Centre to empower grama sabhas to combat Maoists

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, Dec 27, 2012: Centre seems to be working on empowering gram sabhas in tribal tracts, which are Maoists stronghold to combat left wing extremism. As part of such initiative, state government would be announcing bamboo as minor forest produce at Duddugula village in Nathavaram Mandal in the district in the first week of January, 2013.

Maharashtra government was first in the country to transfer full control of transit passbook for the bamboo from forest department to gram sabha of Mendha (Lekha) and it was a success story. Tribals will have rights over growing, felling and selling bamboo. According to a letter accessed by Deccan Chronicle, Union rural development minister, Jairam Ramesh wrote to chief ministers of several states including Andhra Pradesh in August urging them to replicate Mendha success story to combat left wing terrorism.

Bamboo is a traditional source of subsistence for many forest-dwelling communities of India and has immense cultural and economic significance. Bamboo forests are distributed in around 9 million hectares. Duddugula has around 200 acres coming under Community Forest Rights (CFR) where tribals can have rights on the produce. 

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Jairam Ramesh are expected to take part in the programme going to be held at Duddugula in Vizag Agency, which will be the first in the state to be benefited by the Forest Rights Act, 2006.

Ramesh in his letter to N Kiran Kumar Reddy and chief ministers of Odisha, Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhad, clearly mentioned that the gram sabha of Mendha (Lekha) was financially empowered to an unprecedented degree.

The union minister said that he reviewed the achievement particularly in the context of the strategy to combat left-wing extremism. “There have been recent newspaper reports that Maoists in Gadchirowli are unhappy with this revolution that has taken place in Mendha (Lekha). Am convinced that we need to create more Mendha (Lekha)’s and empower gram sabhas in order for us to successfully roll back the spread of Maoist activities in a sustainable manner,” said Jairam Ramesh.

He also urged the respective state governments to send a team of officers to Mendha (Lekha) to study success story.