Amid protests from forest residents and activists, Chhattisgarh Forest Department on Thursday withdrew to all its other departments, NGOs and private organizations, unless the center is a plan.
The forest department said in a press statement that the advice was withdrawn on the instructions of the state forest minister Kedar Kashyap.
The department has written to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MOTA) and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and India’s Climate Change (Moef & CC) to release model CFR management plans, detailed guidelines and a training module for master trainers and all stakeholders.
The press statement said: “The Forest Department had only issued an advice to its region officials in the light of the Model Community Forest Resource (CFR) management schemes and the absence of the same guidelines.”
The statement said that due to incompatibility in the field-level implementation of CFRR, it was necessary that due to lack of clarity, how to integrate CFR management schemes with the National Action Plan Code, 2023, the statement said in the statement. There was also confusion about coordination between Gram Sabha, NGOs and forest officials.
The statement said that ad hoc management plans would have been implemented without the recipe of the action plan as a result of the absence of this advisor. “It would endanger the ecological integrity of the forests … and created a dispute of inter-departmental and community level.”
IFS officer V Sreenivasa RAO, leading main conservative of Forest Force and head of One Force (PCCF & HOFF), said, “The department has played a commendable role in personal and CFR rights in distribution. The result … The result … Chhattisgarh has emerged as one of the leading states of the country in terms of CFR recognition.”
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