HC bats for animals’ right to live without fear, orders relocation of 495 families near T.N. Tiger reserve

Subject :Environment

Section: Protected Areas in news

Context:

Highlighting the right of animals to live free from fear and distress, the Madras High Court has ordered relocation of 495 families of Thengumarahada village, situated within the eastern boundary of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, on payment of ₹15 lakh each in compensation.

Details:

The compensation will be released from the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
The NTCA was directed to transfer the amount to the Tamil Nadu Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) within two months. After receiving the amount, the PCCF must disburse the compensation and relocate the villagers within a month.

Thengumarahada village:

Thengumarahada was formed through State action after the issuance of a Government Order on August 5, 1948 for leasing out 100 acres to ThengumarahadaVivasayaCorproation (now Thengumarahada Cooperative Society) for farming.
In 1961, the extent was increased to 500 acres.
This human settlement in the forest area was leading to man-animal conflict as the village was located at the confluence of the rich biodiversity regions of the Eastern Ghats and the Western Ghats and was serving as a corridor for most of the long-ranging wild animals.
It blocks the crucial migratory routes of elephants in the Mudumalai- Sathyamangalam landscape.
Thengumarahada area and the adjoining landscape is one of the rare places in India where healthy breeding populations of tiger, elephant, leopard, sloth bear, wild dog, hyena, black buck, four horned antelope, barking deer, mouse deer and sambar are found together.
The place is also home to many reptiles like star tortoise, rock python, russell’s viper, saw scaled viper, cobra and common krait to name a few.

Compensatory Afforestation Fund:

The CAF Act was passed by the centre in 2016 and the related rules were notified in 2018.
The CAF Act was enacted to manage the funds collected for compensatory afforestation which till then was managed by ad hoc Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).
- Compensatory afforestation means that every time forest land is diverted for non-forest purposes such as mining or industry, the user agency pays for planting forests over an equal area of non-forest land, or when such land is not available, twice the area of degraded forest land.
As per the rules, 90% of the CAF money is to be given to the states while 10% is to be retained by the Centre.
The funds can be used for treatment of catchment areas, assisted natural generation, forest management, wildlife protection and management, relocation of villages from protected areas, managing human-wildlife conflicts, training and awareness generation, supply of wood saving devices and allied activities.

Objectives of CAMPA:

Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) are meant to promote afforestation and regeneration activities as a way of compensating for forest land diverted to non-forest uses.
National CAMPA Advisory Council has been established as per orders of The Hon’ble Supreme Court with the following mandate:
- Lay down broad guidelines for State CAMPA.
- Facilitate scientific, technological and other assistance that may be required by State CAMPA.
- Make recommendations to State CAMPA based on a review of their plans and programmes.
- Provide a mechanism to State CAMPA to resolve issues of an inter-state or Centre-State character.

Mudumalai Tiger Reserve:

Mudumalai National Park is a national park in the Nilgiri Mountains in Tamil Nadu, south India.
It shares boundaries with the states of Karnataka and Kerala.
It was declared a tiger reserve in 2007.
It is a part of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (1st Biosphere Reserve in India) along with Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) in the West, Bandipur National Park (Karnataka) in the North, Mukurthi National Park and Silent Valley in the South.
It is bordered in the north by Bandipur National Park, in the east by Sigur Reserve Forest and in the west by Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. In the south, it is bordered by Singara Reserve Forest.
The Moyar River and its tributaries drain this area, and several artificial waterholes provide drinking water for wildlife during dry seasons.
The river Moyar, which flows along the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border, divides the two states. The Park is bisected by the Mysore-Ooty highway, which follows the direction of the Moyar River, which divides Mudumalaiand Bandipur.
Flagship Species: Tiger and Asian Elephant.
The Reserve has tall grasses, commonly referred to as ‘Elephant Grass’.
Tropical Evergreen Forest, Moist Mixed Deciduous Forest, Moist Teak Forest, Dry Teak Forest, Secondary Grasslands, Shrubs, and Swamps are among the habitats found here.