Mussoorie, November 1
Despite notification of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 10 months ago, the Uttarakhand government has yet to award recognition to the rights of tribesmen and forest dwellers in the state.

The Act had come as a harbinger of hope for the forest-dwelling population. Hasan Din, a Van Gujjar living on the periphery of the Rajaji National Park, was elated when the Act was made.

"This law means that communities like ours who have been tagged as ' forest encroachers' will no longer be at the mercy of government officials," he said. He was hopeful that very soon the Van Gujjars would have legal rights over their forest settlements.

But, the bitter reality is that due to inaction on the part of the Uttarakhand government, even after 10 months of notification of the Act, recognition to rights of tribesmen remains a distant dream.

According to sources at the ministry of tribal affairs, the nodal agency for the implementation of the Act, Uttarakhand has not even formed the requisite committees at the gram sabha, block and district levels.

In fact, Uttarakhand is one of the few states with not a single progress report to the ministry so far!

When asked Yogendra Rawat, deputy director of the state tribal welfare department, said necessary directions had been given to social welfare officers and district magistrates for action. "We are hopeful that the committees will be formed soon," he added.

Sources indicate that other states are way ahead of Uttarakhand. State-level monitoring committees and committees at the gram sabha, sub-divisional and district levels have already been constituted in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and West Bengal.

In fact, most states have initiated the process for settlement of claims. A newly formed state such as Chhattisgarh has already distributed over one lakh title deeds while in states such as Andhra and Madhya Pradesh over three lakh claims have been registered with the gram sabhas.

According to the Act, the constitution of committees is a pre-requisite for initiating the process for settlement of claims. Individual claims are registered with the gram sabhas, forwarded for verification to the sub-divisional committees and finally approved by district committees.

Highlighting the importance of this Act for the people of Uttarakhand, Tarun Joshi, an environmental activist from Nainital, said since about 70 per cent of Uttarakhand's population was directly dependent on forests, effective implementation of this Act ought to be a priority for the government.

However, despite the fact that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself (vide letter dated July 26, 2008) has urged all Chief Ministers to give personal attention to expedite action on the matter, the Uttarakhand government has moved at a snail’s pace on the issue.

Praveen Kaushal, director of SOPHIA, a Doon-based NGO, says the state government has not even made efforts to generate awareness about the Act among rural communities. "People's ignorance is bureaucrats’ bliss," he commented.

Legal experts feel that this delay by the government is deliberate. According to experts, once the tribesmen have submitted their claims, they cannot be ousted from the forests and ,therefore, the government wants to evict them from national parks and sanctuaries before initiating the procedures for rights settlement.

Praveen believes that the bureaucracy is fearful of losing control over forest resources. "Our bureaucrats the suffer colonial hangover of state control over natural resources and will not give up the control meekly," he said.

A visibly disappointed Hasan Din now asks: " When will the Van Gujjars get their rights?" He needs an answer quick. He is already 85 years old.

Dehradun, November 1
With the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) turning a blind eye to violation of building bylaws, illegal structures have come up in the city rather rapidly.

It is not only commercial builders who are showing scant regard for building norms committing all sorts of violations. Many residential buildings are also being constructed in a whimsical manner, with little or no enforcement of regulations.

Commercial buildings have come up at Dalanwala, Rajpur Road, Chakrata Road, GMS Road and EC Road in gross violation of the building bylaws. Some have been raised without prior sanction of building plan from the MDDA.

What is shocking is the fact that MDDA officials have so far not initiated any stern action to check these violations.

"Dehradun falls in high-grade seismic zone and is highly vulnerable to quakes but in spite of this, large-scale construction of multi-storey flats/commercial complexes in congested areas with narrow roads is on and the MDDA remains a mute spectator.

“Even the rules laid down by the Disaster Management Directorate and the Fire Brigade are being flouted with impunity", rued Brig K.G.Behl (retd), president of the Dalanwala Welfare Society. A number of high-rise buildings have come up in plush residential localities of Dehradun like Dalanwala.

Inquiries reveal that lack of parking space in commercial complexes and height of buildings are the most common violations in Dehradun. "Mushrooming of commercial complexes, raised in contravention of guidelines laid by the MDDA could be a potential threat to houses in the vicinity.

“Construction of an apartment on Curzon Road, with a width of less than 9 metres, is a glaring example ", pointed out Mahesh Bahuguna, an area resident.

Meanwhile, it is also learnt that in some of the city areas, even residential houses are coming up in violation of the provisions laid in the UP Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973, which was adopted by Uttarakhand after the formation of the state in November 2000.

When contacted, spokesman of the MDDA Sham Mohan Sharma said: "As and when any case comes to our notice, action is initiated against the violator under Sections 27 and 28 of the UP Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973."

Challans were issued to violators and structures regularised after charging fee, while non-compoundable buildings were demolished, he added.

Dehradun, November 1
While garbage disposal continues to be a big challenge before Municipal authorities, there has been a glimmer of hope in the form of efforts on part of few of denizens of Doon towards the city’s garbage management.

It all started in 1996, when an NRI Ram Chandra Prasad, perturbed over poor garbage disposal in Dehradun took it unto himself to clean the city.

It was a maiden effort on part of a Doonite to start a door-to-door garbage collection in Doon valley and it came in the form of constitution of Pramukh, an NGO that would collect and dispose the garbage all by itself, without any government assistance. Many had doubts over the success of this initiative at that time. But Pramukh proved its adversaries wrong.

Today Pramukh has a team of dedicated 36 sanitary workers and three supervisors. They have in possession of total of 25 rickshaws, which collect as much as 6 metric tonnes of garbage from as many as four thousand houses at different localities of Dehradun.

The work definitely is not easy. While a sanitary worker has to strictly maintain the regularity, the supervisor has also to ensure that the garbage is cleaned at all costs and make alternative arrangements if the need be.

The committed Pramukh team collects garbage from houses every scheduled morning, which is subsequently emptied, into compartments of specially designed cycle rickshaws. All these services of Pramukh come at a very minimum cost ranging between Rs 30 to 40 per month.

“Initially it was tough as we had merely two auto-rickshaws and people were very apprehensive about our success,” said TR Bhatt, supervisor at Pramukh for past 12 years.

But the absence of trenching ground continues to pose as a big problem for Pramukh. It is forced to dispose off the left over garbage after conducting the necessary segregation of waste. The Pramukh has now sought a piece of land from the Corporation authorities that can be used as trenching ground.

“Definitely the public response on Pramukh’s ‘clean Doon’ initiative is increasing day by day. We are now proposing to the Municipal authorities to provide us at least 400 square yards of land within Dehradun,” Col (retd), GS Mann Secretary Pramukh told The Tribune.

Significantly, several other organisations are now taking cue from Pramukh success and have now started seeking their suggestions to repeat the same.

Haridwar, November 1
With winter at the doorstep, this is the time of Mahotsavs and Sharadotsavs. After Dehradun, Nainital and Mussorie, it is time for the public of Haridwar to witness cultural and musical extravaganza.

The seven-day Haridwar Mahotsav will be held from November 5 to 12 at the Rishikul College Ground, Devpura

Mahotsav chief co-ordinator Dr Naresh Chaudhari said, “About 200 stalls will be put up. Artistes ranging from renowned flutist Hari Prasad Chaurasia to the legendary singer Narendra Singh Negi will perform during the mahotsav.”

News is not just about hard and serious stuff. Stories like ‘Making Handsome Hats’ in Friday’s edition are very inspiring and close to the heart of locals. A man who is in the business of making hats for one of the most brave regiments, the Gorkha Rifles and also for various premiers of the country must have surely felt encouraged, motivated and felt recognised after reading the story.

Being the Doonite, I would like to congratulate The Tribune for recognising and publishing stories on locals. Stories like these capture the human interest and gain popularity among the locals.

Such stories also help the person gain recognition in his own state and could gain him more business. Here, I would like you to publish more such stories because Doonites are surely interested in knowing more about the unsung heroes of the states.

—Sumit, Dehradun

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