Giving another blow to the Balangir DFO, the Satbohani Gram Sabha in Titilagarh block dissolved its Vana Suraksha Samitte (VSS) on July 25. The Forest Department had formed it in 1990.
Satbohani is a small village having 77, 297 population, including 47 SCs and 33 STs and rest OBCs (Gauda only) as per Census 2011. There are around 200 voters in the village. The villages come under Ward No 2 of the Mahulapada panchayat.
The unanimous decision was taken in a special gram sabha organised in the villages using Section 6 of the Forest Rights Act, 2006. It was held under the Tentuli (Tamarind) Mandap and was presided over by senior most member Hajari Nag.
Around 160 gram sabha members, including VSS president Rameswar Nag, Forest Rights Committee (FRC) president Ganesh Pradhani, FRC secretary Samanta Nag, Ward Member(Ward No.2 of Mahulpada GP) Sujata Deep etc were present in the gram sabha and signed over the resolution.
After the dismissal of the VSS, the Satbohani gram sabha also formed a 15-member Forest Protection and Management Committee (FP and MC) as the FRA, 2006 and Forest Rights Rules, 2007.
In the FP and MC, they have re-elected all the 10 FRC members as members of FP and MC and also elected five more new members including the previous VSS president Rameswar Nag with due representations of the four hamlets and three communities, Gauda, ST and SC etc. like Gulmi gram sabha, the Satbani gram sabha has also sent the copy of its resolution to the concerned district and State level Government officials like the Chief Secretary, Secretary, SC and ST Welfare Department and Secretary, Forest and Environment.
As per the Record of Rights (RoR), there are in total 50.16 acres of community land (recorded as Government land), including 16.75 acres of forest land in the revenue village Satbohani. However, the village is surrounded by Tikhari reserve forest from its three sides. The Community Forest Resources (CFR) area would be approximately 700 acres over which they have claimed filing “B” and “C” form at Titilagarh Sub-Division. Besides, around 28 individual forest rights claims have been filed in the village and only 3 STs have got IFR titles over 8.62 acres in Tikhari reserve forest.
Sharing his past experience as Satbohani VSS for last 25 years, Rameswar Nag says, “The Forest Department people offered us utensils and succeeded in forming VSS in our village. But later on, they evicted us from our occupied forest land and did teak plantation. They just took my signatures whenever they required but never gave us the VSS register, bank passbook and shared with us the money they brought for our forest.”
FRC secretary Samanta Nag was very much excited over the dissolution of the VSS and looks forward to protect and manage the forest as per FRA in coming days.
Binod Bihari Bhoi, local leader of Titilagarh Forest Protection and Management Coordination Committee (CFRP and MCC) affiliated to CSD said, “The first dissolution of VSS by our Gumli Gram Sabha on last July 10 has good impacts in neighbouring villages and it has also challenged the Forest Department hegemony of last so many years.”
Rupdhar Bisoi, another leader of CFRP and MCC, called upon all NGOs working on FRA across the State to facilitate more and more Gram Sabhas to take resolution to dissolve the VSSs.
Balangir DFO Rashmi Ranjan Nayak said gram sabha has no power to dissolve VSS and they cannot dissolve VSS without our permission.