Various organisations under the banner of All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP) have demanded that the State Government file a review petition in the High Court of Uttarakhand regarding the earlier order of the high court dated December 19, 2016. The State Government should also implement the Forest Rights Act 2006 effectively to facilitate welfare of forest dwellers and forest dependent communities in Uttarakhand.
Further, the issue of forest rights for betterment of traditional forest dwellers and communities dependent on forests should also be made a prominent issue for political parties to address in the coming Vidhan Sabha elections, said the representatives of organisations.
Addressing a gathering of Van Gujjar community members and others at the Press Club, Tarun Joshi of Van Panchayat Sangharsh Morcha spoke in detail about the high court order in question. He said, “The High Court division bench of justice Rajeev Sharma and justice Alok Singh issued order dated December 19, 2016 in a public interest litigation related to forest fires. There are 20 directions in the high court order which also declares Van Gujjars as encroachers. The last line of the order ‘let us save the forests to save ourselves’ also makes one question as to whom does the word ourselves refer to,” opined Joshi.
AIUFWP office bearers and other speakers said that the state government should file a review petition in the High Court of Uttarakhand to bring about the desired change in condition of the traditional forest dwellers and forest dependent communities. They accused the State Government of not taking a stand or interest in ensuring that interests of the traditional forest dwellers are also considered. Public organisations and movements by the public should make the state government ensure that the Forest Rights Act 2006 is effectively implemented in the state so that the human rights of the forest dependent communities are also secured to enable them to live like respected citizens. The government should hold a meeting with public organisations to chalk out a plan for effective implementation of the forest rights act, they stressed. With the Vidhan Sabha election schedule being announced on Wednesday, the associated organisations will plan a strategy to make the implementation of the Forest Rights Act 2006 a major issue in the Vidhan Sabha election to be held in 2017 as the social and economic life style in Uttarakhand is based on forests. Public movement has been started on this issue, said the speakers. Munnilal of Van Gram Bhu Adhikar Morcha, Mohammed Irshad and Mustafa Chopda of Van Gujjar Kalyan Samiti, Ashok Chowdhary of AIUFWP and Surendra Singh Sajwan of the Kisan Sabha were also among those who expressed their views during the meet.