
TIRUNELVELI: CPM state secretary P Shanmugam condemned the Tamil Nadu forest department for ordering non-tribal residents of Karaiyar to remove their cattle from the hills on Friday. He sought the intervention of the state government to secure their rights under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.
Posting a notice issued by Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) to one R Karuppayi, a cattle owner, on his 'X' handle, Shanmugam said the move denied forest dwellers their grazing rights granted under the Act.
"The Act also applies to tiger reserves, making the action of the forest department condemnable. The Tamil Nadu government should intervene, withdraw the notice, and protect the legal rights of the people," he demanded.
In the notice to Karuppayi, the Mundanthurai forest ranger cited a 2022 Madras High Court judgement. "Cattle grazing and rearing inside KMTR is a criminal act under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Those who possess cattle must remove them by 20 January. Failure to comply will result in action under Sections 27 (4) and 35 (7) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, and the cattle will be impounded," the notice stated. The ranger also referred to Karuppayi as a resident of an encroached area of Karaiyar.
About 130 non-tribal families residing in Karaiyar, Servalar, and Lower Camp areas of the Western Ghats claim that they have lived there for generations.
"The court judgement cited by the forest ranger pertains to non-forest dwellers grazing over 20,000 cattle for commercial purposes inside the tiger reserve, but our case is entirely different. We are forest dwellers entitled to rights under various laws to rear cattle for milk. We do not even own more than 100 livestock," residents said.
Non-tribals cannot claim forest rights
When contacted, Deputy Director of KMTR, Ambasamudram M Ilaiyaraja, said that actions taken by his administration were in accordance with government norms. He mentioned that many residents have houses in the plains and keep their hill houses vacant.
"These residents filed eight cases in court seeking forest rights, all of which were dismissed, with the court directing the state government to relocate them by providing alternative sites. Based on this, the state government provided them land twice at Aladiyur. Now, for the third time, land has been allotted in Pappankulam. Only tribes like the Kani are permitted to rear cattle, and these non-tribal residents cannot claim rights under the Act. Their demands were already rejected in the Grama Sabha meeting, which included both tribal and non-tribal participants," he added.