Protected Area Network in Orissa - Vasundhara

households of Behentasahi and Dholakath as per the initial plan, but their earlierattempts in rehabilitation has back fired after seeing the visible impacts ofrehabilitation on the people of Behentasahi. Since most of the promises ofgovernment failed in providing livelihood security to people of Krushnanagar andpeople have turned more vulnerable after the relocation of 1994, people from thecore area have become more skeptic of the rehabilitation promise.The promises that failed to materialize:The promises made to the tribals of Behentasahi by the Government nine yearsback have failed in many occasions. Prior to their rehabilitation the tribals ofBehentasahi had been promised equally good land for their fertile lands apartfrom providing educational, health facilities, Drinking water and monetarycompensation of around 12000 rupees per acre of agricultural land and 18000rupees per acre of homestead land. The proposed agricultural land which has beendemarcated for distribution is hard to cultivate and no legal records have yet beenprovided for such land. As for the promise by the department regarding landagainst land, people were first promised to be given 2.5 acre all and then the limitwas lowered to 2 acre. Again, people have not received the entire amount ofmonetary compensation as promised earlier against their constructed house in theold village, and had to keep fighting to get their dues which they are denied on theground that the department has no fund for these activities.Social conflict emanating from relocation:While planning for the rehabilitation of the tribal people of Behentasahi, perhaps itnever occurred to the forest department that some day people of Krushnanagarmight face the competition of the neighboring village for gaining control overscarce resources. The irony was that land demarcated for distribution among theTribal of Krushnanagar was also being claimed by locals of Daruthenga.Loss of agriculture incomePaddy was the principal crop that ensured food for nearly 8-9 months in a year tothe people in the old habitation i.e., Behenta Sahi. Most of the families appeared tohave good quality of land and all of them had land records even prior to49