REGENERATED FORESTS
CUT DOWN IN ATTAPADY
Regenerated
forests are being destroyed in Attappady and the latest incident is the cutting
down of large tracts of bamboo from Pottamala in the Agali forest range that
was planted under the Rs.219-crore Japan-aided Attappady Eco-restoration and
Tribal Empowerment Project.According to the reports reaching here from
Attappady, large tracts of bamboo were cleared and transported out. In addition
to this, large number of trees from private land in Attappady was cut down
using the provisions of the Act that allowed cutting of trees planted by
private land owners.The law was aimed at encouraging planting of trees in
private land, but this had now been used for the reverse process, said M.
Sukumaran of the Attappady Protection Committee.
He
sought an inquiry into the cutting down of bamboo protected under the Attappady
Hills Area Development Society (AHADS) project. He said one of the major
achievements of the Attappady eco-restoration project would be lost if 11,000
hectares afforested under the scheme was not protected.The biggest ecological
problem faced by the Attappady hills was the destruction of evergreen forest,
which resulted in desertification of the area and marginalisation of its
30,000-strong tribal population, Mr. Sukumaran said.To address the problem that
could also threaten the nearby rain forests of the Silent Valley National Park,
the AHADS was started in 1996.
With
the winding up of AHADS, the authorities retrenched 380 watchers who had
protected the regenerated forests. Ninety per cent of them were local tribal
youths who took it as a challenge and protected the new forest cover.There were
also sandal reserves with an estimated three-lakh trees covered under the
scheme. At Mulli in Pudur panchayat, sandal saplings and trees in 18 hectares
were protected by the AHADS. At Sholayur, 93,000 sandal trees were protected.
Mr. Sukumaran said that already large areas of the regenerated forests had been
destroyed in the absence of proper protection.
Prof. John Kurakar
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