Commons No More

Odisha government is setting up land banks to lure industries and investments. In the rush, it is alienating people from the commons. ISHAN KUKRETI travels to some of the areas worst hit by the government-sponsored land grab.

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 LIFE HAS never been easy for the residents of Gurjanga village in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district. The only motorable road to the village ends five kilometres from it. After that, a muddy trail along a thick forest of kendu, mahua and karanja to access the village. So last year, when forest officials offered to build the road, residents of the 70-household village were overwhelmed. “In return, they wanted us to give up our village forest so that the department can set up a teak planta tion,” recounts Arun Shamal. “It was a difficult decision because most of us depend on forest produce for a living. Our livestock also graze here,” says Kirtan Pradhan, another resident. Last year, he earned ₹15,000 selling mahua flowers and kendu leaf plates.The officials, claim the residents, particularly persuaded Shamal and Pradhan whose 0.3 ha of private land was surrounded by the forest. “They felled the entire forest and trees on our plots soon after receiving our consent and have planted 6,000 teak and 400 gambhiri saplings,” says Shamal, adding they have not received any written document or compensation for forgoing their land. When Down To Earth ( DTE) visited the village in August, barb wires and pillars were lying along the road. Gurjanga residents said the department was fencing the plantation and converting it into a protected forest. The promised road was nowhere in sight. When enquired, Rinki Kumari, divisional forest officer of Dhenkanal, told DTE the plantation has been set up under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act, 2016. It has not been established by felling the village forest but is on a reserve forest, she said. While Kumari’s claim of afforesting a reserve forest defies all logic, the fact is Odisha government is alienating people from the commons in its drive to make the state one of the best investment destinations in the country. Even though the state has slipped three