very Dense Forest
(b) Moderately Dense Forest
(c) Open Forest
(d) Mangrove Forests (Included in item no. a & b&c )
Sq. Kms
1,55,707.00
%
into
Land
Area
100
58,136.87
37.34
288.00 0.18
27882.00 17.91
20196.00 12.97
207.00 0.13
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Total Organized By: Kalpavriksh
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of
FSI)
6381.00
4.10
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Annexure II (c)
Title : Khandadhar, life line of northern Orissa (The impact of the mining and
related policies/ programmes was the underlying causes of deforestation and
forest degradation)
Author: Mr. Kumar Abhishek Pratap Ms Tanushree Das, Field level collaboration:
Banai Forestry Federation, Banai Mandal, and Banai
Introduction to the case study
Background & Profile
Amidst thick forest, Khandadhar (244 meter) is a glittering waterfall created by a perennial rivulet
called Karapani Nala within a few kilometers (kms) of its origin, and, drawing as it were, a veil over
Orissa’s economic development through iron ore mining. The highest water fall of Orissa is situated at
21°47'8"N 85°8'9"E south-east of Bonai Sub division in Sundergarh district and extends to adjacent
Keonjhar District in Northern Orissa. Its distinctive geographical feature is characterized by dry
tropical deciduous forest and rugged hills intersected by ravines and passes which are characterized by
a narrow valley of the River Brahmani and its tributaries. The area of present case study comprises
23 villages under 5 Gram Panchayat of Bonai Sub-division, Sundergarh district.
Ecological profile -Geographical Scale and Spread
The Khandadhar falls cover an area of 62 square kilometer ranging from Suakanthi in Keonjhar
District to Bonai in Sundergarh district70. However, the study was focused on the western part of the
falls coving 23 villages under 5 Gram Panchayat of Bonai Sub-division in Sundergarh District. The
study area, which is a part of the ex-princely State of Bonai, is situated at 800 ft. from mean sea level
and consists of widely, dissimilar tracts of expansive and fairly open country, dotted with isolated
peaks, inaccessible forests, river valley and mountainous terrain71. Geographically it is marked with
dense forest and hills intersected by gorges and passes and also a narrow valley of the Brahmani
River and its tributaries. The east and west of the Brahmani valley is filled with high range of
mountains. Mt. Chheliatoka (3331 ft.) is the highest peak among 22 such hills in the area. These 22
hills are commonly called as Khandadhar mountain range. There are numerous perennial and seasonal
water streams, which originate from this range and over which thousands of ethnic tribes depends for
their sustenance. There are around 8 major perennial streams and 26 minor streams flowing before
meeting in the river Brahmani.
70
71
Based on discussion with local people
www.sundergarh.nic.in
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Key ecosystem,
The Khandadhar hill range abounds with streams. The area receives high rainfall every year in the
month from June to September as it is situated in the north-south direction intersecting monsoonal
wave emerging from Bay of Bengal. The average rainfall in the area is 1403 millimeter annually.
Temperature varies between 12oC to 37oC. The relative humidity varies between 32 to 87%72. Around
100 streams flow from the hill; out of this, 8 are major and 26 are minor streams. Most of the streams
are perennial in nature. The major streams originate from the hill are Karapani, Khandadhar, Kuradi,
Matuali, Tinka Nala, Jagati Nala, Uskala and Kueli. The river Baitarani, which is one of the major
perennial rivers of the country, also originates from this hill range at Suakanti on the eastern side.
Another major perennial river Brahmani of the nation flows in the area. There are lots of major and
minor streams that originate from Khandadhar hill range (Table 1.1).
The area shows a varied degree of flora species owing to its diversified topographic and geological
scale (high mountains, deep gorges and passes, innumerable streams and abundant vegetal resources).
Many flora species available in the area are rare and conservation dependant. The forest of the study
area also displays numerous minor forest produces that have a high importance from local livelihood
and economic perspective. Sal is the dominant species in the area. Also found is the presence of other
important species like assan, kurum, kendu, mahua and myrabolan. The principle minor forest
produce available is sabai grass. lac, tassar, myrabolan, mahua, kusuma seed, resin, tamarind, gum
and sal seed (Table 1.2). Wide range of medicinal plant species like raj, kusum and brahmamari are
also found in the study area.
The vegetation of Khandadhar forest is a habitat for diverse, rare and endangered wildlife like tiger,
leopard, sloth bear, elephants, gaur etc. The presence of the royal Bengal tiger is also mentioned in the
Working Plan of Bonai Forest Division. The forest is also a habitat for rare and endangered reptiles
like limbless lizard, genus of Sepsophis (recently discovered by researchers from Vasundhara) and
double-nosed snake. The forest is also home for diverse range of bird species like peacock, wild hen,
dahuka and marada (Table 1.3).
Biodiversity Issues
The Khandadhar forest comes under the migratory route of the elephants from the Saranda forests of
Bihar and the neighboring Bamra Forest Division (Bonai Forest Working Plan). As mentioned above,
Khandadhar forest is a home to the endangered mega fauna like tigers and elephants and any activities
leading to deforestation have large repercussions for the habitat of such animals and their very
survival. Further, the recent discovery of the limbless lizard73 from the Khandadhar forest is new to
science and nothing is known about there habitat and life history. From the preliminary observations,
72
Information received from Indian Metrological Department
Recent discovery of limbless lizard in forest of Khandadhar by Research Team Of Vasundhara lead by Prof.
S.K. Das, North Orissa University, Baripada
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Limbless lizard prefers to live in dark and cool retreat of forest and is considered as a keystone
species, whose presence indicates the richness of the ecosystem as a whole.
The presence of a varied range of mega fauna, reptiles and birds gives an indication that the
Khandadhar forest is biologically diverse and ecological rich. The presence of wide range of reptile
species suggests a low temperature and high humidity, which is again an indication of dense forest.
The presence of some rare reptiles and birds also give indication that this forest is one of the world’s
old and rare tropical natural forests. Moreover, as mentioned earlier, the Khandadhar waterfall is the
origin of a number of perennial streams, which play a vital role in regulating the micro ecosystem of
the region. Except contributing water to the river Brahmani, these streams also regulate the regional
ground water table along with improving soil fertility and local water regime. The four perennial
streams namely Karapani, Khandadhar, Kuradi and Kueli which drain from this hill-top are critical
for survival of diverse and rare flora and fauna.
In addition, Khandadhar forest represents wide variety of geological, climatic, vegetational and
physiographic features that have an impact on the soil formation of the area. These soils have direct
distinct morphological and physico-chemical properties that influence plant growth and the cropping
patterns in the region, thus leading to rich biological diversity of the forest. The prevailing soil type in
the study area is mostly alluvial and laterite in nature (Bonai Forest Working Plan). Alluvial soil is
high in fertility and mostly found in river basin of Brahmini. On the other hand, laterite soil is low in
fertility and is mostly found in the monsoon climatic regions having a mixture of clay and red soils.
The different kind of soil composition helps in the emergence of different plant species with
differential growth indices. This further helps in creating habitats for different kinds of animals,
reptiles and birds in the forest. This forest also has a high medicinal value as it contains a wide range
of medicinal plants like raj kusum, patal garuda and wild tulsi1 (Table 1.4).
Socio-economic profile (population/demographics, social/ethnic composition, occupation and
economic status, and political status (governance institutions, etc)
Sundergarh is the fifth most populated district of Orissa. The total population of the district is about
1,829,412 with Sex ratio of 957. The district is schedule V area and more than half of Population, i.e.
50.22% of the total population, is Schedule Caste (SCs). Scheduled castes constitute 8.62% of total
population. Urban-rural population ratio is 2: 1 in the district. Compared to the district, sex ratio in the
study area is 1024. Also, the Scheduled Tribes (STs) population is little bit higher (66.5 %) as
compared to the district The overall density of the region is about 132 person per km which is typical
for any rural atmosphere in India (Census report, 2001). The density values are a bit higher in semi
urbanized area like in Bonai, Lahunipara etc. This is due to its proximity to the National Highway, a
good communication system, easy access to infrastructure as well as because of a large employment
potential as a result of mining and industrial activities.
The district of Sundergarh is a notified Schedule V area and a home land of Paudi Bhuyan (one of the
Primitive Tribal Group in the Orissa). The homeland of Paudi Bhuyan is known as Bhuyan Pirh. This
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extends from Banspal block of Keonjhar district in east to Bonai Sub-division of Sundergarh District
in west and to Pallahara block of Angul district in South (between 21-22o north and 85-86o east
coordinate)74. The word “Paudi” and “Bhuyan” derive from Sanskrit which means high and land
respectively. The Bhuyan hamlets or villages are situated either on plateau land on the hill tops or else
on the hill slopes in the middle of the forest. The villages are generally small in size and contain a
homogenous Bhuyan population.
Apart from Paudi bhuyans, other schedule tribes like Munda, Mankadia, Gonda and Kandha1 also
found in the area. There are two type of Munda tribe - the Kolha Munda and the Christian Munda.
Both Munda tribes are considered to have migrated from the state of Jharkhand in different course of
time. It is believed that the Kolha Munda came and settled here in last 50-60 years while the Christian
Munda came here recently after 1980s in search of labor work. The Mankadia tribe is another tribe
that is considered as an indigenous tribe of this area. Kandhs and Gonds are considered to have
migrated from the southern part of the state during different period of time. In addition to schedule
tribes, other castes like Kissan, Patra, Gauda, Chasa, Mahanta, Luhara and Barika are also found in
the atrea. These are mostly agrarian people having farming and milk production as their main
occupation.
Agriculture is the most predominant activity in the area, spreading over 56.2% of the geographical
area and with about 23.9% of the population engaged in this activity. According to the 2001 Census,
there are 7,940 cultivators (14.37 %) and 11,555 farm labors (21.29 %) in the area. Rice, maize,
cereals, ground nut, sugar cane and pulses are the main crops grown here. Apart from wells and tube
wells, the main source of irrigation water is mainly the river Brahmani & its distributaries and other
streams originating from Kandadhar. Moreover, the rural population critically depends on the forest to
supplement their bonafide livelihood and domestic consumption needs. The degree of dependency
over the forest in turn depends on the economic status of the family. The elite and agrarian class
depends on the forest for fuel wood, fodder, agricultural and material for house appliances. The
marginal section of the society, the SC and ST, is crucially dependant on the forest for their
sustenance in the absence of land holding. They collect a wide range of forest produces like kendu
leaves, mahua, sal seeds, char seeds, amala etc. for sale and other forest produces like wild tubers,
fruits and flowers for domestic consumption. The extent and type of forest produce collection vary
seasonally. A rough estimate suggests that 30 to 40 % of annual income of the marginal sections
come from the forest produce collection (Vasundhara).
Shifting Cultivation is an ancient and traditional form of agriculture that is largely practiced by the
tribal population including the Paudi Bhuyans. In fact, the economic life of the Paudi Bhuyan mainly
revolves around shifting cultivation and is complemented by collection of minor forest produce and
fishing. Amongst the Paudi Bhuyan, shifting cultivation in general is known as Taila chasa. Normally
Paudi Bhuyans cultivate on one land for a period of three years and then leave it for recuperating for
five to seven years (Dash, 2006).The first year, the field under cultivation is called as Biringa, the
second year as Kaman and the third year as Guda. The land under cultivation is located on top of hill,
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hill slopes and foot of a hill (5-12 o). The land is under community ownership and distributed amongst
its members on the basis of need. The crops that are cultivated in the first year are kulthi, Biri, rasi
and various other types of vegetables, pulses and creepers. In the second year, paddy, Jowar, kada,
mandia and kangu are swooned while in the third year only niger is grown on that land.
A vast availability of mineral resources is a major reason for rapid industrialization in the area after
independence. Prior to independence, the industrial activity of the district was confined to
Biramitrapur the site of the limestone quarry. The establishment of a cement factory in the private
sector at Rajagangapur in 1951 and a Steel Plant at Rourkela in 1955 in the public sector initiated the
industrialization process in the region2. Many medium and small-scale ancillaries and plants were set
up in and around Rourkela steel plants and other major factories. Simultaneously with the
collaboration of Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa Ltd. (a State Government
undertaking), more industries like fabrication, coke oven plant equipment, yarn etc. with an overall
investment of Rs 257 lakhs have gone into production in the recent past2. As a result of the adoption
of an economic policy based on neo liberal model of globalization, many mineral based industries and
mines have been set up by the private sector in the Bonai region in order to exploited rich mineral
deposits in the area. The last one and half decade has witnessed a rapid upsurge of private industries
particularly the sponge iron plants and private iron ore mines in different part of Bonai, Lunipara and
Koida Block of the study area (Murthy, Patra, 2005). A numbers of sponge iron plants have been set
up on both the sides of river Brahamini. Small-scale industries, manufacture of engineering goods,
steel metal industries for manufacture of containers and automobiles spares, food processing
industries for steel city, forest based industries, chemical industries for manufacture of insecticide and
other chemicals, electrical apparatus, ancillary to the Steel Plant have also come up in the recent
decade2. Various types of demand based industries engaged in manufacture of brick, tile, hessian
bags, rope making and shoe making etc. have also come up.
However, despite so much industrialization in the area, half of the population i.e. 52.19 % in the study
area is unemployed (Census, 2001). Further, industrialization has not improved the economic profile
of the area. Even now 3/4th of the total population lives Below Poverty line. On the other hand,
instead of improving the economic status of the region, the industrialization has induced an adverse
impact over social, economic and natural resource of the region (which will be discussed in analysis
part of the study).
As mentioned above, the district is a schedule V area with more than 50% tribal population. The
district has two Sub-division Bonai and Panposh. The study area of Khandadhar is in Bonai Subdivision which has four blocks namely Bonai, Lunipara, Koida and Gurundia. Sundergarh has one
parliamentary constituency and an assembly constituency. Mr. Jual Oram is Member of Parliament
from Sundergarh Bonai has one assembly constituency. Mr. Laxman Munda is Member of state
legislative assembly from Bonai.
As the study is a homeland of Primitive Tribal Group, Paudi Bhuyan, the state government had set up
Paudi Bhuyan Development Authority (PBDA) at Khuntgaon Village in Lunipara Block of Bonai
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Sub-division in the year of 1979 for the overall development of Paudi bhuyan living in 22 villages
spread across five Gram Panchayat of the study area. Around 327 landless families of Paudi Bhuyans
are involved with PBDA. The agency also distributed land amongst some Paudi Bhuyan families for
settled cultivation in the three Gram Panchayats of Haldikudar, Phuljhar and Koliposh. PBDA also
provides educational and health facilities to the 999 families of Paudi Bhuyans living in five Gram
Panchayat.
The literacy rate in the study area is 65.1 % which is similar to district but higher to state average.
Further. male literacy rate (78 %) is higher compared to female (52 %).Theliteracy rate in Paudi
Bhuyan is abysmally low (19 %) with high a gender disparity. The state SC & ST departments had
opened one high school at Phuljhar, one residential sevashram at Bhudabhuiyn in Talbahali Gram
Panchayat along with another sevashram and two primary school with hostel for Children of Paudi
Bhuyans. On the other hand, the education department had opened one high school, three upper
primary schools, 13 primary schools and 14 education grant system centers in the five gram
panchayats of the study area. Health service delivery in the Study area is not functioning well due to
lack of proper infrastructural facility and service delivery system. Major water borne diseases like
malaria, pneumonia, and mylonemia and mal nutrition are common.
Roadway connectivity is not in place in the study area as in other parts of the district. The State
Highway from Keonjhar to Rourkela joins the study area to other part of district. But this road is not
in a good condition owing to the heavy vehicular traffic for transportation of minerals. Another state
highway from Joda in Keonjhar to Koida in study area is in a pathetic condition and dangerous for
passenger traffic movement. There is one branch railway line of 68.6 km from Barsuan to
Bondamunda that connects to the main rail link Howarah-Mumbai line for mineral transportation.
Apart from this, village and Panchayat roads are also not in a good condition, which makes this area
difficult to access in rainy season. The perennial streams, coming out from the Khandadhar fall are a
major source of water in the study area for both domestic consumption as well as irrigation. All such
streams finally fall into River Brahamini at different points. A number of minor irrigation projects by
P.A.I.T.D.A. have been set up on the streams at Kilinda, Deogharia, TalaBahali, and Bija Ghat for the
irrigation of farm lands, vegetables & fruit orchards in the study area. Tal Bahali, Kuli posh and
Ghuntgaon Gram Panchayat use the water of Khandadhar Stream for domestic and irrigation purpose.
Depending upon this water, seed collection centers have been formed at Kuli posi & Bandabarana.
Similarly horticulture departments at Talabahali and Kuliposi have developed a number of fruit farms
where seedlings are being developed. Mangos, Banana and Litchi are cultivated largely by using this
water. A minor irrigation dam has been constructed on the Korapani stream that is supplying water to
the gram panchayat of Phuljhar, Haldi Kadar & Khuntgaon. The dam on the Kuradi stream is the
largest minor irrigation project of this area that is supplying water to the Gram Panchayat of K.
Balanga, Bimalagarh in Koida block; Sankhaposh, Kaleiposh of Lahunipara block throughout the
year. Depending upon this water, rice, pulses, vegetables are largely cultivated in this area. This
project is considered as the lifeline of the above six Gram panchayats.
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In the year 1993, the state government had issued a resolution on Joint Forest Management (JFM)
with the clear objective of better forest management & protection through the active participation of
people living in and around the forest area. JFM programme is also intended toward reducing
people’s dependency over the forest by providing alternate livelihoods to local people (JFM
resolution, 1993). For the purpose of better protection and management, Vana Samarkhan Samiti
(VSS) needed to be formed with foresters as member secretary and villagers as members. Since 1994,
hundreds of such VSSs have been formed in villages of study area under Bonai Forest Division.
Under JFM, mostly plantation work of acacia, eucalyptus and teak was undertaken on degraded
patches of forest along with village commons and wasteland and the protection of such plantation was
handed over to the VSS members. People have 100 % usufruct right with 100 % intermediary harvest
and 50 % of final harvest. The financial aspect of the programme was covered under Social Forestry
scheme funded by SIDA.
In the year 2002-03, the Government of India launched a National Afforestation Programme (NAP)
through VSS for forestry sector development under 10th Five Year Plan. In the last five years 48 VSS
have been covered under the NAP programme in the Bonai Forest division (Pratap, Das, 2006). 1750
hectare of forestland has been brought under treatment through plantation and soil conservation
measures with a financial outlay of Rs.104, 27,000 and 129.70nos labor-days. Along with plantation,
development work was also carried out in the villages as an entry point activity (Forest Department,
2005). Now the state government has launched the Orissa Forestry Sector Development Project
(OFSDP) for the overall development of forest and forest people in the state. The proposed
programme is going to be implemented in 11 territorial forest divisions including the Bonai forest
division. For this programme, the government of Orissa has sought a loan of Rs. 558 crores from the
Japan Bank for International Collaboration (JBIC)75. The programme is implemented through a twotier system. The first Tier is Divisional Management Unit at Forest division level and second tier is
Field Management Unit at Range level. The government involved civil society organizations and nongovernment organizations for a better implementation of the programme as these organizations have,
over the years, developed a very good rapport with the local people here. Being one of the poorest and
most backward regions, this area provides optimal opportunity for non-government organization
(industry!). The area is witnessing mushrooming of NGOs working on variety of issues including
health, education, livelihood and natural resources management. Nowadays, the government is also
outsourcing its development and welfare work to NGOs thus providing an excellent condition for
growth of NGOs here. However, the most important factor for growth and upsurge of civil society
organization and NGOs is the dsyfunctionality and inefficiency of the government system in
delivering the services and loss of trust and confidence of its people. Further, an increase in the
exploitative and oppressive nature of governance and an increase in Government control over the
natural resources that was earlier enjoyed by the local people also create space for the civil society
organization to emerge in the area, thus providing people with a forum to struggle for their rights.
Historical Context
75
Information procured by Mr. Bauri Bandhu Rout, Secreatary, DFF, Dhenkanal under RTI in year 2006.
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The glittering Khandadhar waterfall is not only catering to the needs of the local resource based
economy and the critical micro ecosystem of the region, but it also has a spiritual significance, which
ties local population with it emotionally and culturally. The Khandadhar hill range and water fall was
under Bonaigarh Princely state in the pre-independence era and was considered as a scared grove
owing to its spiritual and cultural context. As mentioned earlier, it houses the local goddess and Puadi
Bhuyan’s deity “Maa Kanteshwari devi”76. There are two mythological stories that revolve around
the birth of Khandadhar fall which signify its cultural and spiritual identity for the region. Due to
these contexts, no large-scale felling and commercial exploitation of this forest was allowed during
Bonaigarh rule. Even the Britishers did not enter here in keeping with the cultural and spiritual
significance for local people. Britishers feared that if they did indiscriminate felling in the forest, it
was bound to ruffle the emotion of the local people which might turn into large scale violence,
difficult to contain. That is why this forest was kept out of all business and commercial activities till
the Government of India gave lease to OMC for iron ore mining at Kankaragarh under this forest in
1966. This was the first large scale economic activity inside Khandadhar forest which started
denudation of forest and created threat over survival of Khandadhar fall which is now aggravated by
the arrival of the POSCO mining (company).
Out of the two mythological stories, one is from the Ramanayan, involving Sita6. Local people say
that the Mallayabanta Giri (spiritual name of Khandadhar hill range) witnessed the helplessness of
Mother Sita when Ravana forcibly carried her away. Being unhappy and agonized, huge rocks on the
top of said mountain broke down into two pieces. The Sal trees on the top mountains carved down
because of the wailing of Sita creating a big hole. Water oozes out from this hole leading to birth of
Khandadhar waterfall. Another story related to Khandadhar waterfall is from the Mahabharata. The
Pandavas, along with their wife Drapaudi were in this region during their one-year agyatwas. One
day, while moving around the thick forest of Khandadhar, Drapaudi felt thirty and asked Arjuna for
water. Arjuna searched the whole forest for water but to no avail. In his anger, after seeing the agony
of his wife, he struck a huge Kadam tree (Presently Ranta village) by his arrow. The tree and stone
ruptured into two parts creating a huge hole. The Rapid water stream comes out from the hole. This
stream was named as Khandadhar as the Stream (Dhar) created by rupture (Khanda) of stone.
The forest and stream of Khandadhar has an immense religious and cultural significance for people of
Bonai and adjourning area. The Khandadhar Hills are the abode of "Maa Kanteswari Devi", the
chariest goddess of local people and deity of Paudi Bhuyans. There is one temple of "Maa Kanteswari
Devi" in the form of a cave near Bahagura stream (tributary of Korapani Stream) at Sanjola Village in
Haldikudar Gram Panchayat. There is a belief that that she comes out from this cave on invitation of
Bonaigarh’s King in the month of Dushera to give blessing to its worshipers and fulfils the cherished
desire of the people. There is a strong feeling among the local people that any destruction to her
temple or the habitat of wild animals and home land of Paudi Bhuyans would create catastrophe in the
region. Cultural and religious aspect are so intermingled with ecology and forest that any destruction
of ecology and forest has detrimental impact on the local culture, tradition and way of life in the
region6.
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Based on discussion with Bijay Mahanto, Gurucharan Pradhan and Villagers of Talbahali & Phuljhar.
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Methodology
Iinformation related to case study was gathered from both primary and secondary source. Details of
the source are given below:
Primary source of Information:
Details of affected village and people are provided by local organization Vana Suraksha
Samiti Mandal (VSS Mandal).
First hand visit to project site to understand the ground situation and analyze the ecological,
economical and cultural aspect of the region.
Details of ecological profile were provided by Pratyush Mahapatra, researcher, Vasundhara.
Details of socio-economic and environmental aspect were provided by Ashwini Mohanta,
VSS Mandal and Himanshu Shekhar Patra, researcher, Vasundhara.
Details were drawn up from focused group discussion with local people in five villagesTalbahali, Phuljhar, Kuntagaon, Kolipsh and Budabhui
Personnel interview with few individuals- Ashwini Mohanta, Bijay Kumar Mohanta, Bijay
Kumar Das, Abhimanyu Mishra, and Gurucharan Pradhan.
Secondary Source of Information:
Review of District Census report of Sundergarh, 2001.
Orissa Government and State Forest department website.
Working plan of Bonai Forest division.
Review of various govt. and independent website (listed in reference).
Review of literature on globalization and its impact (listed in reference).
Review of literature on cause of deforestation (listed in reference).
Review of News article on POSCO issue and its opposition (both Print and electronic).
Limitation of Study
The major constraint faced in the study is inadequate primary data. Since, very less time was available for the
study, the study has had to rely on existing data, which is not sufficient. Further, quality literature on
globalization and its impact over state’s natural resources and economy are not easily available. Whatever,
literature was available and which have been reviewed by the author s do not reflect on local perspective of
deforestation. Therefore the authors have had to rely on some foreign literature that has little resemblance with
current case study. Moreover, due to time constraints it is not possible to take view of the people from other
area (like keonjhar and Jagatsingpur) who are also affected by this project. Thus, case study reflects region
specific view while the project has a pan-Orissa impact.
Analysis of the current Situation (and Key findings)
Key Issues and Facts
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For generations, villagers of Bonai looked upon the glittering Khandadhar fall as their mother who
cared and nurtured them for centuries. But now, people are being forced to forget the image of 244
meters high water falls, one of the India’s tallest water falls. Khandadhar waterfall is the latest pray to
an increasing thirst for an economic progress by political establishment in the state. A grant for
prospecting license for over an area of 6204 hectares at Khandadhar in Sundargarh district to Pohang
Steel Company (POSCO), a Korean Steel MNCs, has been recommended to the Centre by the Orissa
government77. The state government is favoring POSCO as it has made the largest Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI). POSCO needs 30 years lease in Mt. Chheliatoka (3331 ft.) and Mt. Bechakani
(2964 ft.) for mining out 600 million tones of Iron ore for its India’s biggest Steel plant in
Jagatsinghpur (in costal part of Orissa). POSCO had started prospective mining in the area in year
2006 amidst large protests from people of affected villages. The protest is also getting a political
momentum with involvement of mainstream political parties like Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). Allowing this mining would mean sacrificing one of
Orissa’s most biologically diverse and ecologically rich forest to mindless “economic progression”.
Impact on Natural Forest:
Contrary to the claims of the Government and the company, this mine will have a devastating impact
on local ecosystem and livelihood of the region. The biggest impact foreseen would be the drying up
of Khandadhar waterfalls, which in turn would devastate the forest vegetation in the area and
adversely affect biological diversity of the region. There would be a clear denudation of forest covers
in 100 sq. Km from Suakanti in Banspal of Keonjhar district to Bonai in Sundergarh district.
According to Mr. Jual Oram, MP from Sundergarh, if POSCO carried out its mining activity in the
area, the world will lose one of its finest forests that consists some of the rarest floral species (Table
1.3). Thick dense forest of Sal (Shorea Robusta) and Assan (Terminalia Tomantosa) along with
numerous herbs, shrubs and creepers would be lost thus leading to a severely damaged ecosystem and
habitat of fauna species. This would be a huge ecological and economic loss of the state which cannot
be compensated through any compensatory measure as natural forest requires millions of years to
regenerate and get its stability.
Impact on Wildlife and its Habitat
Mining always results in habitat fragmentation and habitat destruction due to environmental pollution
and degradation of vegetal cover. In most of the cases, mining activities are carried out without
considering the biodiversity and habitat conservation of the area. In the present case, Khandadhar
forest comes under the migratory route of the elephants from Saranda forests of Jharkhand and
neighboring Bamra Forest Division of Orissa. The vegetation of Khandadhar and the nearby area is a
home for rare and endangered wildlife like Tiger, Leopard, Sloth Bear, Elephants, Gaur etc78.
77
78
Based on different news article and information provided by local people.
Forest Working Plan of Bonai Forest Division
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Mining in the area will also have deleterious effect on the mega fauna like Elephants and Tiger
because these anima ls need a larger area for habitat. Several instances in Koida Range of Bonai
Forest Division, where elephants are seen stopping vehicle for food due to destruction of their habitat
by existing mining and industrial activities in the region have been witnessed. There are also
numerous evidences of cattle predation that suggests the presence of Asiatic and Royal Bengal Tiger
in the Khandadhar forest.
Further, the recent discovery of the Limbless Lizard from Khandadhar forest is new to science and
nothing is known about their habitat and life history. It is presumed that this species is found only in
this forest (because it likes to live in cool and dense forest) and considered as a keystone species.
Climatological and the morphological conditions of the Khandadhar forest suit the habitat of such
species. Degradation of the forest and a change in the ecosystem will severely destroy the habitat of
these species and force them to the verge of extinction. This would be a tangible loss to world
ecology.
Environmental Pollution:
There would be immense loss of forest due to environmental pollution rather actual mining in the
Khandadhar forest. The impact of actual mining may be limited to 6204 hectare area but a huge area
beyond the scope of this case study will be affected by the travel of pollutants through air and water.
The ambient air quality of the study area is already polluted with the presence of particulate matter
and oxides of Sulphur and nitrogen. Mining and transportation of minerals at Barsuan and Koida in
upper Khandadhar is already causing severe air pollution. Further, Sponge iron plants near to
Lunipara, Rajaminda and Bonai are also polluting the air and cases of itching and eye irritation have
been reported and evidenced. Presence of fly ash on agricultural field and forest vegetation also points
at the heavy release of particulate matter in the air due to mining and industrial activities. Hence the
area and magnitude of impact that POSCO mining will generate in the region can be easily
understood
.
Concerns regarding pollution of water bodies have also been raised. Orissa Mining Corporation
(OMC) has its iron ore mining site of 160 ha area at the Kankaraghar village near the Korapani
stream. Another stream Uskala is flowing 15 meter below this site. OMC is dumping its mining
overburden in the Uskala stream at Kukurpeta village on the eastern side of the stream. Due to this
dumping, there is a heavy accumulation of red oxides in the stream water leaving it red colored even
in the summer. This water is highly undesirable for vegetal growth and for animal & human
consumption as well. Vegetal covers on the both sides of Uskala Streams from Kukurpeta to Phuljar
have been severely damaged. The Uskala stream meets other two streams Khandadhar and Sasa at
Phuljhar village, causing these two streams also to become red colored (due to oxidation). Similar
apprehension is also felt in the case of POSCO mining. Here the situation would become even worse,
as the mining site of POSCO is just above the glittering falls which is a source of water for all major
streams including river brahmini and baitrani. There is an anxiety amongst the people and
environmentalist that red oxide mixed dust soil will be deposited on the both sides of the fall and
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pollute it. There is more fear that in rainy season this polluted water will spread to the entire
catchments and will then severely damage the fertility of the soil which in turn will adversely affect
the growth of vegetation and degrade one of the finest forests that Orissa have.
Impact on Availability of Water
Khandadhar water fall is the origin of a number of perennial streams, which play a vital role in
regulating the economic conditions of the local area. Apart from contributing water to the river
Brahmani, these streams also regulate the level of the regional ground water table. The local
economy, which is regulated by agricultural activity, will be drastically affected if the water
catchments area is permitted for mining purposes. Mining activities in the Khandadhar hill will result
in dying of all these streams and thus directly affect the local livelihood. OMC is already drawing
water from the upper head of the Khandadhar waterfall, which has resulted in reduction of 50 % of
the flow in Korapani Stream79. So any further commencement of mining activities will result in the
death of this famous waterfall. Around 20 villages of Talbahali and Khuntagaon would be the worst
sufferers of water scarcity if POSCO mining on Mt, Chhelitoka is allowed. There would be literally
no water available in the streams reaching these villages. There is medium irrigation dam on Korapani
stream called Arjunchhua dam at Bimalagarh that provides irrigation to Bimalagarh, Kabolang,
Gopana and other villages of Lunipara block along with Lunipara town. There would be no water
available in the Korapani stream to store in this dam if POSCO mining is allowed because three
streams Khandadhar, Uskala and Sasa form Korapani. OMC has already been drawing water from the
last two streams and if POSCO will draw water from Khandadhar, then there will be no surplus water
available in the Korapani Stream. In the year 1980, a survey work had begun for Boragura Minor
Irrigation Project near Khuntgaon village by the Western Orissa Development Corporation (Public
undertaking of State Government). The command area of this project is the whole of Khuntagon and
half of Koliposh Gram Panchayat. However, if POCSO is allowed mining in Khandadhar, this project
might be shelved, as it will not be able to get any water from the stream as the project area falls under
mining lease. Further it is also assumed by local people that water would not be available in other
major streams like Kuradi because most of the streams originate from the Mountain. Chheliatoka will
be destroyed in the mining and so would the source of the water in these streams. It is estimated that
there would be no or negligible surface water available in at least 16 villages of four Gram Panchayat
namely Talbahali, Khuntagaon, Koliposh and Kudiakela affecting severely the lives and livelihoods
of the people living in these villages. There is an apprehension that the river Brahamini, which is lifeline of northen Orissa would dry up. All the major streams originating from the Khandadhar hillrange fall into river Brahamini at different point. If flow of water in all the streams are alarmingly
reduced or there is a huge reduction in the waterfall itself, there would be no water available to reach
the Brahamini river and if that happens it will put the very existence of the forest and other resources
in this region in a jeopardy. The situation would get worse as ground water recharge is lowering down
due to less availability of water in the streams which would be consumed in due course of flow by
existing use pattern of local people. Further, there would be very less time available for water to
percolate to get recharged as the rate of flow would be higher due to loss of vegetation by mining
79
View of Talbahali, Koliposh and Kuntagaon villagers
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activities. The rate of discharge is already lowering down due to existing mining activities as reported
by the Central Underground Water Board in its annual report and would further worsen if POSCO is
allowed to start mining in this area.
Displacement and impact on local livelihood
Agricultural activities is the backbone of the local economy over which nearly whole of the
population in the study area depends directly or indirectly. The apprehension of a drastic impact over
agricultural activities by POSCO mining stems from the impact created by a host of mining conducted
in the region by companies Like MECSO, Sun Alloys & Minerals, Utkal Mining& Sales and other
private miners. There is an anxiety among the local villagers that 60 villages are going to be displaced
or would be indirectly affected or forced to migrate due to impact over agricultural activities when
POSCO starts mining in the region. Lives and livelihood of Saskala, Bhutara, Mahulpadar and
Doleswar may be severely affected by the mining. The last two villages might be displaced as they
are situated on the actual mining site proposed by POSCO while blasting and dumping of the
overburden will affect first two along with Talbahali village. People of this village may also be forced
to leave as no option would be left for them to stay there. There is rough estimate by locals that
around 30,000 people living in 29 villages of the study would be directly displaced by the POSCO
mining. 17 villages in Luhanipara block and 12 villages in Koida block in study area along with 12
Gram Panchaya in keonjhar district are going to be displaced by the company for mining activity.
Further, agricultural and economic activities of another 31 villages in the study area falling under
Lunipara, Koida and Bonai Block would be affected due to water shortage, blasting, soil erosion and
deforestation. Local villagers like Mr. Gurucharan Pradhan of Kolipsoh are anxious and apprehensive
about their future. “We know how to deal with the elephant but what will we do when there is no
water, scattered stone and red dust in our farm land? We are really worried about future. We don’t
know how to survive” said a worried Mr. Pradhan. It is expected that over one half a lakh people
living in two districts would be affected by this mining activity in Khandadhar hill range. Apart from,
crop cultivation, mining will also have a drastic impact over horticultural farms developed by private
and government agencies. Fruit, vegetable and lac cultivation in the study area will be seriously
affected by shortage of water and particulate matter in the air. In addition to paddy and maize,
cultivation of lac is very important from the economic perspective of marginal communities.
Impact over Cultural aspect and indigenous people
Khandadhar hill range is part of Paudi Bhuyan’s home land “Bhuyan Pirh”. This PTG is found only in
this region (999 households within total population 3919). There is an apprehension that one of the
oldest primitive tribal group in Orissa would become extinct due to their habitat destruction by the
POSCO mining. Their habitat is already under threat due to various reasons including deforestation
and habitat obliteration by existing mining & industrial activities. Paudi Bhuyans has symbolic
significance w.r.t the Khandadhar fall and streams origin. There are four Puadi Bhuyan settlements at
upper and lower part of Khandadhar fall. If falls and streams dry up as feared, it will drastically affect
the very existence of this group as they live near to these streams because their whole life and
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livelihood move around the water fall. The famous “Kanteswari Devi” of Bonei region is considered
as a “deity” of Paudi Bhuyan and found to be associated with these streams. So once these streams
vanish due to the proposed mining project, it will leads to destruction of local religious customs of
Paudi bhuyans as well as cultural sentiment of whole region. Further, tribes worship different part of
forest as Badam, Nimar, Rim, Sarani. As the proposed mining activity is going to affect this forest,
this will lead to destruction of tribal culture and tradition.
Impact over climate
Moreover, there are also some global concerns of this mining activity in the Khandadhar forest. There
is an apprehension that drying up of the Khandadhar fall may induce Micro climate change due to
shortage of rainfall. The area receives rainfall in month of April to June after intercepting return
South-east monsoonal wave (by the Khandadhar hill range). If this hill range is reduced to ashes,
there would be a severe reduction in rainfall (in nearly 800 Sq, Km from epicenter of Khandadhar
fall). Reduction in late summer rain falls would severely affect the floral diversity of the forest and in
turn affect the survival of many large and small animals in the forest along with production of some
minor forest produce and Medicinal plants. Further it is expected that rainfall in monsoon season will
also be getting affected by the mining. Already the region is witnessing weather modifications with
sporadic rainfall and uneven distribution. There is a general perception that rainfall will be reduced
due to large and indiscriminate felling in the upper Khandadhar. It is expected that there would be
reduction in rainfall up to half in Champua Sub-division of Keonjhar district, Bonai Sub-division of
Sundergarh District and Deogarh district in Orissa and Manoharpur of East Singhbhum District in
Jharkhand due to deforestation and other ecological imbalance.
Causes of Deforestation & forest Degradation
Underlying root cause
During the last one decade, the forest crisis has deepened in India and particularly in Orissa. This has
prompted many to try and understand the real factors behind degradation of forest at such an alarming
rate. More than direct factors, it is the indirect (underlying root causes) that play a prominent role in
degradation of forest in a biologically rich state like Orissa. There are host of underlying factors for
deforestation ranging from unsustainable economic progress induced by the processes of globalization
and adaptation of an neo-liberal economy model to existing but outmoded social structures,
inequalities in land tenure, lack of recognition of indigenous people’s rights, unsustainable
agriculture, external aided forestry programmes, conservation policies, construction of roads and
other transportation links etc. But the most important root cause to deforestation lies in macro
economic policies induced by globalization and free trade regime. Economic reforms carried out in
nineties caused major upsurge of industrialization processes leading to deforestation in the state of
Orissa. The causes of deforestation are many and varied, and it is impossible to cover them all.
However, below I try to cover how free trade regime at the global level changes the very contour of
political governance in the country leading to devastation of its own natural resources.
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Neo-liberal economic reforms
Unlike the imperial era, in the neo-liberal era, economic tools like free trans-national trade regime were used
by global political masters of the north (western industrialized nations) to capture the pristine resources of the
south (largely Asian economies). Countries in the north had exploited their own resources due to their
unsustainable industrial and economic development to the extent that they have been left with little resources
of their own. On the other side, the south of the globe is characterized by an abundance of natural resources,
which are still not exploited to the limits of their potential. The Global political masters of the north want to
control resources in the south but since the world is moving toward a more rationale and democratic structure,
it is difficult to justify the power of muscle to grab those resources. Hence unlike their predecessor (from the
colonial era), they do not necessarily use muscle power though military conquest but use economic power to
create new colonies in the third world or southern countries of the globe. This philosophy uses the notion of
free trade regime across the globe and organizations like WTO and treaties like GATT are legal mechanisms
that help facilitate the progress of these regimes.
These political masters, to convince nations in the south, use international funding agencies like IMF and
World Bank; the globe needs free trade and free market. Some arm-twisting methods in the form of putting
sanction or withdrawal of aids to the poorer counties to accept the free trans-national trade are also put to use.
Many Latin American and southeastern countries were initially reluctant to accept this notion of free trade as
this could well jeopardize their own economy and create adverse environment implications. India was also
initially reluctant to accept this notion on the ground of its own sovereignty. But soon enough these countries
had to accept the dictates or risk loosing crucial economic aides from IMF and World Bank.
India had opened its economy for free trade in the early nineties under the mounting pressure of IMF and
World Bank to adopt WTO and GATT regime. Being one of the signatory of GATT and WTO, it has had to
open up its boundary for multi-national investments for free trans-national trade. It started with the end of
permit and license raj in the country and a host of industrial bonanza to create a market and investment friendly
policy regime. The foundation for mineral policy reforms were laid in the 1990s in the wake of economic
reforms with the passage of New Mineral Policy in 1993 and the amendments in the Mines and Minerals Act
1957, which brought about deregulation of the mining sector by allowing privatization and investment of
foreign companies up to 50 per cent. In December 1999, the Act was further changed into Mines and Minerals
Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, 1957 and the cap of FDI were raised to 100 per cent in February
2000 (Patel, Das, 2007). The new industrial policy opened up mine-based industries for private investment by
removing it from the list of industries reserved for public sector and exempting it from compulsory licensing.
With deregulation and liberalization of the economy, state governments were in competition for more and more
investment in their state. States those lag behind consider would remain backward and poor. In the last five to
seven years, there has been an aggressive economic policy by the state government (Orissa) to attract foreign
direct investment (Pratap, 2006). In order to successfully do so, the state government has shown readiness to
provide everything to the investor (e.g. offer areas which are free from litigation as well as encumbrances; sign
investor friendly MoU, assist in obtaining every type of clearances and acquire land for company). Such an
aggressive policy has seen the state sign 78 MoUs with private companies including Mittals, Ambanis, Vedanta
and POSCO. Around 43 MoUs were singed with Steel Companies alone, out of which 13 projects have been
completed and nine have started their production. Apart from this, a numbers of thermal power plants, oil
refineries and other industries have also come up in the state in last five years (Vasundhara, 2006). Further by
the end of year 2005, a total of 605 mining leases covering an area of 99,931.55 ha had been signed in the state
(Murthy, et .al, 2006). In the district under study, 48 sponge iron plants have come up in last one decade
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(Murthy, Patra, 2005) alone. Most of them started their work and have resulted in an irreversible loss of
thousands of hectors of forest land. However, what really rings the alarm bells in the new economic processes
is the fallout this will have on natural resources and livelihoods on the many who are dependent on these rich
mineral areas, considering that most mineral rich regions are also forested areas dominated by tribals and other
indigenous populations. As per Govt. own estimate, out of an area of 30,263 ha that was diverted for nonforestry purpose - 10, 053 ha were diverted for only mining purpose by year 2004-05, a whopping 34 %80.
Further, policy reforms has allowed resource extractive model as the dominant form of socio-economic
development which on the one side subvert the rights of indigenous people and on other side converts some of
finest pristine resources into ashes. With the government policy (2003) allowing the granting of mining leases
and transfer of land for commercial projects in Scheduled areas, forest and indigenous people in the state are
facing the greatest attack of globalization and liberalization in the recent years. Opening up of Tribal hinter
land which was earlier protected through OSATIP act and by allowing unwarranted and unsustainable
economic activities by a large number of mining and industrialization related projects will ultimately destroy
pristine forest and displaced thousands of tribals and other marginalized people from their home land. Around
15 million tribals are expected to be directly or indirectly displaced through this policy reform (Kumar, 2006).
Apart from displacement, industrialization and mining operation cause social and political marginalization of
tribals with influx of non-tribal population in schedule area (where most of such industrial and mining
activities are operating) which change the whole demographic structure of the area.
State Sponsored Agriculture and Irrigation Project
However, the process of deforestation had started long ago even before the actual onset of the globalization
onslaught. The major cause of deforestation in post-independence and pre-neo-liberal economic reforms was
agricultural expansion, often state-sponsored. In response to increasing population and urbanization, large area
of forest were cleared for cultivation. No specific data is available on this but it can be assumed that settled
cultivation directly and indirectly played a significant role in deforestation within the state. State sponsored
plantation of cash crops like coffee and cashew has done an irreversible damage to the flora and habitat for
mega fauna in the state. There are vast tracts of forest land that had been cleared and diverted for coffee,
cashew plantation and horticulture in many districts like Koraput, Kandhamal, Rayagada, Malakangiri,
Kalahandi, Nayagarh and Puri. Such state sponsored farming has also been promoted in the study area where
horticulture of fruits and vegetables has been noticed in forested area. These farmlands are directly under
control of state agencies or have been given on lease to elite and powerful peoples. These lead to a serious
repercussion on livelihood of marginal communities who clear other tract of area for their own sustenance.
Hence ultimate result is loss of forest and loss of habitat for animals.
However, more than settled cultivation and clearing of forestland, it is the state-sponsored irrigation projects
that aggravated the situation. According to Government data, 7726.5 ha of forest lands have been diverted for
61 major and minor irrigation projects in the state (Frontline, 2007). Construction of major irrigation projects
like Hirakund, Rengali and Upper Indravati dam had lead to a huge and irreversible damage on the local forest
which comprises of rare and endangered species that have been lost forever. Apart from the main reservoir,
there are many intermediary & small reservoirs and distribution canals which have taken a toll of the
forestland. But the question arises, for who these irrigation canals were? Definitely not for poor and landless
people and nor for the animals whose homelands have been destroyed in the process of constructing these
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The information was procured under RTI Act by rights activist Biswapriya Kanungo.
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irrigation projects. It obviously has benefited the elite and powerful who have vast tracts of farm lands which
needed water to be imported from somewhere else. They neither care that in such process vast numbers of
people get displaced nor do they worry about the fact that many rare and endangered species who are critically
important for sustainable ecosystem are lost in the process. In the state, from 1951 to 1995, 1.5 million people
have been displaced due to development projects in which 42 % have been tribals (Kumar, 2006). Most of
these people have been displaced by irrigation projects like Hirakund, Rengali and Upper Indravati project.
Conservation policies facilitative toward commercial exploitation
The present crisis in the forestry sector is augmented by conservation policies that reflect state control over
forest and its resources. Deforestation started during the colonial period when Britishers formulated policies for
forest management with the objective of revenue maximization. They treated the forests as a neutral resource
rather than as a source of sustenance and biological sustainability. Degradation of forest started from the point
Britishers formulated Indian Forest Act in 1864 and formalized the management of forest through inception of
institutions like Forest Department. This is the period when community initiatives for forest conservation was
marginalized and even derecognized. The situation did not change for better in the post-independence era when
the state still continued to control forest management through colonial legislation and institutions.
The enactment of Forest Conservation Act (FCA) and Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) in the early seventies
and eighties was toward protecting and conserving flora and fauna in the forests. But the provision of nonforestry purpose gives leverage to corporate sector for grabbing valuable resources under the forest. In the
absence of clear institutional capacity and monitoring enforcement, provision of forest clearance for nonforestry purpose becomes a mere formality. The enforcement agencies like MoEF and SFD are keener to
facilitate corporate resource grab in the forest in the name of economic development. The rate of degradation
has stepped up after the enforcement of the FCA with a large numbers of industrial and development projects
coming up in forested area. Since 1989, 11,242.08 hectares had been given forest clearance for commercial
project (Frontline, 2007). Further, there is evidence that after the commencement of conservation policies like
OFA, 1972, WPA, 1972 and FCA, 1980, the rate of deforestation has increased because it put severe restriction
on local communities. These restrictions, on the one hand withdraw community surveillance in the face of their
eviction and on other cause conflicts and contestations. Both have had a negative impact over forest.
Withdrawal of local indigenous communities from the forest allows loggers and poachers an open field. On the
other side, if restriction prevails it creates conflict among communities, which lead to unsustainable, harvest
pattern ultimately causing deforestation. Recently enacted and amended laws related to environment and forest
also suggest that political governance system in the country is keener to provide every institutional and policy
support for commercial exploitation of forest by corporate at the cost of the nature. Recent amendment in EIA
notification where public hearing for mining activities is made non-compulsory is an example that shows the
states readiness in providing every support to corporate house for resource and land grab in the forest81.
Joint Forest Management and aids driven programmes
On witnessing the impact of community based management on regeneration of forest across the country and
particularly in Orissa, the Congress Government was forced to adopt pro-people National Forest Policy in 1988
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EIA notification is provision made under EPA, 1986 for procedure of Environment clearance to any
commercial Project. It was first made in 1994. In year 2006, amendment under pressure of corporate lobby had
been done to favor corporate leverage.
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to give way to participatory forest management in the country (Pratap, 2007). By this way, Joint Forest
Management (JFM) came into picture. For the first time, the Government allowed community to be a part of
forest management at the local level and in return gave concession in terms of usufruct right of 100 %
intermediary harvest and 50 % (actual 25 %) of final harvest. However, the JFM lacks some basic principle of
participatory forest management over which CFM was propagated in the state. Also, it does not find space in
legal framework despite assurance given in the national Forest Policy which helps government to mould as per
its convenience.
However, the most unfortunate part of JFM in Orissa is that, it is being used not as an ‘approach’ but as a
‘scheme’ or ‘programme’. Overall management pattern in the forest did not change. Being touted as a
revolutionary approach to deepen democracy through people participation, JFM in fact derails the democratic
processes that prevailed earlier through external aides and unilateral decision making by State Forest
Department (SFD). JFM actually marginalize real user and conservationist at community level and promoted
elite neo-user. Mahaluta village under Bonai Sub-division is an example where Mahantos were promoted and
kept at the helm of affairs by state Forest Department (SFD) despite their lack of dependency over the forest
while on other hand, the Hindu Munda who are critically dependent over forest have been kept on the sideline
(Pratap, Das, 2006). This has cause resentment among the munda community leading to their withdrawal from
the JFM process in the village. This is a story that is common to thousands of villages in Orissa where VSS are
formed by SFD under JFM programme. Hence, JFM on the one side weakens community process of forest
conservation while on the other hand allows forest degradation due to non-participation of real user in the
forest protection and utilization process. Externally aided project under JFM also created negative impact over
forest in the state. The State has a strong community initiatives of forest protection which is existing in tens of
thousands villages across the state. These community processes are based on fundamental approach of
democracy i.e. people participation, accountability and transparency. This process allows everybody including
the marginal section to participate in the decision making process. Further, these initiatives are successful in
the state because it is based on voluntarism. External aid projects kill this fundamental approach of community
initiatives and make community dependent on external resources for conservation (Pratap, 2006). This allows
neo and no-user of forest to take over at the helm of affaire of forest conservation despite the fact that they are
least concerned about the same. Arrival of aides and resources breaks people participation and accountability
of the system and this leads to withdrawal of the real user from the process. Implementation of Samanvit Gram
Vanikarn Samirddhi Yojana (SGVSY) under National Afforestation scheme in village Talbahali is a telling
example as to how real users are marginalized and neo-users take control of affairs leading to a breaking down
of democratic process (Pratap, Das, 2006). Further, adoption of selective approach and pumping of money
under NAP scheme has also resulted in breaking down of the collective community spirit and informal forum/
associations in various parts of the State. Moreover, arrival of external aides in the villages for ecological
restoration and afforestation causes severe conflicts between the elite and the marginal sections, ultimately
causing indiscriminate felling leading to deforestation. There are many instances in the state where external
aides become a cause of inter and intra-village conflict leading to denudation of forest and ecosystem
destruction.
Now the state has taken loan from Japan Bank for International Collaboration (JBIC) for aid & support to its
Orissa Forestry Sector Development Project (OFSDP). This project focuses on reducing community
dependency over the forest by introducing a numbers of alternate livelihood avenues82. But the basic question
arises, viz. that if the people’s dependency is reduced or removed then what incentive would be left to the
82
Project proposal of Orissa Forestry Sector Development Project is available on its website.
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community for forest conservation and why they would remain interested in the same?. This project
witnessed massive statewide protest against it. Protestors particularly Orissa Jungle Manch had reservations
over the process through which this project was introduced and external funds been taken without any
consultation with community. Nor was a need assessment of this project done by the state. Even today a large
section of communities are opposing and protesting this project along with JFM and asking for CFM
recognition as the only correct option that can ensure conservation of forest in the state. If such money driven
programmes continues, it would have devastating effect on the community efforts, which may subsequently
lead to destruction of forest. Since JFM model was introduced, community looses primacy in decision-making
process affecting health of the forest.
Decentralization but not Devolution of Power
The state government had taken decentralization initiatives by enacting Orissa Gram Panchayat (administration
of minor forest produce) Act, 2001 to give power for administration of denationalized forest produces to Gram
Panchayat. This act was seen as revolutionary in the context of supporting local economy and furthering the
cause of forest conservation by linking conservation with local control over production and marketing of forest
produces. However, this act stands for mere decentralization but not for devolution of power. Gram Panchayats
are given rights without any real power to execute their right. Moreover, there is no clear area delineation for
Gram Panchayat to manage minor forest produces. Most of collection and harvest of MFPs are carried out in
the forest area outside the Gram Panchayat jurisdiction -say in a reserve forest and protected area. Gram
Panchayat do not have any right for management of forest in such area. In this case, Government has to initiate
process for declaration of village forest under section 30 of its own Orissa Forest Act (Pratap, 2007). However,
no process has been taken in this regard. In the absence of any clear area for collection, harvest and
management of MFPs to local governance institutions; any attempts of decentralization fails to empower
communities and has an adverse impact on conservation of natural forest and its bio-diversity.
Access roads and transportation links to Forest:
Access to forests is made possible through government-promoted road projects, either built to open up and
"develop" the forests or resulting as a result of intense commercial activities of logging, mining, and energy
generation. According to the Government figure, around 4000 ha of forestlands are diverted for communication
link, roads and bridges (Frontline, 2007). Building access roads means that trees are chopped down. The road
then opens up the forest to loggers, landless peasants, mining companies and many other actors, thus resulting
in forest clearance and habitat destruction leading to forest denudation. It is clear that deforestation can take
place only because a number of government policies - social and economic - indirectly promote it. Whilst the
poor may operate the chainsaws or set the forest on fire, it is mostly governments and corporations who are
behind such actions. Road building is one of the activities promoted and funded by multilateral institutions
such as the World Bank and other regional multilateral banks and these are meant to easily allow governments
to comply with the International Monetary Fund's policies to increase exports (World Rainforest Movement).
Road-building is also linked to the interests of Trans national corporations’ as they can thereby access natural
resources and incorporate them into the global market.
Cultural and demographic issues
Government policies on indigenous peoples' rights - particularly those affecting territorial rights - have been
the cause of much deforestation which would not have occurred if those rights had been acknowledged.
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Policies over land tenure rights in general have resulted in the concentration of the best agricultural lands in a
few powerful hands and the consequent migration of poor landless into the forests. This sometimes results in
large-scale felling of trees. Further, forests act as safety valves to avoid social uprisings. The concentration of
power and land in few hands results in large groups of dispossessed people, who may indulge in confrontation.
In order to avoid such potential conflict, landless people are allowed to move into forest and clear land for
cultivation by the government. (World Rainforest Movement). In some cases, Government casts a blind eye in
case of encroachments of forestland by such people. This migration has negative impact as it change the
demographic profile of the region with influx of non-tribal in the tribal hinter land leading to change in cultural
practices and human-forest interrelation (Kumar, 2006). Apart from this, there are also cultural and
demographic aspects, which are destroying the forest. Traditional agricultural practices like shifting cultivation
and unsustainable harvesting pattern of minor forest produce has created certain amount of impact over forest
leading to its degradation in specific area. Increasing population and lack of proper land tenure system has
caused expansion of shifting cultivation in tribal hinterland at higher magnitude. Low sale price and increasing
population has role in unsustainable harvesting of minor forest produces. There are growing instances of Forest
fire in MFP zone of the state particularly in Sundergarh and Sambalpur, where MFP collector deliberately set
fire in the forest so that litters burn and they may easily collect high amount of MFPs. However it is also a fact
that such practices are encouraged because collectors do not get fair price for their labor by the local traders.
Direct/Proximate causes (main actors involved)
In the context of the present case study, the (political) governance system is the most prominent and
direct cause of forest degradation in the state. Political fraudulence within India has reached new
heights due to its nexus with international funding institutions, business houses and its elite
bureaucracy.
Global funding agencies play their part in this nexus by imposing upon the government economic
reforms geared towards free trade and market regime. The early nineties economic policy reforms
resulted (under the pressure tactics exerted by IMF and World Bank) in putting investment friendly
policy reforms as pre-requisite for any further economic aides to the country. As a developing nation,
India is heavily dependent on economic aides from these institutions as mentioned earlier; this
economic conditionality on India by global agencies is an outcome of political opportunism by
north’s political leaders to create new economic colonies in the south. These institutions have been
used by global political masters in the form of neo liberal policy reforms and have resulted in scores
of pro market decentralization initiatives as well as deregulation of trade barriers to promote private
investor’s profiteering sweatshops (Pattanayak, 2007). Decentralization initiatives like VSSs played a
very important part as these institutions, in absence of clear power devolution, eroded community
access and control and gave leverages to private investors in controlling resources.
Political governance system in country had shown its willing obligation to these institutions by
making liberal policy reforms. The onset of neo liberal economic system has changed the very
contours of political governance at trans-boundary level in last decade of 20th century. In the years
that followed, India saw a spate of economic policy reforms along with disinvestments in mine-based
industries (essentially producing aluminum and steel) on one hand and the growth of small and large
mining companies on the other (Asher, 2006). In the state of Orissa, the economic policy reforms
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have been at a faster pace in present decade. Having lagged behind other state in terms of industrial
growth and in order to overcome the existing gap vis-à-vis other states, Orissa developed its industrial
and mineral policies in order to hasten the opening up of its mineral sector for private investment83.
The new industrial policy of Orissa was formulated in year 2001 by the Department of Industry and
Commerce with the purpose of seeking increased private investment in mineral and agro-marine
based industry. These policy initives have been pushed aggressively by the Chief Minister Office in
order to project Orissa as being an investment friendly destination for global MNCs. Other Policy
Reforms like Mineral Policy and the recently drafted Forest Policy have also been aggressively
pushed by the Chief Minister’s Office in this regard. In all the policies that were recently drafted in
the state, the major thrust was to make the state investment conducive so that increasing investment
pours into the state. However, the problem is not related only with making state investment friendly
but also the manner in which state government hobnobs with and obsequiously caters to major
industrial houses thus allowing them to grab pristine natural resource while undermining local
economy and livelihood of the poor. Moreover, these policy reforms do not look at the sustainability
aspect of investment and development (Kohli, 2007).
In the Mineral and industrial policy, the thrust of policy reforms is on development and regulation of
mineral exploration. However, due to an absence of regulatory and enforcement framework, these
reforms have had a devastating impact on forests with an increasing numbers of companies involved
in mineral exploration. With an increase in competition in the mining sector and in their efforts at
cutting corners, the mining companies have often violated environment and forest norms by dumping
their overburden in forested areas outside their lease area, or by abandoning mines after completion of
mining without filling it up etc. Fly ashes and acid mine water has polluted rivers, ground water and
alarmingly reduced the productivity of the farmland. State agencies like the Indian Bureau of Mines
(IBM) and Mines directorate along with the Pollution control boards have miserably failed in the
protection of the environment in the mining area due to weak regulatory mechanism.
Despite all the dilution of the environment and forest clearance procedures, they are still considered
an obstacle for the industrialization process. The strong nexus of corporate, policy maker and
bureaucrat have developed strategies to counter even these watered down expectations. There is an
increasing tendency where large projects are projected as different small projects with limited impact
on environment, forest and local economy in order to get environmental and forest clearance easily.
Environment clearances awarded to POSCO for its steel plant and captive port at Jagatsingpur and to
Vedanta (revoked recently) for its aluminum refinery in Lanjigarh are examples of the shrewd nexus
between the Political and corporate interests (Kohli, 2007). Both are large project with different
component and the companies in both cases found it extremely difficult to get environmental
clearance for whole project due to stiff resistance at the local level. So these companies, with the
active support and collusion of the government and bureaucracy, applied for clearance for every
project-component separately. This helped them in saving investment to mitigate impact and also
provided the ground for getting clearance for remaining component by showing later that each
component was essential for the project (as what Vedanta told in Supreme Court in its justification for
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Referred State Industrial Policy and Mineral Policy.
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the bauxite lease in Lanjigarh, after getting a clearance for its refinery from MoEF). Same is the case
with POSCO, which got a clearance for its Steel plant and Captive Port and is now asking the MoEF
to grant clearance for mining in Khandadhar. What is most disturbing is the brazen feigning of a
complete lack of knowledge/ insight by the MoEF, about the fact that each component is interlinked
(which incidentally is a matter of public knowledge). Separate expert committees appraise each of the
components and the cumulative impacts of the project are never assessed. People’s support groups
from Delhi, Chennai and Bhubaneswar repeatedly pointed out this issue to the MoEF. But there was
no response by the MoEF. Further, in both cases, concerns raised by local people were never
considered before granting clearance to these companies.
In the case study under consideration, notices for land acquisition by the district administration were
served to the local affected people as early as November 2005. This was done without the necessary
processes of environmental and forest clearances. Since there is huge protest and blocking of
government and POSCO officials by local agitators, no ground surveys have been carried out so far.
Similarly in Jagatsingpur, the access to the area has been blocked off since Novermber, 2005.It is a
wonder how M N Dastur and Company (P) Ltd from Kolkatta did the mandatory Environment Impact
Assessment (EIA) (Asher, Kohli, 2007). The report is dated January 2006. It was this EIA, which
formed the basis of granting the environment clearance to the project. At the same time, the company
and the state government have announced several incentives and schemes for alternative land, cash
compensation, and rehabilitation (according to government officials as well as press reports). POSCO
has also announced that the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has been engaged to carry out a
Social Impact Assessment and help in formulation of a rehabilitation package for the communities.
However, even the TISS researchers were not allowed to enter the area by those opposing the project.
Moreover, POSCO landed in legal tussle with Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd (KIOCL) for
mining lease in Khandadhar hills (TOI, 2007). KIOCL has claimed that Khandadhar was an area
originally allotted to them for the purpose of mining, following the closure of their operations in
Karnataka. KIOCL is a central government undertaking. After a writ petition filed by KIOCL in
Orissa High Court for staying grant of Khandadhar iron deposit to POSCO, MoEF took a u-turn on it
earlier stand. The company challenged that about 54 sq km of the total committed area of KIOCL
overlapped with the mines given to POSCO. KIOCL had entered into an agreement with the Orissa
government way back in 2003. The High Court has quashed the petition, and has asked the Centre to
decide on the matter within three years. MoEF has asked the state government to allow case hearing
for the remaining applicants while give its logical reasoning for rejecting 49 applicants. MoEF has
also asked the state government to clear all procedural details before it arrive on any decision to grant
lease to POSCO at Khandadhar hill. This was surely a blow to POSCO’s ambition. But more than
POSCO, it is a blow to the state governments’ image and surely for some time this had halted FDI
influx to the state. This overture of MoEF is guided by political obligation. The ruling UPA at the
centre is political opponent to the ruling NDA at the state. This legal tangle gives UPA a chance to
embarrass the state government and take a political mileage of the issue.
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There has been opposition at the plant and mining site from the beginning of 2005. Initially the
reaction was divided, but soon a consciousness of the possibility of the of danger of losing lands &
resources in return for nothing percolated down the communities. POSCO Pratirodh Sangarsh Samiti
at Jagatsingpur and Khandadhar Suraksha Samiti at Bonai have been formed to lead the struggle
against POSCO84. At Jagatsinhgpur, protest was more pronounced with picketing of the POSCO local
office, rallies and demonstrations and blocking off the area to all government and POSCO officials by
setting up check posts. At Bonai, protest took a more political color with the involvement of BJD
alliance partner BJP’s local MP Mr. Jual Oram and opposition parties like Congress and CPM. Here
also, demonstration, rallies and dharanas regularly took place along with picketing of local POSCO
offices and violent attack on POSCO officials.
There is another important dimension coming up in the present case study i.e. Corporate rivalry85.
Corporates are using the political system in the state to settle score against each other
opportunistically. TATA, India’s “indigenous Economic pride” faces an unenviable task in their
economic expansion interest in the state. Earlier it already failed in its Gopalpur adventure; and once
again it is facing disruption to its sweatshop expansion plans at Kalinganagar. Tribals in both cases
are up against TATA on land acquisition and wanted TATA to withdraw from the project. In the last
case, it is felt in some quarters that SEZ status to TATA in Kalinganagar may cause major problem to
the business interest of POSCO whose proposed Steel plant at Jagatsinghpur is too close to TATA
site. It is assumed that POSCO financed Kalinganagar upsurge and also motivated state government
to go slow in resolving conflict in Kalinganagar. This thesis assumes importance with the fact that
Since February 2nd, 2006, the state government has not made any serious attempts towards resolving
the conflict while on the other hand it provided all the necessary help including heavy Police
bandobast for smooth public hearing in Kujang at POSCO steel Plant site. Due to the so-called
“apathy” of the State Government, TATA withdraw itself from the project. There are many facts,
which establish POSCO’s interference. POSCO’s proposed SEZ which covers its captive mining to
its port site at Paradeep would in fact overlap with TATA’s SEZ at Kalinganagar.
But the big question arises as to why a state Government that wants to increase private investment in
its state will corner a corporate giant like TATA on advice of foreign company like POSCO? The
answer also lies in economic terms. The quantum of investment, that POSCO is planning to do in
state is much large than what the TATAs were planning to invest. Moreover, an MNC giant like
POSCO s in Orissa is also an advantage for the State’s profile as it creates and image of being
investor friendly state that is capable of attracting the largest “Foreign” Direct Investment in India.
This will immensely help the state in getting future large FDI. In addition, Inter-state politics also
play its part. TATA has business interest in many states. So its investment is not seen as being
exclusive for Orissa.
84
Score articles published in Print media both National and local highlighting opposition of POSCO at ground
level.
85
Based on discussion with local leaders and Members from VSS Mandal, Bonai,
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Now the TATAs, having been wounded by POSCO has responded in the same manner after seeing
POSCO in troublesome water at Khandadhar. The TATAs have its own business interest in
Khandadhar as this is Asia’s largest iron ore reserve (Pati, 2007). TATA has its own Steel Plant near
this site, which is one of oldest steel plant in the country. It also wanted to expand its own steel plant
in response to competition it is facing domestically by large steel giants like Arcelor-Mittal and
POSCO along with host of other small companies like Bhusan Steels. TATA was eyeing this reserve
for a long period but somehow had not managed to convince the State’s masters to get this reserve.
Now in the local upheaval and protest against POSCO in Khandadhar, it found its own opportunity to
capture this resource. TATA knows that it not going to convince the state government against POSCO
due to the above-mentioned reason and it is disgruntled towards the State Government. It is rumored
that it has started financing people who are on the other side of fence in this issue. Many Politically
opportunistic groups have jump into this fray to settle their own score with the state government.
Though being in coalition government and also on same side of “ideological fence”, they are not
profiteering through this investment-friendly adventure.
The whole political protest to POSCO is driven by a nexus of political opportunism and economic
interest. As the ruling BJD is favoring POSCO and taking all possible efforts to hand over this
mineral deposit to POSCO, other giant Indian MNCs have started exerting political pressure by
supporting anti-POSCO political movement in the state. However, the real issue in this case i.e. loss
of pristine forest and resources, its biodiversity and loss of local resource based economy is getting
buried underneath this political juggernaut. All three premier political parties Congress, BJP and
CPM are involved in Anti-POSCO protest but none of them has any real solution to this problem. In
fact they do not know exactly what the real cause of this issue is. Further, they all are at the same side
of fence at different plane and location. Through their own state governments in other states, they are
proposing and in fact hobnobbing with corporate for similar kind of development. They are protesting
here because they see some definite political advantage from this issue, which helps them in future,
election. However, it is definite, when they come to power they will do the same as what the current
state government is doing, with may be the name of company changing here and there. The POSCO
issue is an excellent example of shrewd political-corporate nexus.
There is also third dynamic to this corporate rivalry. The case study area has large number of smallscale Sponge Iron Plant. There are around 48 such plants in the whole district of Sundergarh and if the
neighboring district of Keonjhar is taken into account, the number goes up to 60. These large numbers
of plants draw their raw material i.e. iron ore from small miners. They know clearly that if large
business giant like POSCO or even TATA comes there, they will eat up their own raw material and
they do not have anything over which they can prosper their own sweatshops. So, they have also
started sponsoring different kinds of politically opportunistic groups that claim to be “ideologically
different” from the present state government and other opposing political groups (though in their own
state government in neighboring state, they are on the same side of fence where present State
Government is in).
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In whole of the protest, no one is interested in protecting the natural forest and biodiversity. Neither
does anybody care to fight for the innocent Paudi Bhuayn nor for their pirh and their deity. If Indian
business houses are clear in their intention of grabbing the huge mineral deposits, political agitators
are clear in bettering their political fortunes by embarrassing the government. However, in the process
of supporting and protesting POSCO, the issue or rather concern over which whole of the conflict
revolves i.e. protecting waterfall and its pristine forest is lost.
The relationship of underlying root causes to direct causes
A Large part of Orissa like most other parts of India were till recently covered with thick forests. This
region is probably best known for its natural forest, biological diversity and innumerable tribal
cultures showcasing a vibrant human-forest interrelationship. These innumerable, small, vibrant,
diverse and extremely sustainable forest cultures are surviving and flourishing even today in the areas
where the forests still exist. Orissa, as in other parts of country, witnessed a silent but massive
“people’s movements” where communities have voluntarily come together for the purpose of
conservation or in response to environment and ecological crises. But in the area where forests are
diminishing, along with forest, the very culture which has sustained the forest for long time is under
threat from various quarters.
Forest degradation is not technical issue and it is not happening due to non-scientific forest
management. Forests are not disappearing because people and their governments are ignorant or
because there are no proper management plans. Forests are disappearing because a number of
interlinked global political economic factors are purposefully allowing it to happen. In the present
context, the most important driving factor for forest degradation in Orissa is an aggressive and
unsustainable economic development and policy reforms, influenced by globalization and free trade
regime. Though, deforestation started well before independence in colonial era through reservation of
forest and a policy regime tending towards revenue maximization, the thrust of deforestation
exceeded after commencement of neo-liberal economy which accelerated the rate of deforestation at
an alarming level. The growth and expansion of mines and mineral based industry in Orissa pose the
biggest threat to the forests and is the single most important factor contributing towards forest
denudation in the state. Government figure itself justifies this argument. In the last five to seven
years, more than 600 mining leases for iron, bauxite, coal and other non-ferrous metal ore -which
diverted nearly one Lakh hectare of forested land, were given. As we all know, in Orissa, Forest and
mineral maps coincide. This just gives us a glimpse of mining impact over forest whether it is a
classified area or not.
However, there is a deep-rooted political economy behind this aggressive and unsustainable economic
development, which is beyond the national boundary of India. This root cause of the whole process of
forest denudation lies in the processes of globalization and free trade regime which started after
World War II when world economy was ravaged. The process of globalization started in 1947 with
Breton Woods Conference on GATT which though it failed, set the tone for future road map with
formation of IMF and World Bank. The epitome of this conference was to reconstruct ravaged
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economy and ensure employment for people through increased free trade. The whole process of
globalization for setting new global economic system culminated in WTO after a series of failed
negotiation on GATT. But the Uruguay conference in 1986 was the first step in setting the foundation
stone and give roadmap for the setting up of WTO, leading to globalization as we understand today.
The emergence of a new global economic system in the form of WTO has changed the very contour
of political governance across the globe and brought in diabolic changes in global politics. Before
globalization, political powers were seen critical for any policy change in regard to economic reforms.
Now, with the emergence of global processes, institutions like the WTO, IMF, World Bank and
TRIPP get stronger and are even dictating and directing political leaderships in the developing
countries. These institutions are virtually deciding the contours of the economic policy that has to be
adopted in order to serve a particular economic interest. Even before the emergence of global
processes, economic powers at the national level had been influencing the policies and political of the
nation-state from behind the scene. These forces have come to the fore and have sidelined the
“political power” by taking over the decision-making authority on the economic politic. The nationstate agencies are being forced to act as a corolla of such institutions in economic matters. For
example, it is the IMF and World Bank, which gets to decide on the type of decentralization initiative
that shall be taken, which sector shall be prioritized and what the EXIM policy should be. No
individual nation, which has signed the GATT agreements, can henceforth decide its economic
policies unilaterally. It has to go through the WTO and suit the global economy. The New Global
Economic System has overtaken the existing “political system”. Since these nations are dependent on
global aids critical for their economic progression, these directions have culminated in policy reforms
toward free trade regime. In the last decade or so, India has seen a spate of economic policy reforms
to deregulate its trade regime. Modifications in the industrial, mineral and EXIM policies are a result
of the same. Under the influence of economic system, tariff barriers are lowered down and in some
cases even removed to increase the import of finished products. Export duties are also lowered down
to improve export.
Privatization of mineral based industries and opening of mines for private investor in 1994 was also
taken under the growing influence of economic system. But the biggest policy reform in regard to
forest is formulation of mineral policy and amendment in MMDR act in 1994. This policy reforms
brought about a deregulation of the mining sector by allowing privatization and investment up to 50
per cent by foreign companies’. In December 1999, further amendments made into MMDR act and
the cap of FDI was raised to 100 per cent in February 2000. The new industrial policy opened up
mine-based industries for private investment by (a) removing it from the list of industries reserved for
public sector and (b) exempting it from compulsory licensing. This was done because this was the
sector which was essentially dominated by the public sector companies and has in the past decade
become the potential moneybag-source for companies ranging from the domestic giants like Tata,
Jindal and Birla to global companies like Mittal, POSCO, Vedanta, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, et al.
Hence, the stakes of the market are higher. Now, further amendments in the act and new mineral
policy is on floor with provision to ensure that investment in the mining sector gets a boost by
deregulation of procedures of environment and forest clearances. These clearances have been seen as
"hurdles" for quick implementation of mining projects in the past 10 years. Another important trend
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post-amendment in the Mining Act and Policy has been the widespread growth of iron ore exports,
especially by small-scale exporters. During the last three decades, cumulative exports of iron ore from
India were over one billion tones (of mostly high grade ore) for a total earning of perhaps 30 billion
dollars.
Now, economic reforms enter into the realm of political influence. During the fag end of the last
centaury, economic liberalization has become a political issue with a boom in service sector and an
increase consumerist attitude of the urban- middle class. No political parties want to be seen as
adversaries of economic reforms. Though there are minor differences on the procedure and provisions
in certain policies, there is clear agreement among all major political groupings that these economic
policies and developments must go on. Earlier on the left political grouping showed their resentment
over such economic reforms and even stalled certain policies and legislation but now they have also
put themselves in the same bandwagon of ultra rights and capitalist groupings. This shows the shear
influence of economic system in the country where no political parties- even those who claims to be
with poors, like to see themselves as adversaries of economic reforms.
The global economic process also feed into a consumerist pattern that is linked to food security for
poor populace. But it should be understood that it is seldom the production of food for the poor which
causes deforestation, as the largest areas of forests converted to other uses in Orissa are currently
being dedicated to the production of cash crops like coffee, cashew, pulpwood (eucalyptus, Acacia)
and Bio-diesel (Jatropa). These products are in most cases almost exclusively produced for export in
developing countries. All state governments are now subsidizing cultivation of these products with
different aides. Formal forestry programmes initiated by government also include plantation of such
species as mandatory component and being imposed upon community through their institutions like
VSSs. But the question here is who need these products? Definitely these are not required by the
forest community or those people who depends on forest. Neither is it beneficial for bio-diversity and
animal habitat. So why is such cultivation? Arguments such as this will provide food security is given
by elite political class. But the fact that these products neither provide food to poor nor helps them in
getting good income as these require subsidies in production as well it’s marketing. On the other
hand, there is serious repercussion of such cash crop cultivation on forest with decreasing soil fertility
(Jatropha), loss of Bio-diversity (Eucalyptus, Acacia), destruction of wild habitat (Coffee and
Cashew).
In fact, production of such cash crop supports consumption patterns of urban-elite class domestically
and internationally. Export of raw material and import of finished products are carried out to support
the consumerist attitude of urban-elite class at the cost of food security and sustenance of poor
population in the country. There is shrewd political thinking behind such practices. The Indian urban
elite are often considered as the opinion makers who set the political agenda for election. For the
urban-elite, availability of consumer items is more necessary than forest and bio-diversity. The
increasing importance and availability of sophisticated items in the market easily influences the life
style choices of the urban elite. For them, the process of globalization is a recipe for their every
problem. For them, the process of globalization must go on, though million hectare of forest may be
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lost forever, lakhs of wild life/species become extinct and thousands of poor get displaced. Since it is
fast becoming a strong political agenda for future governance for urban-elite, no political grouping
irrespective of their ideology is ready to oppose or rather make any attempt to discard this form of
development. However, in this process no thought is given to understand implication of such
unsustainable and high growth economic model on the natural resources and poor people. Forest have
been razed, rivers are contaminated, lands becomes barren, habitat of animals destroyed but no
political parties raises these issues because there is hegemonic consensus amongst the middle classes
that the country needs to develop at a 9 % growth rate as this will create job-opportunity for urbanelite (with the exception of the CPM). Deforestation and displacement of poor tribal are justified on
the account of few to sacrifice for larger benefit of the society and nation.
A different kind of politics is being played around these developments and one which is indirectly
influenced by corporate sector. When the concerns of locals related to displacement and resources
degradation are raised, these concerns are not taken in right earnest. In fact people who raise concerns
of locals are often termed as naxalites and dealt with all legitimate and illegitimate tools to keep them
quite. Any rightful and democratic way to raise concerns of poor and affected people is considered
anti-national and anti-development activities. There are several instances where people are booked
under forged criminal cases and legally oppressed so that democratic voices against such development
and economic activities are never raised. There are many such examples in Orissa where democratic
voices of the marginalized and affected people are brutally suppressed through beating up of locals by
company goons with active support of police (Bhusan Steel), threatening legal cases (POSCO steel
plant) and arresting main activist on forged criminal cases (Utkala Alumina). In case of Khandadhar
mining, people who are opposing mining lease to POSCO are threatened with these same tools and
termed as naxalites. The organization like VSS Mandal is facing such threats and that is why they are
not coming out openly on this issue. These political and administrative oppressive actions under the
influence of economic powers to undermine democratic and genuine community voice are also
causing negative repercussions for conservation of forest. The communities who are genuinely
protecting local forest and maintaining bio-diversity do not feel it is worthwhile anymore to protect
the same. Moreover the village-communities feel that there is no need to protect forest for future
because one day it will anyways be snatched from them and handed over to rich company.
.The politicization of POSCO deal in Khandadhar has pushed the genuine democratic voices against
such development paradigm in backburner. Plight of Paudi Bhuyans (indigenous tribe) and issue of
deforestation has now taken backseat. Demand of political protest is more on compensation to lost
land and setting up of steel plant in this area rather than in Kujang. Further political protest also gives
color to nationality and patriotism by giving call to state government for giving mining lease only to
any indigenous company as they are more concerned about culture and tradition of country and will
take care of Divine Khandadhar. This shows clear linkage of corporate funding to such protest and
definite relationship between TATA & other small sponge iron plant with one or other political
grouping involved in Protest.
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The whole deliberation under this section is an attempt to show how different economic and political
factors are influencing each other and creating the ground for resource degradation. These factors are
global and domestic in nature and both political and economical.
Summary
The POSCO case in Khandadhar is a classic example of the unsustainable economic development that
is being promoted by the strong nexus of Government, global funding agencies, corporate house and
bureaucrats which is creating a strong negative impact on natural resources and local livelihood. In
doing so they are squeezing democratic space of protest. The POSCO case social, ecological,
environmental and most importantly political implication on the state and the nation.
Gifted with abundant natural resources like Forests and Minerals, in recent years Orissa has become
the hot spot for Steel and Alumina producing companies worldwide. The growing demand for steel in
the international market has instigated steel manufacturing giants world over to join the mad rush into
the most fortunate but poor state of India. In such a scenario, Orissa Government is highly excited
with the prospect of receiving highest ever FDI in the state by global giant POSCO. POSCO mining
in Khandadhar is potentially damaging the ecology, economy and culture of the region which has
prevailed here for centuries. One of the biggest impacts POSCO mining will create is razzing off huge
forest covers in two district- Sundergarh and Keonjhar. Dense forest covers in 6204 ha area
surrounding Khandadhar forest will be forever lost due this mining operation. This huge deforestation
will lead to habitat fragmentation of mega Fauna like elephant and tiger in the region. This forest is a
part of the famous Saranda – bamara elephant corridor along with being a home of many endangered
mega fauna like the Royal Bengal Tiger, Hyena and Black Buck. Already their numbers are
decreasing all over the world. Now if one of the few habitats like Khandadhar forest is also destroyed,
these animals will be extinct in the near future.
Further, the Khandadhar forest is a source of numerous perennial streams which will be dried up once
mining operation started on Mt. Chheliatoka (origin point of fall). If these streams are dried up, it will
completely destroy the existing local economy of the region. Agriculture will be hugely affected with
practically no water available for irrigation for farming in 20 villages surrounding Khandadhar forest.
Moreover, due to drying up of stream bed and swift runoff due to deforestation, rate of ground water
recharge would be lesser. This will result in depletion of ground water table causing major water
scarcity in around 60 villages of the region. This area is already facing the scarcity of water due to
decreasing recharge rate; it will soon become water catastrophe in the region if POSCO started its
mining activity.
While the state government is hoping to cash in on the demand of iron ore in the state, for local
people including primitive tribals mining in the region this spells doom. They are haunted with
spectra of loosing their home and avenue of livelihood to the hands of global giant POSCO. It is
expected that around 30,000 people of 29 villages in two Block- Lunipada and Bonai will be directly
displaced by the Mining operation. Already people in this region are fleeing the area in search of
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alternate livelihood to the other parts in and outside Orissa. Moreover, POSCO mining will have
devastating impact on indigenous people like Paudi Bhuyans. The Khandadhar forest is part of the
Bhuyan Pirh (traditional homeland) of Puadi Bhuyans. If the forest is razed off, it will immensely
affect culture and tradition of this tribe whose very survival critically depends on the existence of
these forests. They are already under the verge of extinction with a population of only 3919 due to
habitat fragmentation and existing rate of deforestation. If last few of their habitats are also destroyed
in the process of mining iron ore, one of the important links of human civilization will be lost out
forever. Further, this mining operation also has cultural implication. This forest is the abode of
cultural deity of Paudi Bhuyans and cherished goddess of the region, “Maa Kanteshwari Devi”. If
POSCO gets its way, then, Deity will be buried underneath the heavy heap of Iron dust, which will be
a cultural calamity for the whole of the community and Paudi Bhuyans in particular.
Moreover, this mining activity will fasten already degraded environment in the region. Ambient air
quality of the region is already polluted with heavy presence of Particulate matter and oxides of
sulphur and nitrogen released by scores of Sponge Iron Plants and mining activities. Already, heaps of
particulate dust is visible in farm lands of Barsuan, Rajamunda and other area of Lunipada. So if
POSCO starts mining in 6204 ha area, it will not only add but heighten the level of air contamination
which would have severe health implication to the residents. Many streams are getting polluted with
the discharge of acid mine drainage and dumping of over burden in or near the stream. Dumping of
iron ore overburden by OMC in Kankaragarh has already polluted Uskala stream with a high content
of iron which turns the color of water into red. Similar situation exists with other streams in this
region. Thus if the initiation of POSCO mining in the region will hasten pollution level in all streams
due to it huge area and consequently heavy production of overburden & acid mine drainage in or
around these streams. . It is projected that in the long run, rainfall would be reduced to half of its
existing level in four sub-divisions of Orissa and Jharkhand. The reason of such impact would be
large scale deforestation in khnadadhar forests leading to a change in wind movement and moisture
condensation process.
The enactment of industrial and mineral policies and amendment in MMDR Act clearly favor
exploitation of natural resource by corporate house. Heavy incentive for corporate house and lack of
genuine democratic space for local people cause immense damage for natural resources in Orissa in
last few years. Around 78 MoUs are signed with various global and Indian corporate houses and 605
mining leases are given in last five to seven years which are mostly in forested and tribal hinter land.
Apart from industrialization, modern intensive agriculture and irrigation projects, mostly state
sponsored have impacted forests in the state. According to the Government data, 7726.5 ha of forest
lands are diverted for 61 major and minor irrigation projects in the state (Frontline, 2007).
Construction of Major irrigation projects like Hirakund, Rengali and Upper Indravati dam had
created a huge and irreversible damage to the local forest which comprises of rare and endangered
species that are lost forever. Apart from the main reservoir, there are many intermediary & small
reservoir and distribution canals which take the toll of forest land. In addition, state sponsored cash
crop cultivation like cashew, coffee; Jatropha has also caused irreversible damage to the forests which
goes largely unnoticed. The cultivation of water & nutrient intensive cash crop has irreparably
damaged forest with loss of biodiversity, loss of soil fertility and habitat destruction.
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JFM also played its role in accelerating the pace of forest degradation in the state by squeezing space
for democratic voices in forest governance. Orissa has widespread presence of community initiative
in forest protection, popularly known as CFM. JFM is looked upon as a scheme not as an approach
with reduced access in decision making process and lack of accountability with regard to forest cause
community to withdraw from the process and turns it from owner to mere beneficiary. This was done
by the state government to give leverages to neo-user and non-user of forest so that grabbing of
pristine resources can be easily done. So if one critically analyzes history of deforestation in the state,
JFM would be seen as a tool to push aggressive economic agenda of state by squeezing democratic
space of community. Many case studies would suggest that JFM actually destroyed the forest rather
than conserving it. Further, in recent years, external funds were sought for forestry sector
development. National Afforestation Programme through FDA regime and OFSDP through JBIC loan
are initiated to support process of JFM in forest conservation. But, experience of NAP suggests that
rather than conservation, it destroyed the forest through killing voluntarism of community and making
them dependent over external resources. Thousands of villages were ably protecting and managing
their forest, ensuring biodiversity and local livelihood intact. As soon as external funds enter the
village, voluntarism of village stopped.
Through the PESA act, 1996 and Orissa Gram Panchayat (management of minor forest produce) rule,
2001 steps were taken towards decentralization of forest governance in Orissa but due to the absence
of any institutional mechanism in the form of devolution of power to local governance body, these
legislations failed to create any real impact on the ground. Rights over management of forest are
given to panchayats but since procedure of enforcing these rights are still undefined it does not help
communities in their efforts of forest and habitat conservation. On the other hand these legislation
help neo-user and no-user of forest to take control and push genuine democratic voice of real users.
Moreover, conservation policies and acts like FCA and WPA fail to protect forest and habitat from
industrial onslaught. Provision of forest clearance for non-forestry purpose in this legislation has
given leverages to industrial houses for grabbing pristine forest resources in Orissa. But on the other
hand these legislations cause immense difficulty for local people to get their genuine livelihood rights
in the forest. Such scenario of differential treatment of interest causes upheaval among community
while heightening conflicts and contestations leading that eventually threaten and lead to more
destruction of the forests in the state.
Forest crisis in the state has deepened in the last few years due to aggressive promotion of
unsustainable and growth oriented development paradigms. Policy amendments as in the Mineral
Policy and Industrial policy have been carried out to give a clear leverage to the corporate house.
In the present case study, the role played by Bureaucrats, particularly from MoEF in granting forest
and environment clearance is also highly questionable. Despite envisaging huge impact over local
ecology and economy which is irreversible in nature, MoEF granted clearance to POSCO on grounds
which are still unclear. Though, all three components are an integral part of the project, MoEF
accepted argument of POSCO that all are separate component and gave clearance to Steel Plant and
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Captive port. However, MoEF and POSCO both know that Steel Plant and Captive Port cannot
function if Khandadhar mining is not cleared. So after, getting clearance for these two component,
Company will seek clearance of mines on the very ground of functioning Steel Plant and Captive port.
Political grouping who are opposing mining project by POSCO in Khandadhar have their political
ambitions to do so. Their protest is not driven by ideological perspective nor is driven by real issues
of deforestation and loss of habitat. This whole protest is driven with an object to get political mileage
of the issue on order to improve electoral prescription for next election.
Amidst of these all political protest and Government support, the real issues of habitat fragmentation
of mega fauna and loss of home land of Paudi bhuyan along with large scale deforestation is lost
somewhere and the genuine voice of local people and their grievances is marginalized.
Recommendations for change
The Way Ahead
Forest in the state is not degrading due to lack of knowledge on scientific management of forest. The
cause of forest degradation is more of politico-economic nature caused by neo-liberal policy reforms
and changed political governance system. Therefore, solution or rather regeneration forests lies there.
There is need for a change in perspective at both a national and state toward forest. Forest should not
be looked as neutral resource where any type of politics can take place. Rather it is consider as
cultural entity where different type of processes like emotional, political, economical, cultural and
ecological process can interact with each other. Further, forest should be treated as functional entity
which can support local economy along with process of national progression. Therefore, there is need
to include democratic process into overall governance of forest with greater autonomy to the
community who are dependent over forest for their lives and livelihood; and ensuring horizontal
accountability in governance process. Hence, there is need for holistic policy reforms directed toward
more sustainable development and democratic governance.
Further, in country like India, the major problem lies with an improper implementation of policy or
legislation. Whether it is PESA or FCA or EPA, legislations are never implemented in a proper
manner. The problem of improper implementation lies on various account like lack of devolution of
power to insufficient decentralization to lack of regulatory set up. But the most important is attitude
and approach which didn’t change with time. There are some recommendations based on the finding
of present case study which is given below. These recommendations are directed at various levels.
Actions that can be taken at the Central government level
Replacing existing Mineral Policy:
There is need to bring in a new mineral policy to replace existing policy of 1994.It should be environment
friendly and pro-people. Policy should be designed to bring benefits to local people; to mitigate impacts on
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environment; to e ensure water security, regulatory institutions have to be strengthened to assess damage; to
enforce emission standards and rules and to build compliance.
The assessment of impact and enumeration of trees should be vested in local governance institution like Gram
Sabha. Mitigation of impact should be borne by project proponent i.e. company and it should be implemented
with clear guidance from the Gram Sabha while keeping local ecosystem and bio-diversity of the region. In
mind.
Policy should also replace provision of royalty with actual cost of mined ore; excluding operational cost of
company. This will exclude non-serious players who are present in sector only for money-making purpose
The Policy should also put ban on export of mineral ore outside the country. Mined ores should be used and
consumed only inside the country to produce finished product. This will also help in generating more
employment in the country.
The policy should put a cap on providing subsidies to the company for the project by Government. If company
wants to do business, it should be made to invest in developing its own infrastructure and should not put
pressure on existing public service like electricity and water supply. Further, if such facilities are required to be
constructed then the cost should also be included in the original project.
•
Replacing existing EIA notification:
The Present EIA notification should be replaced with new one. More specifically, the EIA notification should
include public hearing, as a mandatory provision for all industrial and commercial activities including cash
crop cultivation. Even renewal of lease and expansion of projects should have public hearing.
Public hearing should be made a base for any clearance. The public hearing should not be limited to issues
arising out of impact assessment but with all issues related to project and its sustainability.
Environmental audit of the project should be made statutory for all commercial projects covering forest areas.
Such environment audit should be done in close coordination and participation of local community. Any noncompliance of environment management plan should be subjected to withdrawal of project approval at any
point of time.
Impact assessment should not be done by any agency hired by Project proponent. Authority for impact
assessment should be given to the Gram Sabha of the affected village/s (which can be constituted as a local
body for assessment of impact on trees and other resources including water and land along with social &
cultural impact of the project).
Technical expertise should be hired by the Gram Sabha only and all decision related to mode, period and cost
of assessment should be taken by Gram Sabha and project proponent should be made to abide its ruling.
Clearance subject to any commercial project having private benefit should deal with all its components
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Project components should not be de-linked and shown as separate projects as in the case of the POSCO and
VEDANTA project in Langigarh. Even if projects components are remotely linked with each should be dealt as
part of original project though their spatial location varied.
•
Amendment in Land Acquisition Act, 1894:
The Governments should stop working as a broker for the project companies. There is need to amend Land
Acquisition Act, 1894 to facilitate this process of change. If any company wants to business in any area, then
they should approach people there and make a deal with them. There is no place for government to act for
companies and acquire land for them. Land shall be acquired from land owners want to sell their land
voluntarily and mutually agreed price. No imposition should be made through government. Moreover, if there
is some project which has its social benefit, Gram Sabha should be authorized to make decisions in this regard
and in such case, Gram Sabha should be made partner of such project with share holding.
Land Acquisition Act should be mandatorily linked with relief and rehabilitation policy. Even if the Gram
Sabha decides in favor of any commercial project and accepted need for reallocation, land acquisition process
should not be initiated till all procedure and operations related to reallocation and rehabilitation is completed.
• Framing of rule for PESA act, 1996:
Tribal have a unique culture which survives through their close affiliation with forest. Therefore, community’s
property rights should be well demarcated. Legislation for such process is already laid down in form of PESA
Act, 1996. Now, Central Government should frame rules for the PESA act, 1996 with provisions for
empowering Gram Sabha in scheduled areas to take decision on management of common property resource
including village forest. Gram Sabha should be the approval authority for any commercial activity having
larger implication on its jurisdiction. Without free and fair approval by the Gram Sabha, the state or central
Government should not approve the commencement of any industry or commercial set up in such areas.
•
Framing Rule for Section 28 of Indian Forest Act, 1927:
Section 28 of Indian Forest Act, 1927 deals with provision of Village forest on any class of forest. However,
there is no rule framed for that. Hence the Central Government should immediately frame rule for village forest
guarantied by Indian Forest Act, 1927. The rules should be made with the objective of giving power to Gram
Sabhas for taking decisions subject to management and conservation of village forest. This should also include
power to decide need and mode of any external intervention in the village forest.
• Process of Public Hearing:
Public hearing should be held mandatory at the public place of village/s getting affected by such project.
Responsibility of such public hearing should be given to Gram Sabha/Palli Sabha, but not to the State authority
like SPCB. Procedure of public hearing should be free, fair and inclusive without any prejudice. Moreover all
issues pertaining to project and its impact over local condition should be made subject of discussion.
Public hearing should be a place where all stakeholders whether directly or indirectly, be involved irrespective
of their political affiliation and spatial location. Role of the gram sabha is critical in such condition where it has
to play a proactive role to in order to involve even remotely affected people in process of public hearing and
enlist their objections and demands to the project, if any. Moreover, objections raised in the public hearing
should be considered as being utmost important and all planning regarding the project ( and risk mitigation)
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should be revolve around objections raised in the public hearing. In the future, environmental audits and
objection raised in public hearing should be given importance while assessing Project compliance.
•
Impact assessment
Responsibility for assessment of the impact should be given to gram sabha. The Gram Sabha, pertaining to the
nature of the project can be locally constituted of an impact assessment body having members from affected
villages and project proponent. If needed, technical expertise can be sought from the government or any
independent institutions. Cost of impact assessment can be recovered through an adequate fee that can be
charged by the Gram Sabha to the project proponent.
•
Clearance and Approval authority for project:
The MoEF should be replaced as approval authority and authority for environment & forest clearance.
Clearance and approval authority should be given to specific bodies having members from varied sector like
ecology, industry, mineralogy, geology, chemical science, meteorology and public health. The body should
have a fixed term with non-renewable or extension membership. No person having political affiliation or
government official should be made members to such body. Proceeding of public hearing and impact
assessment done by Gram Sabha should be the criteria for clearance and approval of Project. No “in-principle
clearance” without a proper public hearing and impact assessment should be given to any project proponent.
Even prospecting licensing should be given only after consent of Gram Sabha.
•
Benefit Sharing Mechanism under Commercial projects:
The manner in which benefits are shared is another important dimension. There are clear advantages to supply
benefits through public goods that leave durable development outcomes and promote economic independence.
The ultimate goal of any benefit sharing agreement is to transform the community from being a beneficiary to
becoming a reliable partner. Community should be involved in implementation of activities for mitigating
social and environmental impact. The involvement should not be amounted to their involvement as but as
institution for decision making on such implementation. Benefit accrued from any commercial activities should
be ably distributed in creating social and economic assets which would ensure sustainability of development in
the region and income generation even if project is completed or withdrawn.
•
Strengthening Regulatory Framework:
The cornerstone of the reform to enable environment compliance of commercial project is strengthening the
regulatory regime. The Government should take on a role of regulator and non-operator with primary
responsibility of creating institutions to ensure comprehensive social and environmental protections and risk
management measures and creation of benefit sharing mechanisms, which address externalities of production
and are used to ensure that minerals are converted into productive assets that catalyze broader development
along with a level playing field, thus ensuring the same treatment for private and State owned investors and
guaranteeing a fiscal regime that is competitive, predictable, stable, transparent and well administered.
Moreover, there is a need to improve the capacity of institutions like MoEF and IBM in order to enhance their
regulatory function. To mitigate social and environmental impact which often leads to conflicts and
contestation, there is a need of transparent and accountable implementation of Impact assessment and
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Environment Management plan by regulatory authorities like MoEF and IBM. For such a purpose, these
institutions should be empowered, strengthened and freed from political interference. Now it is high time that
these institutions should be moved out from political clutches and be made independent with appointment of
sectoral expert having horizontal accountability. This will reduce politicization of clearance, and that the
approval of commercial project shall be on merit.
Actions that the State government can take
• Replacing existing Industrial Policy:
The existing industrial policy is heavily inclined in the favor of corporate interests and ignoring the interest of
the state and its people. There are certain provisions in the policy which are against the concern of the state
which should be replaced. State should not acquire land for industrial houses. State should function in a nonpartisan and non-operator mode. The state has role of regulating the sector through its monitoring and
regulatory institutions. If state involves in negotiation with its people for any industrial house, it reduces the
level playing field for other companies thus leading to a situation where of business interests dovetail into the
realm of political maneuvering as has happened in the case of POSCO. Further it also creates an imposition on
people to part from their land and resources which is again an undue favor to a company. Hence, instead of
acquiring land for any company; the state should promote companies to directly negotiate with people for
purchase of land at best possible price.
Further, introduction of eco-tourism should also be re-looked in context of its conservation feasibility. If ecotourism is started in any given area, it should be locally demand driven where conservation of bio-diversity and
fauna habitat should be the central point. Further, communities should be involved through partnership model
rather than making them mere beneficiary.
Cash crop cultivation should not be grossly subsidized at the cost of conventional crop cultivation. There is no
long term feasibility of Jatropa, coffee and cashew cultivation on account of various environmental hazards.
Further, production return also gets gradually decreases leading to low income return for farmers. In this
context, cash crop should not be subsidized and aggressively promoted through industrial policy.
•
Replacing State Mineral Policy:
Value addition and processing of all mined ore should be made a pre-requisite for any mining lease in the state.
Export of mineral ore from the state should be completely banned. This will help in reducing non-serious
players in the sector and also reduce impact over forest with less numbers of lands being diverted for mining
operation.
•
Recognition of Community Forest Management (CFM):
The state has strong a presence of Community Forest Management (CFM) which is getting stronger over the
years. CFM should be recognized and backed with a proper legislation which ensures ownership and
management rights to the community. The recognition would have a long term positive impact over
conservation of forest in the state as it acts as an incentive for the community. There is already space available
where these community institutions can be recognized. Effort from government is required to practically
formalize such spaces. The state government should immediately amend existing Village Forest rule, 1985 to
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give management and conservation rights of forest under village’s traditional jurisdiction to Palli Sabha. This
would help in deepening the democracy and creates space for voice of marginalized and weaker section. This
in turn will help in reducing conflict and contestation over forest and also help in creating space for community
based monitoring system which would support State Forest department in monitoring violation of
environmental and forest laws by Industries.
Actions that can be taken at by Civil society and at the community level
Though, the state has a strong presence of community based forest conservation initiatives, it lacks close
coordination at community level. Moreover, forest federations also failed in effectively raising concerns of
deforestation through aggressive industrial process in the state. The major problem is a lack of understanding
on correlation between the macro policy changes and micro level impact over forest at community level. Here
is s role that civil society organization and people organization can play to develop a synergy in this process
and to develop a close coordination to create a political platform for people’s action to effectively counter
forest degradation. Until, people based political process are not initiated to raise the an understanding about the
consequence of forest degradation and effective political lobbying is not be done, it is difficult to counter
deforestation caused by a “growth” based economic development( even if progressive legislation are in place).
Another process is needed to be initiated immediately at the community level is a proper documentation of
community conservation at the village level. This would helps in establishing community claims in case of
diversion of forest for industrial purpose. Such documentation will help in preparing for political action by
people to save their own forest toiled hard by them to regenerate.
Conclusions
Rapid industrialization and mindless mining in the State of Orissa is posing a serious threat to the
communities in tribal heartlands of Orissa, which are also extremely resource rich. The present study
is an attempt to foresee the nature, cause & extent of forest degradation and mass displacement of
people that would happen if POSCO (a Korean Steel major) goes ahead with iron-ore mining in
Chheliatoka hill which is also an abode for the famous Khandadhar water fall and its related impact
over local ecology, economy and culture.
There are a number of underlying causes for deepen forest crisis in the state in last few year but the
most important and prominent among all, aggressive economic policy adopted by government to
promote rapid industrialization in the state. In last few years, conflict and contestation over forest have
increased due to promotion of corporate interest by modification in mineral and industrial policies. State
Government signed 78 MoUs in last five years with industrial houses which are mostly in forested area.
Further, 605 mining leases were granted in last five years which were mostly in forested area. This
increase in the rate of industrialization is facilitated with commencement of pro-industrial mineral and
industrial policies in the state and amendment in EIA notification and MMDR act, 1957. Apart from
changes in policies, programmes like JFM and FDA have also played its role in degradation of forest
through reduced space of community in decision making process and increased involvement of market
forces through captive plantation and cash crop plantation. Moreover, after independence, state
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sponsored agriculture and construction of dams accelerated forest degradation with diversion of around
8000 ha of forest land for irrigation projects. Construction of Major irrigation projects like Hirakund,
Rengali and Upper Indravati dam had created huge and irreversible damage on the local forest
comprised of rare and endangered species that are slowly being lost forever.
Other cause of forest degradation in Orissa and Khandadhar in particular is an opportunistic political
governance system. The close nexus among political leaders, corporate, global funding agencies and
Bureaucrats is the real cause of deforestation. Policy amendments in of unsustainable economic
growth which undermine ecology and local economy is carried out by governments under the
pressure of global funding agencies like World Bank and IMF to facilitate resource grab by Global
corporate giants. The state Government in particular is spreading a red carpet for corporate houses
like POSCO and molding laws and policies in every possible manner in for such corporate. In such a
scenario, state governments does not shows any concern for conservation of forest or protecting rights
of communities. In fact, Government and bureaucrats are violating all laws and rights of communities
in order to appease corporate house to make their profiteering sweatshops sweeter. The problem is
not only with framing of policies but its implementation also. All norms are completely violated and
no attempt is given to genuine democratic voices against such development paradigms.
Voices of protest against mining have also started emerging with local people's forestry federations
like VSSM Bonai taking a lead role. But after different political parties jumped into the fray, the
situation has become more complex with real issue of deforestation and plight of indigenous people
get backburner. Political protest of POSCO is also related with PoliticalThe cause of forest degradation in Orissa is not a technical matter. Forest in the state are not
degrading due to lack of knowledge on scientific management of forest. The cause of forest
degradation is more of politico-economic nature caused by neo-liberal policy reforms and changed
political governance system. Therefore, solution or rather remediation of deforestation lies there.
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Table 1.1: List of the Streams Name
Sr.
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Stream
Karapani
Khandadhar
Kuradi
Matuali
Tinka Nala
Jagati Nala
Kueli
Nagria
Kuapani
Patamund
Uskala
Sasa
Melani
Pandka Jhran
Kilinda Nala
Type of
stream
Major
Major
Major
Major
Major
Major
Major
Minor
Minor
Minor
Major
Minor
Minor
Minor
Minor
Sr.
No.
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Stream
Type of
stream
Minor
Minor
Minor
Minor
Minor
Minor
Minor
Minor
Minor
Minor
Minor
Minor
Minor
Minor
Minor
Kantar suan
Kal
Debata Jal
Nachani
Bhalu Huli
Pudadihi
Bagdega
Phuljhar
Kantakudar
Kiri Nala
Keta
Kunu
Kundla
Derala
San Khandadhar
(Source-Discussion with local people)
Table 1.2: Flora Species found in Khandadhar Forest
Local Name
Sal
Pia sala
Bija
Botanical Name
Shorea robusta
Local Name
Kau
Tentala
Char
Botanical Name
Tamarind indica
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Sisam
Gambhari
Kendu
Mankada
kendu
Mango
Panasa
Tentuli
Bhramaramari
Teak
Pedalium murex
Gemlina arborea
Diospyros malabarica
Baunsa
Amla
Harida
Bahada
Bambusa ventricosa
Emblica officinalis
Terminallia chebula
Terminallia bellerica
Mangifera indica
Artocarpus heterophyllus
Tamarindus indica
Antiaris toxicaria
Tectona grandis
Karanja
Bara
Kadamba
Asana
Thebetia nerifolia
Phycus bengalensis
Anthocephalus kadamba
Terminallia alata
(Source-Discussion with local people)
Table1.3- Animals, birds and Reptiles found in Khandadhar Forest
Animals
Asiatic Tiger
Royal Bengal Tiger
Elephas maximus
Fox
Melursus ursinus
Muntiacus muntjak
Black Buck
Canis aureus
Wild Dog
Lepus nigricollis
Manis crassicaudata
Panthera tigris
Hyaena hyaena
Axis
Sus scrofa
Cuon alpanis
Rattus rattus
Hysterix indica
Reptiles
Python molurus
Ophiophagus hannah
Cobra
Bungarus caeruleus
Ptyas mocosus
Chamaeleon zeylanicus
Saptaphenei
Python sp
Xenocrophis piscator
Daladhela
Brahmani
Kalinaga
Bungarus fasciatus
Calotes versicolor
Varanus sp.
Hemidactylus sp
Dasphrynus melanostictus
Hoplobatracus sp
Naja naja
Birds
Pavo cristatus
Gallus gallus
Columba livia
Pandka
Acridotheres tristis
Psitaculla sp
Bajrakapta
Jhinka
Dansa
Dahuka
Baga
Crow
Marada
Markala
Saraswati
Nectarinia zeylonica
Ocyceros birostris
Athene brama
Phalacrocorax niger
Eudynamys scolopacea
(Source: Discussion with local people & Ashwini Mohanta, President, VSS Mandal, Bonai)
Table 1.4- Medicinal Plants found in Khandadhar Forest
Local Name
Botanical Name
Local Name
Botanical Name
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Patala Garuda
Bandaria- Kanda
Bhui Nimba
Bhui kakharu
Pitalu
Jungle rasi
Jungle biri
Kendu pata
Pania lah
Rauvolfia serpentina
Diospyros malabarica
Andrographis paniculata
Ipomoea mauritiana
Dioscorea bulbifera
Sessamum indicum
Phaseolus sublobatus
Diospyrus melanoxylon
Ampelocissus latifolia
Jungle Koltha
Phula jhadu
Bena
Khajuri pal
Siali pata
Kuradi.
Bana tulasi
Ganga siuli
Nageswari
Atylosia scarabaeoides
Thysonolina maxima
Vetivera zizanoides
Phonex aculis
Bahunia vahlii
Ceriscoides turgida
Occimum canum
Mesua ferrea
(Source: Discussion with local people & Ashwini Mohanta, President, VSS Mandal, Bonai)
Abbreviations:
CFM: Community Forestry
MFP: Minor Forest Produce
NTFP: Non Timber Forest Produce
ST: Schedule Tribe
VSS: Vana Samarkhan Samiti
JFM: Joint Forest Management
SIDA: Swedish International development Agency
NAP: National Afforestation Programme
OFSDP: Orissa Forestry Sector Development Project
JBIC: Japan Bank for International Collaboration
POSCO: Pohang Steel Company
BJP: Bharatiya Janata Party
CPI-M: Communist Party of India-Marxist
OMC: Orissa Mining Coorporation
IMF: International monetary Fund
WTO: World Trade Organisation
FCA: Forest Conservation Act
WPA: Wildlife Protection Act
MoEF: Ministry of Environment and Forest
SFD: State Forest Department
SGVSY: Samanvit Gram Vanikarn Samirddhi Yojana
TISS: Tata Institute of Social Sciences
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PBDA: Paudi Bhuyan Development Authority
KIOCL: Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd
IBM: Indian Bureau of Mines
P.A.I.T.D.A.: Project Administrator of Integrated Tribal Development Agency
GATT: General Agreement on Trade and Tariff
PCCF: Principal Chief Conservator of Forest
SEZ: Special Economic Zone
UPA: United progressive Alliance
NDA: National Democratic Alliance
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Annexure III: (Participant Lists)
Annexure III (a)
Civil Society Representation
Sl. No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
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17.
18.
19.
20.
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22.
23.
24.
25.
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30.
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33.
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35.
Name
Prof. Radhamohan
Prof. Artabandhu Mishra
Abhishek Pratap
Milind Wani
Mr. Hiradhar Sahoo
Prof Kishore C Samal
Prof. Premanand Panda
Dr. Aseem Shrivastava
Ashish Kothari
Prasant Ku. Jena
Manju Menon
Prateep K. Nayak
Bhabani Prasad Das
Sisir Kumar Pradhan
Krutartha C. Singh
J. Chatterjee
Prof. Susant Kumar Nayak
Santilata Behera
Kanchi Kohli
Ritwick Das
Jyoti Prakash Rath
J. Chattergy
Arundharati Jena
Prasanna Ku. Panda
J.K.Nayak
Akshya Ku. Pani
Girija Prasad Nayak
Bauribandhu Rout
Nilakantha Panigrahi
Priyabrat Satpathy
Padma Charan Panigrahi
Pranab Ranjan Choudhary
Laxmidhar Balia
Jagdish Nayak
Prasanna Ku. Moharana
Name of Organisation
Commissioner, State Information Commission, Orissa
Professor of Life Science, Sambalpur University
Greenpeace, Bangalore
Kalpavriksh
Secretary, District Forestry Federation, Deogarh
Prof, of Economics, NCDS & Thematic Author of the workshop
Prof., Dept of Anthropology, Sambalpur University
Independent, Researcher/Writer, Thematic Author of the workshop
Kalpavriksh
Secretary, Peoples Union For civil liberties & Advocate, Orissa High
Court
Kalpavriksh
Researcher, Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba
Thematic Author of the workshop
Foundation for Ecological Security, Angul
Orissa Jungle Mancha, Angul district
Living Farms, Bhubaneswar
Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh
Jilla Banabasi Sangha, Koraput
Kalpavriksh
LIFE, Supreme Court Advocate, Environmentalist, New Delhi.
Foundation for Ecological Security, Angul
Living Farms, Bhubaneswar
EEJP Fellow
President Nayagarh Forestry Federation
Social Worker
Adivasi Kranti Sanghathan, Dhenkanal
Adivasi Kranti Sanghathan, Dhenkanal
Orissa Jungle Mancha, Dhenkanal dist
Prof. NCDS
Supreme Court Lawyer, NewDelhi.
Accountant, Vasundhara
Consultant
Nayagarh Forestry Federation
RCDC, Bhubaneswar
Khedapada, Nayagarh
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36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
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43.
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59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
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68.
69.
70.
71.
Kabiraj Guru
Dr. Premanand Panda
Bishnu Padaraj Mohanty
Premjit Mohapatra
Ashutosh Nanda
Sandeep Patnaik
Aswini Mahanta
Meera Sankar Dehuri
Benudhara Kisan
Ishwar Ch. Mahanta
Smt Lipi Kunar
Manasi
Bauribandhu Rout
Suresh Chandra Behera
Madhu Beipui
Chaitanya Munda
Prashant Mohanty
Dhirendra Panda
Tanushree Das
Pradeep Kumar Mishra
Sankar Prasad Pani
Bharati Chakra
Pratap Mohanty
Prasad Ku Dash
Bibhuti Bhusan Pradhan
Himansu Sekhar Patra
Ghasiram Panda
Puspanjali Satpathy
Y.Giri Rao
Biswarup Sahoo
Sricharan Behera
Sabita Singh
Rohit Kumar Behera
Krupasindhu Parida
Manoj Kumar Dalua
Shyam Sunder Sahoo
Khedapada, Nayagarh
Prof., Dept of Anthropology, Sambalpur University
Antodaya Chetana Kendra, Hadagada, Keonjhar
Freelance Documenters
Student, KIIT(School of Rural Management)
Student, KIIT(School of Rural Management)
VSS Mandal Banai
VSS Mandal Banai
VSS Mandal Banai
VSS Mandal Banai
VSS Mandal Banai
VSS Mandal Banai
Secretary, Forestry Federation, Dhenkanal
Forestry Federation, Dhenkanal
Vasundhara
Executive Director, Vasundhara
Author of Case Study, Vasundhara
Rapporteurs Coordination for the workshop, Vasundhara
Rapporteur & Oriya Translator, Vasundhara
Rapporteur, Vasundhara
Rapporteur, Vasundhara
Participant, Vasundhara
Media Coordinator for the workshop, Vasundhara
Admn, Vasundhara
Driver, Vasundhara
Accountant, Vasundhara
Admn, Vasundhara
Admn, Vasundhara
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Media Representation
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National Workshop on underlying causes of Forest Degradation
Name
Jayadev Bahera
B N Sahoo
J Kanungo
S Sahu
J.K Nayak
Prasanna Das
Pankaj Kumar Sahoo
Satyasundar Barik
Sibabrata Charpatiray
Chandra Sekhar Sahoo
Jitendra Kumar Nayak
Bhudeep Na. Mohanty
b. Srinibas
Shyamaghar Mohanty
Devasis Biswal
Girija S Dash
Bimal Das
Dhruba Mishra
Bimal Dash
Pratap Ch. Pradhan
Medai House
ETV News
DD News
DD News
DD News
Odisha Bhaskar
DDK
ETV News
The Hindu
The Statesman
Paryabekhyak
Odisha Bhaskar
, ETV News
ETV News
Dharitri
The Samaja
Sambad Kalika
Darsana
Anupam Bharat
Sushasan
Pragativadi
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Annexure IV: (Outreach): Annexure IV (a): Print media - Press
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Annexure IV (b): Other media - web release
Refer to:
1. http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/27/stories/2008012756200300.htm
2. http://www.orissadiary.com/Showyournews.asp?id=56
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Annexure V: (Workshop Proceedings)
Final Proceedings as documented by Bharati Chakra (Vasundhara)
Day I: 26th Jan 2008
Session I: Inaugural Session
Chair: Ashish Kothari
Rapporteur: Bharati and Prasad
Translator: Pratap Mohanty
Thematic sub-group coordination: Milind Wani
Prof. Radhamohan, Commissioner, State RTI commission, along with Ashish Kothari, Kalpavriksh and
community members formally inaugurated the workshop was by lighting of a candle.
In his inaugural speech, Prof. Radhamohan emphasized on the need to develop an understanding of the
underlying causes of any issue in order to better address it. According to him, to cure any disease, there should
be proper diagnosis. So is the case with the issue of deforestation and forest degradation. Historically, the
developmental model that India has followed has a played vital role in inducing a process that has led to
massive deforestation that we witness today. Post independence policies in India have played a critical role in
inducing deforestation.
In 1947, India witnessed acute food crisis. As a part of Grow More Food campaign, people were encouraged to
cut trees and convert the forest land into agricultural land. The concept of Reserve Forest was brought in by the
British Empire. At that time twenty Six princely states existed in Orissa. The right over forest was asserted by
British in the pre-independence era and when they left, there was massive felling of trees by public
While referring to the forest policies of the government Prof. Radhamohan cited the decision of the
government to go in for teak plantation. This according to him, has had a disastrous effect on the growth of
natural forests (for e.g. at Kapilas hills of Dhenkanal dist in Orissa). Huge devastation of forest land in many
areas promoted drought and flood situation that only worsened day by day. Rich Sal forests were cut for Acacia
plantation. Social forestry and protective forestry were the causes of major degradation of natural forests.
During the period between1950-1980, India lost 47 million hectare of forest. Forest policies of India have
played a crucial role in this as in order to get subsidies, even where they were poor, the states were needed to
match amounts promised by GOI. For e.g. the Orissa Forest Development Corporation (OFDC) has raised
resources (revenues) out of afforestation programme i.e. it gains more revenue by cutting forest and the
selling of timber.
According to Prof. RadhaMohan, a check and balance mechanism is required at the policy formulation stage
itself in order to help natural resource regeneration and augment the growth of forest. We need a partnership
between communities, NGOs, officials, experts, to protect forests as “forests are too important a matter to be
left to the FD”
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Thematic Paper Presentation: Mr. Aseem Shrivastav
Theme: Globalization and the ecological crisis
Following a brief introduction Mr. Aseem Shrivastav spoke on the subject of globalization and the ecological
crisis
In his presentation, a close link between globalization, liberalization and resulting ecological crisis was
attempted by Aseem Shrivastav. He stressed on the fact of the relatively new aspects of the current phase of
globalization which consists of dominance of private corporations with global reach, which is driven by profit
motive and the logic and reasoning of which is not aligned to the logic/reasoning of environment and justice
based paradigm that would require an internalization of environmental and social costs. This globalization is
subject to dominance of financial transactions while being environmentally insensitive He focused on the fact
that, “Climate change is the greatest result of market failure that the world has seen.” He cited Amartya Sen as
having said that, “globalization existed even 3000 years ago, it’s not a new concept altogether”, and this could
be considered as the first phase of globalization. The second phase started somewhere around 1940s, after
Second World War when in 1947 the USA, in order to meet its domestic consumption demands decided to
exploit the third world. Around 1950s huge funding was channelized to the underdeveloped countries in the
name of development. Tracing the skewed history of globalization, he showed how liberalization of
agriculture, though it happened in the US, Europe and Japan, did not reach India and how this affected the
India’s economy. According to him, globalization by and large has promoted trade and corporate driven
conversion of Indian forest resources to meet the fuel needs of the first world. Globalization of supply chain
has led to massive spending on energy in the third world. He also citied Larry Summer’s (former president of
the World Bank and former advisor to Mr. Bill Clinton- the former President of India) regressive views
towards environmental pollution and responsibility of polluting countries.
He elaborated upon how more and more, in India, people were getting trapped into environmentally destructive
lifestyles, consuming resources from afar and with no feedback loop that could warn them of the consequences.
He stressed on the crucial need to give power to the community that is closest to the resource, even while
cautioning that there are many pitfalls in this (local inequities, cultural changes, institutional erosion, etc)
approach that also need to be addressed. According to him this needs to be done within a nested system of
institutions that have a larger mandate than what the local villages have. There is also a need of putting in place
an appropriate system of checks and balances, especially with regard to the role of larger institutions in dealing
with issues of regional/national/international nature like climate change. He stressed on the need to move
towards a participatory environmental democracy rather than the current representative form and also the
importance of the conceiving of bioregional or eco-regional political constituencies. According to him there is
a need to give much more stress to the protection of subsistence economy and understanding how it gets
destroyed (and thereby livelihoods displaced) in the move towards commercialization and industrialization.
In the Discussion session, some pertinent issues were put forth by the participants:
1. Concern was raised about exploitation of resources for e.g. iron ore from Orissa where actual benefits and
profits were reaped by external forces like MNC’s while draining the mother state of its natural habitat. The
real cost in terms of impact on environment, biodiversity, socio-cultural loss, livelihood etc are never measured
and neither do external forces bear the responsibility of the damage they cause to environment in this whole
process. It is only the native communities, who are left to face the hazard locally. The world also has to face
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the consequences of such untrammeled exploitation of natural resources, the devastating effects of which can
be seen in the form of the challenge posed to humanity at large by phenomenon such as Global warming and
Climate change.
2. Concern (Y. Giri Rao) was also raised about the fact that those who talk about participatory economy and
participatory environmental governance do not seem to be giving due attention to the question of lack of focus
on managing our natural or local economy.. While agreeing with this perspective,, Aseem Shrivastav also
stressed the point that today’s dominant economic thinking believes in the theory, of the trickle-down-ofwealth ,which espouses that eradication of poverty can be achieved through the current free market oriented
neo-liberal economic paradigm.. According to him, such a view leads to a situation where the whole arena of
economy focuses on commercialization, which in turn leads to consumerism and creation of false needs
leading to lifestyles that result in a pressure for an untrammeled exploitation of the earth’s resources.
According to him, the only answer to this is that protection of subsistence economy be the focus of
development. Participatory Environmental Democracy has become essential now, where strengthening
NREGA, can be looked upon as way to empower the poor. This help in reducing poverty and unemployment
while increase the purchasing power of the poor. This will also involve the use of labor of poor to strengthen
infrastructure and regenerate environment through activities like Soil conservation etc. This is not being done
because it is often against the interests of vested groups. Challenging globalization in India has to be done
through re-analyzing the 15yrs journey and reemphasizing on subsistence economy
3. Advocate P.K. Jena stated that a political will is needed to bring in conservation friendly changes along with
decentralization and devolution of authorities to grassroots level. According to him, action is needed in terms
of legislation and political will but not at the cost of loss of cultural heritage of communities in order to induce
them into participatory environmental democracy.
Thematic Paper Presentation: Kanchi Kohli & Manju Menon
Theme: The environmental Regulatory Framework in the era of Globalization
Introduction of Kanchi Kohli and Manju Menon by Milind Wani:
Kanchi Kohli presented an overview of the following points:
1. Globalization and Economic Growth
2. Big investments and projects
3. Environmental Kuznet’s Curve
4. Influence of International Finance
5. Rule of Experts
6. Regulatory Capture
7. Frame regulation to management
The discussion session focused on the role that corporate sponsored and state executed violence has played in
the resulting rapid change in land use patterns and the subsequent degradation and destruction of environment
and biodiversity respectively. The role of recent environmental laws & notifications that have also created
space for a kind of environmentally destructive development trend in India was elaborated upon. In between
1986 to 2006, 4 116 projects have been given clearance under EIA. States like Orissa are ready to provide all
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sorts of support ranging from environmental clearance, forest clearance, land and water etc. to corporate clients
and this facilitates the destruction of environment for the sake of development.
Significant changes in environmental decision-making mechanisms (from prevention to ‘management’
(including mitigation and ‘benefit-sharing’)) leading to a greater access to resources for exploitative purposes,
reduced public participation and unbridled forest and environment clearances without concern for
environmental sustainability, have rapidly contributed to deforestation and forest degradation. For example,
under the Biodiversity. Act, over 90 clearances for access to bio-resources had been given on the one hand
while almost no work on conservation or empowering communities had been undertaken. Thus relative to the
massive increase in clearance, this has lead to a major weakening of environmental impact monitoring and
compliance processes. Redressal is almost non-existent as institutions of redressal against violations (such as
by the police) are in the hands of the same state that is promoting or allowing the violations. This is a major
institutional failure. This evokes a question as to whether a consolidated case can be made of various failures in
environmental governance, and if constitutional provisions regarding right to life etc can be invoked against
these. They also brought to the notice of the group the fact that a quarter of the total clearances in the last 26
years of implementation of the Forest (Conservation) Act (1980) has happened in the last 4 years.
Discussion:
One suggestion that emanated out of the discussion that followed this presentation was to explore the
possibility of asking the government to look at how we can infuse all government functioning with mandatory
suo moto information disclosure and transparency. The need for linking those struggling on the group, with
those fighting in courts or lobbying at government levels was also stressed upon.
Day I - Session II
Chair: Ritwik Das
Rapporteur: Manohar & Ghasiram Panda
Translator: Pratap Mohanty
Thematic sub-group coordination: Pradip Mishra
Thematic Presentation: Prof. Sushant Nayak
Theme: Economic Growth and Deforestation: A study of Orissa Economy
Prof. Sushant Nayak made a detailed power point slide presentation of his research paper where he discussed
about Liberalization phase of 1991 and economic equations afterwards. He talked about the gulf war and its
impact on global economy as well as Indian economy. According to him, growth is necessary but people must
share it. The objective of economic reforms according to the author was to make transition from an inefficient
to an efficient economic status. Other than that it aimed at producing satisfactory growth and to have a
substantial impact on development. He also discussed the nexus between economic growth and deforestation.
He then discussed the reasons of slow growth of Orissa economy where unequal growth patterns are leading to
distortion. He emphasized the need of investment in agriculture and to stop the growth trend involving
industrialization.
At the end of the presentation, Manju Menon stressed that in such a debate how one defines the “forestry
sector” sector becomes an important issue that needs addressing
Thematic Presentation: Shankar Prasad Pani
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Theme: Community Struggle for Forest Conservation: A Case Study of Banadurga Jungle Surakshya
Committee, Khedapada, Nayagarh.
Shankar focused on socio-economic issues pertaining to agriculture and forest of Khedapada village which has
become a victim to Sugar mill in Nayagarh. He discussed the case of the Rasol Khesra Jungle, a predominantly
sal forest with two adjoining reservoirs, near the Nayagarh dist HQ. Rasol Khesra Jungle is an example of a
regenerated -forest and wildlife, through community initiatives and which is also a pathway for elephant. It is a
habitat for pangolin, wild dog, mouse deer, hyena, flying squirrel, etc. Four villages depend on this forest for
various forest produce. Village forest committees (VFC) initiated by 7 people in 1979 used to manage the
forest of about 860 acres by following the thengapalli system of guarding the forest. Thengapali (Thenga –
baton, Pali- free/volunteer labor for community), also interpreted as “turn of baton”, is an ancient forest
management practice ( now being studied at the Andrews’ Endowed Church of England Primary School and
Glasllwch Primary School as a geography subject ) that has attracted forest management gurus all over the
world. An amount of Rs. 1125 was collected monthly as membership fee and out of this an amount of Rs. 900
was given to a jaguali (guard). Along with the jaguali, volunteers would go into the forest each day for
guarding the forest. Around 1984, land was leased to IDCO for sugar industry. This also included 119 acres of
the Rasol Khesra forest. In 1989, representatives from 4 villages met with the sugar industry managing board,
and signed a MoU that villagers would continue to protect the forest inside the mill’s land. As a result, no tree
was felled by Dharini Sugar Mill between 1990 and 1998(In 1994 the villagers even got the Prakruti Mitra
award). In 2004, the factory was sold to ECP Industries Ltd (a Private company).In 2005 the new owner started
felling trees within the forest that fell within the bought area. No cognizance was taken by FD till strong
protests were lodged by villagers and only then did the FD booked a case against the culprit industry. The CEC
has taken cognizance of this case on a complaint by Orissa Jungle Manch. The state government however has
taken the plea that it was ignorant of FCA requirements! In his presentation, Sankar laid emphasis on the forest
protection initiatives of the community in the area, the management system that was put in place and the issue
of illegal transfer of forest land to the industry. This has had negative impacts on the forest vegetation as well
as community efforts. The matter has been taken up to the level of Supreme Court and is still pending
judgment. However, about 1000 sal trees were felled in Feb. 2007, apparently at the behest of the collector to
make a road to an FCI godown. Unfortunately after the case went to court, communities were also prohibited
from collecting fuel, grasses, etc from the forest. Meanwhile the local industrialist (hand in glove with
politicians) is mounting pressure on the villagers through fair and foul means. For e.g. locally affected people
have been charged under false cases by entrenched power elites in a bid to strangle their voice against injustice.
The villagers are now demanding compensation for having been denied access to the forest.
Sankar articulated the need for redrawing Orissa’s industrial development in such a way that they seek need
based and not greed based investment.
According to him, some learning’s/ questions that need to be taken cognizance of are:
•
•
•
The possibility of the likelihood of such cases happening across the state (and the country) which is
seeking investment in its mad rush towards affluence through industrialization.
Empowerment of communities plays a significant role in forest protection and the recognizing of such
initiatives is crucial.
The principle of intergenerational equity needs to be established and emphasized and all industrial
planning that is based on natural resource extraction should take into cognizance the importance of
addressing these needs in its planning process
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•
There is a need to explore the potential of the newly notified TFRA to involve communities in forest
protection efforts
Discussions:
In the ensuing discussion Y Giri of Vasundhara stressed on the need for fighting such cases through lower
courts instead of always taking up such issues to the CEC. Supreme Court Lawyer, Ritwick Das also cautioned
about the need to explore critically if some local people were dependent on the Sugar Mill (or similar cases) for
their livelihood and how taking a legal recourse may affect their livelihood situation. Aseem Shrivastava
wound up the discussion by elaborating on the need for developing an understanding the role of power and
money in local conflicts.
With all these discussions, the day’s session ended with a documentary film show on “The many faces of
Madness” by Anwar Kanwar.
Day II- 27th Jan 2008: Session I
Chair: Aseem Shrivastav
Rapporteur: Bharati and Prasad
Translator: Shankar Prasad Pani
Thematic sub-group coordination: Prashant Mohanty
Presentation by: Pradeep Mishra
Theme: Globalization, Industrialization & Deforestation: A Case Study of Lapanga
Prashant Mohanty initiated the day’s session by inviting Aseem Shrivastav to chair the session and Pradeep
Mishra to present his case study. After an introduction of Pradeep Mishra by Prashant Mohanty, Pradeep
Mishra presented his study findings.
Pradeep Mishra’s presentation consisted of a detailed study of the Lapanga village Community Forestry
Initiative (near Sambalpur district, Orissa) and the effect of the current trend of industrialization and mining for
the sake of development in that area.
The area which once constituted a dense forest and which has a proud history of over hundred years of forest
protection and management by community (Dalki Praja Rakshit Jungle - documented as community forestry by
a no. of people like Nandini Sundar, Richard Mahapatra etc.) .The village is situated in the vicinity of Hirakud
water reservoir and its forest is rich in Sal trees. The villagers had been protecting the forests here for years. An
amazing and unique feature about this initiative was that the people had given away their private land for the
purpose of forest generation. This village had been displaced during the construction of Hirakud reservoir and
people were given patches of land as ex-gratia amount as a compensation for the productive land mass that
they had lost. There are people in this village who had donated even this land for forest regeneration. These are
designated as “Praja” and are held in respect in the village. These donors comprise a different stratum when it
comes to distribution of forest resources as they get it for a lower price than the rest of the community
members. But except for this special benefit all the villagers participate equally in all the village processes. The
village forest is also a host to avian guests from Siberia every year. This however is now showing a negative
trend. The village has over the years developed its own innovative and unique system for forest protection and
management. Dependence on the forest has become a way of life for this village. The forest protection
initiatives in this village had created a positive impact on neighboring villages, and they too had started
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emulating forest protection practices. However, the village has been facing challenges- in the form of threat to
its forests as well as its socio-economic survival-both as a consequence of industrial policies of the state. The
initial threats were experienced when Hindalco started converting the pedestal road leading inside forest, until
then used mostly for taking cattle to forest for grazing, in to a pucca road of 2 kms in length and 50 meter
width for the purpose of open cast mining of coal. The villagers have filed a case against this in the court of
law. Another threat is that of the one posed by Bhushan Steel, which is laying pipeline through this forest. Yet
another threat is that posed by the aggressive intent displayed by the FD towards undermining the community
forestry efforts and its attempts of taking control of the same. In the light of all this, there is growing cynicism
and passivity among the local community towards the forests despite intense forest resource extraction,
rampant breaches of law by industry, and non-compliance of SC’s orders banning tree felling and failure to
compensate earlier tree-felling by forestation. In the nearby villages, the industries have also succeeded in
dividing resident communities. Human-WL conflicts have also been increasing. Coal dust and constant
movement of trucks through forest, are causing a loss of biodiversity. Some flora has already disappeared. An
indications of this is that women now get less NTFP (esp. beedi leaf), and feel less economically secure.
Another indication of this is that of the invisible (in setu) displacement emanating out of the dispossession that
is taking place.
Key Issues
1. Forest department trying to undermine CFM initiatives.
2. Growing litigations and resource drainage
3. Non-compliance of Supreme court order
4. Breach of Law.
5. Growing cynicism among the local forest protecting community. People ready to trade forest for
alternate livelihood.
6. Growing social disharmony
7. Man-animal conflict
8. Loss of local bio-diversity
9. Erosion of socio-economic security of women
10. Problem of environmental refugee
11. Invisible displacement of livelihood from forest based (secured) to unknown, unsecured.
Some of the following possible solutions to this situation were highlighted
• Concentration of many industries in a small patch should be avoided.
• In order to strengthen gram sabha decision-making process, local participation in gram sabhas needs to
be encouraged.
• Local expert committee should be set up to look into in setu displacement and its after effects
• Devaluation of forest economy to be stopped
Discussions:
In the ensuing discussion, Manju Menon of Kalpavriksh stressed that the Interaction between people and
government in the initialization of projects should be taken care of. She also stressed on the need for further
debate and deliberation on the litigations that take place in such cases. With respect to the case study under
question, it was highlighted that, on record the forest area acquired for industry is not forest land as people had
donated their private land and there was a need for developing steps for declaring such patches as forestland.
This will help in addressing such cases through the judiciary. The issue of compensatory aforestation was also
discussed.
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Session 3
Presentation by: Prof. K.C. Samal
Theme: Liberalization, Deforestation and Dependence on Forest – (A case study of the most forested
district of Orissa, Keonjhar)
Beginning with hypothesis of deforestation as put by official data, Prof. Samal went on to list its underlying
causes as observed in his field of study in Orissa. According to him, these are:
1. Coupes for timber up to 1975
2. Jhum Cultivation
3. Biotic Pressure
4. Meager investment in forestry sector development
5. Forest land diverted for non-forestry purposes
He then discussed the role of IMF loans during the early 90s and which was based on the condition of
compulsory liberalization, devaluation of currency and privatization in India. That was the period when
customs duty too was reduced from hitherto 300% to a meager 12% as it is today. As per him, India’s wealth is
its natural resources and the developed world’s need to have an untrammeled access to the same. This is
leading to a rapid destruction of natural resources. Previously the private sector was never allowed into core
areas like steel, coal, electricity and mining but the scenario has changed now. He then discussed about the
situation in villages of the Keonjhar district in Orissa, which was the most forested district until very recent
past and which has become a captive to mining and industrialization related vested interests.
According to him, some of the manifest causes of deforestation include higher price of agro- produce and
higher input cost. This leads to a more extensive rather than intensive cultivation. A rise in population, a rise in
per capita income (leading to a move from thatch house system to a pucca house system that requires more
furniture etc), and liberalization of the economy are some of the underlying causes that are leading to
deforestation. For e.g., in Orissa, the forest diversion doubled in post-liberalization era: (1982-91: 9800 ha;
1992-2004: 19257 ha). One immediately observable indicator of deforestation impacts, is the distance that is
required to be traveled to collect a t shoulder load of fuel wood (1995: 4.09 km 2000: 7.30 km).
According to Prof. Samal some or all of the following actions need to be executed on a priority if the processes
leading to deforestation are to be reversed:
• Stop handing over degraded forest land to industry, and stop promoting conversion of agriculture into
farm forestry (as World Bank is promoting).
• Encroachment by vested interests should be driven out, those for subsistence/livelihood needs, even
until 2006, should be given security on their lands.
Discussion:
In the ensuing discussion, Ms. Bharati Chakra made a point that when promotion of farm forestry or exploring
of alternate livelihood sources for affected populace get discussed, the implications of both on how they will
affect the people and their socio-cultural and economic situations need to be looked into. Ms. Manju: Menon of
Kalpavriksh stressed that there was a need to re-look at the whole issue of deforestation and forest degradation
while keeping in mind the changing nature of how these were seen as being connected to patterns of
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cultivation, especially JHUM. She highlighted the fact that shifting cultivation had not been considered as a
problem for long in history but now very often it is looked upon as a problem that leads to deforestation. She
pointed out that in reality this has to do more with landscape change due to land acquisition. While Prof.
A.B.Mishra: brought into the groups notice the strict and stringent mining rules in Germany, Mr. Aseem
Shrivastava stressed on the point that Prof. Samal had tried to identify as one of the core problems underlying
deforestation. According to him India has been facing the consequences of “import” liberalization and not
liberalization in the true sense of the word. It was in America’s interest to convert the Indian economy as one
that was entirely dependent on the supply of the American industries and this was nothing but corporate
totalitarianism. Mr. Shrivastava also emphasized the importance of understanding the concept of currency
devaluation in order to understand the notion of economic liberalization properly. The conditions for lending
loan that international financial institutions (e.g. IMF, WB etc) had been extending towards third world
countries like India were dictating & deciding the terms of our economic policies. For e.g., the IMF, while
extending loan to India had stipulated 160 conditions and one of which was devaluation of the rupee. This
automatically works in favor of richer countries like the USA as they can then buy more of India’s outputs and
primary resources at cheaper price. It is often argued that this leads to higher earnings as this automatically
results in an increase in demand for natural resources and hence this also works in India’s favor. This is a
cunning/ specious argument. For one, even if export earnings increase, so does resource extraction and this
usually happens at the cost of an irreversible damage to the ecosystem of the country. A country’s true wealth
is its natural resource systems. Untrammeled resource extraction ensures that ecosystems that got built over
centuries get irreparably damaged (at least within the span of historical time as against geological time) or
destroyed within a few years. The loss this entails is thus in no way comparable to the gain that increased
earnings (due to export of resources) promise. Another myth that is often touted is the fillip/boost the market
liberalization provides for Indian Industry to grow internationally. Tata’s take-over of Corus has recently been
cited as an example of the increasing global reach and power of the Indian multinational. However, this is
again another example of specious reasoning. In fact such a take-over is not an example of hostile take-over but
of buying at a much higher value something that is actually worth much less. The interests of the selling
company are protected and in fact such transactions are more akin to outsourcing, for exploitative purposes
(like mining etc.), of operations to domestic Indian companies. This, according to Mr. Shrivastava, represents a
pattern of a much more sophisticated colonization that perfectly fits into Larry Summers recommendations
that, “All dirty industries have to move to the south”.
Presentation by: Prateep K. Nayak
Theme: Politics of co-option: Self- organized community forest management & joint forest management
in Orissa, India.
The impacts of conversion of a CFM to JFM, on levels of participation, rights, intra-community dynamics, etc.
were discussed in the case study of the Gadabanikilo village. This village had a history of CFM for over 50
years. This was converted after much resistance, to JFM in 2001. Sophisticated institutional systems were set
up for forest protection, management, distribution of benefits, etc. (for e.g. mahua collection and benefits)
under JFM. Earlier, decision making at village level was done by all adults. However it was now limited to
only 11 members of the JFM committee. A village fund that was earlier used for village development and loan
disbursement collapsed by 2004. Earlier the edge of the, forest was never cut and it used to be very dense with
thorny bushes (deliberately to deter entry!). Now this was cleaned for plantations (because there was money in
JFM for afforestation). Earlier the CFM institution used to also manage other parts of the landscape (grazing
lands, water). However the JFM institution that replaced it was compartmentalized. This has resulted in a
considerable weakening of rights of various kinds In the earlier times, inter-village reciprocity and links were
strong ( for e.g. diversity of forest resources such as bamboo or aomla near one village and absent from another
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lead to the creation of mechanisms of exchange and reciprocity, and also reduced threats to each others’
forests). However as the JFM model was village specific, these have tended to erode away at the links of
reciprocity as now village rules do not allow extraction by others outside a given village. Now, only linkages
between JFM committees are allowed whereas under the CFM, cross-linkages with NGOs, forest federation,
and neighboring villages were the norm. Under JFM, the only link that is now strong is the one with the Forest
Department! However, for all these negative points, there is one positive development. The CFM institutions
had no role for women or SCs; JFM has brought in these groups within its purview (although in practice they
are still being dominated by men and non-SCs respectively; and these equity measures need a stronger push at
the ground level). Overall, though the complex CFM system has been converted to a simple JFM system and
in the process the inherent advantages provided by the CFM model ( site-specificity, flexibility) have been lost
due to the uniformity (‘one size fits all’) of approach of the JFM model. This has lead to rigidity, integration of
various land uses to compartmentalized management, etc. A simple uniform system cannot maintain diversity.
Fortunately, traditional institutions are resilient and it is hoped that the CFM institutions might see resurgence
once the JFM money runs out.
Prateep also discussed Guha’s theory of ‘areas of politics’ – The role that blaming, negotiation, collaboration,
partnership and cooption play and how they are linked to the processes of state and also with respect to forest
degradation in India. In his case study of Gadabanikilo village of Nayagarh district of Orissa, he established a
link between the impact of government policies on community initiatives of forest protection, the role of
community participation the bundle of forest common rights, cross-level linkages and reciprocal rights,
decision making power and control over resources etc.
Discussion:
IN the ensuing discussion Ghasiram Panda of Vasundhara observed that though JFM was promoted to
regenerate degraded forest land, in reality it often had resulted in a takeover of well-managed CFM. He
questioned the model of government funding (for JFM) when in practice it had worked through community
effort without external help & funds. He highlighted the importance of legally recognizing CFMs
Day II - Session II
Chairperson – Prof Aratabandhu Mishra
Rapporteur – Bharati Chakra & Ghasiram Panda
Oriya Translator – Mr. Pratap Mohanty
Thematic subgroup coordinator – Mr. Rana Roy
Rana Roy of Vasundhara introduced Prof. A.B.Mishra, Abhishek Pratap and Prof. Bhabani Das and requested
Prof. A.B. Mishra to chair the session. Prof. Mishra shared his experience during 1960s. He narrated how the
consideration of environment as an issue has developed slowly in the years. According to him the 1960-1970
decade represented a phase when nobody talked about forest and environment. The 70s decade, saw the
Stockholm conference and people started talking about environment. The 80s saw the beginning of a phase
where people not only talked about environment, but also started working towards its protection. The 90s saw
the Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro and the stress moved more towards the action. This decade saw the
sprouting of many forest conservation movements, participatory protection initiatives etc. The , invention of
bio-fuels etc were witnessed during this period and now the civil society has entered a work first and then talk
phase where people try to understand the actual ground level work on it and then raise voice to resolve matters
of conflict.
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Case-study presentation– Mr. Kumar Abhishek Pratap
Theme: Khandadhar, life line of northern Orissa - (A case-study of the impact of the mining and related
policies/ programmes was the underlying causes of deforestation and forest degradation)
In this case study, Mr. Abhishek Pratap of Vasundhara presented the current situation in the Khandadhar
(District Sundergarh). The area is characterized by dense forests, waterfalls, elephant corridor (connecting
Saranda in Jharkhand to Bhamragarh in Chhattisgarh), limbless lizard (recently discovered, Sepsophis) etc. and
is the origin of 8 major perennial streams. Comprised of the PTG Paudi Bhuyan (only 3000 odd people), 66%
of the overall population belongs to Scheduled Tribes.
In this area the impact due to the setting up of small and large industries (sponge iron units, POSCO) on the
environment as well as on the social, cultural and economic well being of people, is immense. The POSCO
iron ore mining project proposed over 6204 ha., could affect more than 10000 ha of forest over including that
on a plateau from where Orissa’s highest waterfall (244 meters) originates. A total sum of Rs. 51,000 crore
worth of investment has been envisaged. This would include the mine at Khandadhar, a steel plant at
Jagatsinghpur, and a captive port at Paradeep. Despite all these being components of one and the same project,
a separate clearance for each of the above components was sought by POSCO. The study also focused on the
ruse adapted by this multinationals of not seeking or obtaining integrated clearance for the full cluster of interdependent projects. It took recourse to breaking up the project into different component (as if they were three
different and unconnected projects) and making a separate appeal for permissions for each of these
components ( steel plant, port and mining area).in order to avoid facing obstacles in getting environmental
clearances for the entire project ( which otherwise might have turned to be a difficult proposition ). In all this
has resulted in the granting of total mining leases of over 1 lakh ha.
Other issues related to this area (and project) are:
•
•
Pollution caused by the 48 sponge iron plants, many small mines, etc. in Sundergarh.
Already serious loss of forest, wildlife, underground water, etc with severe potential impacts on
people. This will entail a total displacement about 12-15000 people.
Key factors that have directly or indirectly contributed to this grave situation are:
• International loan/funding agencies
• Political governance system
• Consumerist pattern of the urban middle class
• Mineral/industrial policies of the state government
• Aggressive drive of the state towards industrialization.
• Conservation policies (e.g. FCA) facilitating commercial exploitation
• JFM and aid driven programmes that seek to replace CFM initiatives
• Access roads and transportation links
Abishek Pratap, proposed the following measures to avoid a similar situation in the future
• Need to strengthen public hearing process, and the need to give mandate to gram sabhas to conduct the
same.
• EIA should be done by/through communities, and clearance/approval by separate authority (not MoEF)
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Thematic presentation –
Theme- Economic Liberalization Decentralized Governance & the Adivasis' of Orissa.
Dr. Bhabani Das , while discussing his paper, raised serious concerns as to whether an issue like forest is a
national priority for government at all. Why does the finance commission and the state not make forest
protection a constitutional mandate? He highlighted the fact that the role that financial measures play in any
aspect of state administration (including forests) is significant as the allocation of funds or lack of them decides
the importance any state government gives to an area. For e.g., the Finance Commission’s criterion or
guidelines for allocation of funds include population, presence of infrastructure, etc. but not the extent or
quality of forests that have been protected and conserved within a state. His argument was that decision makers
who decide about fund allocations for states do not emphasize forest protection/conservation as a criterion of
eligibility. It is then not surprising that the recipient states also do not view forest protection as a priority. He
also pointed to other issues like the lack of clarity on where money generated by JFM is to go, lack of control
over finances by panchayats, etc. He also raised questions regarding the role of the 73rd constitutional
amendment. Vis-à-vis protection of forest and checking forest degradation. According to him there is an urgent
need to bring forests into a national agenda and this urgency can only be evidenced through the importance
forest protection are given by the national finance commission. Unless this is done, no changes in the present
apathy can be expected.
Discussion:
In the ensuing discussion Balia Babu disagreed with the contention that funding is needed to save forest.
According to him, an initiative like JFM which had mostly been fund driven nowhere exemplifies forest
regeneration but CFM does so without any external funding support. Thus, he felt that it was not money but
only people’s motivation, which would be crucial to protect our forest and environment. Adding to this point of
view, Shanti cited the example of displacement due to upper Kolab project in Koraput district and emphasized
that if left untouched, the forest regenerates on its own. It doesn’t require any money for regeneration. In
responding to these points, Dr. Bhabani Das contended that that unless finance commission subscribes a
provision of fund for other developmental activities, pressure on forest would continue and this would
inevitably lead to deforestation. Thus, to decrease pressure on forest resources, the commission as well as the
state has to make provision of funds and consider the status conservation as one of the criterion for fund
allocation to states. To this, Ghasiram Panda of Vasundhara responded by stating that more money might be of
help but only if expenditure pattern of the same is taken care of properly else more funding might not resolve
deforestation trend the expenditure pattern are overlooked. Mr. Rana of Vasundhara made the point that we
need to try and seek solution outside the existing paradigm. There is a need to ask ourselves as to why all
approaches end up falling flat. According to him, the main reason for this is that the entire system (of
administration and governance) is not accountable to people. Hence it is important to question the whole
governance system. Prof. Mishra stressed on the need to build a national level radical movement similar in
scope to the movement of freedom struggle during colonial rule of the British. However, Aseem Shrivastav
was of the opinion that we should not underestimate the diversity of culture, language, tradition of India. We
must understate that even now India is more of a civilization rather than a nation in real terms. The expectation
to build Bio-regional mobilizations that will consolidate into a national movement cannot be a forced measure
and this will come up suo-moto, rather than by prompting. According to him, as of now realistically we can
only expect regional movements to come up through building up of a critical mass that would and should be
allowed to continue with their diversity rather than force-grafting various strands of regional and sub-regional
movement into a national struggle.
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Day III- 28th Jan 2008: Session I
Chairperson – Mr. Aseem Shrivastav
Rapporteur – Bibhuti
Oriya Translator – Mr. Nilakantha Panigrahi & Mr. Pratap
Thematic subgroup coordinator – Mr. Pratap
Mr. Pratap introduced the guests and invited Mr. Aseem to chair the session.
Thematic presenter – Prof. Premananda Panda
Theme - Winners and Losers of Forest Resources (An Understanding on Casual Connections)
Coal mining in Sundergarh has devastated forests and villages. Many villages no longer exist, and have no
trace of their earlier legacy. Locals have hardly benefited from the mining. Mr. Panda discussed about one
village of Sundergarh village where a company is doing mining. He reconstructed the history of Ratansara
village (from oral accounts about the Oraon and Munda tribes). Earlier the rich diversity of the wetlands was
maintained by the village, for diverse purposes. There was a community system for equitable irrigation, food
distribution, etc. He narrated how within the living history of the place, there had been regular sightings of
elephants and tigers and yet how their crops were safe, since they deterred other animals and also humans from
coming encroaching. He tried to relate the issue to the culture, socio-economic and emotional status of the
village in earlier days and how this had changed under the development related interventions like the mining
that has been going on for the last 15 years and how this has affected this village. For e.g. earlier girls who
were to be married were considered to be the daughters of the village, with all the village families contributing
to the expenses of the marriage. This was no longer the case. Now individual families have to fend for
themselves. Development, though it had brought in money, had also lead to vices like alcoholism and its
subsequent ill effects like domestic violence. There has been immense damage to the fabric of the villages’
social and cultural life and to the symbiotic relationship that earlier existed between the forest and people as
well as to the social support system that existed earlier. The damage is severe enough to warrant a concern as to
whether this lost culture has been irretrievably lost without any possibility of revival. As if this was not
enough, under rehabilitation policy, displaced families in the village have suffered even more as they have not
received any support or rehabilitation package. Many were forced to live a life under a tree for months. In a
telling way he quoted an advasis as having said that, “People say, we were black-skinned, but coal has made us
blacker and disappear into the darkness”. No economist or politicians seems to be interested in addressing their
plight. Thus there is a need to look at these aspects of repercussion of development initiatives. He also focused
on the need to explore alternate livelihood opportunity while keeping intact the cultural and social ethos of the
community.
Discussion:
In the ensuing discussion Mr. Manohar stressed on the need for developing a many sided collective effort..
With the Government framing of laws that legitimizes such destructive processes of development, it had
become all the more important to have coordination among those resisting such process in order to be able to
raise a common voice against these measures. He also stressed on the need to build a public opinion about such
issues. Raising objections to one of the points that Prof. Panda had made about making communities share
holders within a developmental project, Mr. Ashish Kopthari said that this approach has inherent danger to it
does not solve anything but legitimizes an economic category of the same policies that we are struggling
against. What is instead required is a more socio-culturally holistic approach. The wilds should not be thought
of as a commodity as it has its own intrinsic value which should not be brought into the cost-benefit based
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paradigm of neo-liberal economics. He also stressed on the need to look beyond coal & fossil fuel -based
solution to meet energy needs as the world is already moving towards alternative ways of harnessing energy
that are not environmentally destructive .Adding to this Mr. Aseem Shrivastav said that “Einstein once said
that, “Not all that is worth counting is countable and not all that is countable is worth counting”. His concern
was that any intellectual compromise needs to be looked at carefully in the current context. He substantiated
his argument by citing the fact that the Human Development Index and National Family Health Survey only
proves that in the name of growth, the poor in India are struggling for existence. This, according to him, can
not be named as sustainable development. The dominant discourses concept of economic rationality excludes
ecological rationality. Qualitative aspects of life that shapes the quantitative aspects need to be looked into. We
should keep these facts and argue with a clear perspective without forgetting that all the current paradigms of
economic development cater to transnational interests that promote neo-colonialism.
At the end of the workshop, with vote of thanks by Milind Wani from Kalpavriksh.
Day III - 28th Jan 08; Session II
A press meet was conducted at the end of the workshop. This was attended by representatives from various
media houses (See annexure 1 and annexure 2). The panel consisted of Mr. Ashish Kothari (Kalpavriksh), Mr.
Ritwick Das (supreme Court Lawyer), Mr. Aseem Shrivastav(independent writer), and Mr. Prasant Mohanty
(Vasundhara).
Closure
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Full report - Global Forest Coalition

Transcription

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