Relocation of two villages out of Kawal Tiger Reserve begins
The Hindu
Compensation cheques for ₹15 lakh each given to villagers of Maisampet and Rampur
The process for relocation of two villages from the core area of the Kawal Tiger Reserve has begun, with compensation cheques handed over to the villagers on Friday.
Minister for Environment and Forests A. Indrakaran Reddy kicked off the process by handing over the cheques for ₹15 lakh each to the villagers of Maisampet and Rampur, who opted for monetary compensation against rehabilitation, at Nirmal.
The villagers have voluntarily opted to move out of the villages five to seven years ago, when the compensation package announced by the National Tiger Conservation Authority was ₹10 lakh per family, as part of Project Tiger.
Adult children in the family were each considered a separate family, making the compensation too handsome to reject.
However, the scheme encountered several bureaucratic hurdles eventually, with the State government delaying the grant of its 40% share of the compensation. Eventually, the package has been revised by NTCA to ₹15 lakh each.
A total 142 villagers will now move outside the reserve, which is hoped to pave way for other villages in the core area too to opt for the scheme.
Two options were given to the villagers, either to accept the cheques for ₹15 lakh per family without rehabilitation, or rehabilitation in a colony outside the tiger reserve with agricultural land procurement and development, settlement of rights, homestead land and house construction, incentives, and provision of community facilities.
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