Jharkhand tribals protest against relocation away from tiger reserve area

PALAMU - Villagers in Jharkhand Palamu district protested on Friday against the government’s proposal to resettle them away from the core area of tiger reserve.

Paritosh Upadhyay, Vice-President, Tiger Project, Palamu said that the forest department has already started the talks with eight villages in the area to relocate them at other places.

“There should be no human population in the core area, so that the wild animals get an interference-free area. Therefore, there should be minimum human interference; for this the small human habitation, which is present in the core area, is being relocated. There are provisions and orders to relocate them. There is also a provision of a package for relocation,” said Upadhyay.

According to the officials of National Tiger Conservation Authority provisions, the resettlement package will include an amount of one million rupees for every household in village.

The reserve was entirely dedicated to the tigers but gradually it has now been reduced to a cluster of villagers, a hideout for Maoists and grazing grounds for cattle.

However, the proposal of relocation has provoked the villagers against Reserve authorities.

According media reports out of the human population has grown manifold with around 94 households including 700 people in the core region. (ANI)