The best way out to curb mass and illegal grazing, says HoFF
| Date :09-Feb-2024 |
By Kaushik Bhattacharya
As grasslands in India continue to face existential crisis, the Government of Maharashtra is quietly paving a new path for conservation of these open natural ecosystems. This holds the promise of serving as the best way to curb mass and illegal grazing and to find a solution to resultant problems. Shailesh Tembhurnikar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) and Head of Forest Force (HoFF), Government of Maharashtra, while interacting with ‘The Hitavada’ on the illegal grazing menace, talked about the importance of grasslands for wildlife conservation and also shared the plans of the Forest Department to encourage grasslands in the State. “Grassland is an important ecosystem for wildlife, and its conservation is need of the hour to maintain balance in their life-cycle. We have lost a major portion of grasslands in recent times. But, now, we should regenerate grasslands,” Tembhurnikar said. Around 15,500 villages in Maharashtra are situated in the vicinity of forests. The population of these villages is completely dependent on forest for their daily requirements such as small timber, agriculture, cattle grazing, non-timber produce, food, etc. The Forest Department has established 12,518 joint forest management committees (JFMCs) in these villages through participation of villagers who are managing these forests areas, said the HoFF.
According to him, there are 3.5 crore cattle in these 15,500 villages, which are completely dependent on forest land for grazing. There is a grazing rule in the Indian Forest Act, 1927, under which the department allows a limited number of cattle to graze in forest areas. The department has a working plan for grazing which also mentions as to how many cattle will be allowed for grazing in a particular forest compartment and also the particular season for grazing. “The department charges a small amount to farmers and villagers for grazing their cattle in forest areas. However, grazing in forest lands by outsiders like Kathiyawadis is completely illegal in Maharashtra. Our department takes action from time to time against such tribesmen, who usually come from Gujarat,” Tembhurnikar said, in response to a question regarding illegal grazing. According to him, the Government is actively working to promote and increase grasslands in the State. Under a new initiative, the Forest Department has established a nursery in Mamdapur in Nashik to grow grass saplings, Tembhurnikar revealed. “From this nursery, we will provide grass saplings to farmers. They can plant the saplings near their farmlands or villages. It will help them secure grass for their own cattle and reduce the excess and illegal grazing in forest lands,” claimed the top officer of the Forest Department.
In his own admission, wildlife and forest can not sustain without grasslands. He cited an example to buttress his point. Navegaon-Nagzira has a dense forest but the population density of wildlife is lesser as compared to other forests in the region. Absence of grasslands is the biggest reason. Therefore, he added, promoting grasslands in such forests is needed. Forest Department is going to establish second nursery for growing of grass saplings in Chandrapur district soon. The site selection is going on and the nursery will be started within two/three months, he said. As per the working plan for grassland development, total 1,87,000 ha land is designated as fodder area in Maharashtra. Now, the department has to convert this area into grassland or fodder land. But, the task entails a huge investment. Naturally, grown fodder or grass is not so good in quality and also limited in quantity. Therefore, for last three years, Forest Department has started grassland development programme under CAMPA, said Tembhurnikar. Under the programme, the department has been able to develop grassland on an area of 10,000 ha and the programme is still going on. Only time can tell whether or not the initiative of the Forest Department yields the desired results as far as curbing the menace of illegal grazing by Kathiyawadi tribesmen is concerned. But, for now, this initiative holds promise. Of course, till the time the project is completed, it will need a continuous monitoring of situation, uninfluenced deterrent action against the violators, and also tightening of the internal functioning of the department to curb the alleged malpractices. Else, illegal grazing will continue to pose a threat to not only grasslands but also the wildlife and humans.