True rehabilitation

Residents of Madhya Pradesh's Kakdi village take relocation as an opportunity to undertake afforestation, develop sustainable practices

- RAKESH KUMAR MALVIYA

THE TERMS "displacement" and "relocation" often spark dread among communities, who fear leaving the homes and natural environment they have lived in for generations to start anew in an alien landscape. But when the residents of Kakdi village in Madhya Pradesh faced this situation a decade ago, they decided to take it as an opportunity.

Kakdi was one of several villages relocated in 2014-15, when the state government diverted land for the Satpura Tiger Reserve. From its original location in the forested areas of Itarsi, Narmadapuram district, the village was shifted to the Babai development block, some 26 km away. The 30 families, who belong to the Korku tribe, were allotted 2.02 hectares of land each and given 25 lakh per person.

"We were apprehensive about the relocation and had many questions.