Commission Attempts to Balance the Needs of Environmental Protection and the Rights of the Van Gujjars

Growth in the population of Van Gujjars, a forest-dwelling community that makes its livelihood by raising cattle in the Doon Valley of Uttar Pradesh, has brought into focus the need to balance the rights of this group with environmental concerns. As the community of Van Gujjars has grown and the number of cattle they keep has risen exponentially, their traditional use of forest resources for grazing and lopping has ceased to be sustainable. State authorities, worried about the depletion of the forest and a loss of habitat for the wildlife took the decision to establish a national park in the area, under Section 35 of the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972. Under this scheme, the State undertook to relocate of the Van Gujjar families living within the area of the proposed Rajaji National Park.

The Commission received a complaint alleging that the Park authorities were forcibly relocating families or relocating them under false pretences. The complainant also stated that the Van Gujjars were being held hostage by the Park authorities, who were preventing the transport of food, fodder and dairy products in and out of the proposed Park area. The Park authorities were preventing ambulances from entering the Park area to provide medical assistance to the Van Gujjars, resulting in several deaths. The Park authorities were also denying the Van Gujjars their traditional rights of grazing and tree lopping within the Park area. The complainant said that the Park authorities were acting precipitously and extra-judicially in enforcing these measures, as the final notification, declaring the area protected, under Section 35 of the Wild Life Protection Act, had not yet been issued.

The State of Uttar Pradesh had made arrangements for a resettlement project for the Van Gujjars by establishing a camp in the Pathri region of Haridwar, and 62 families have been moved there so far. The resettlement project provides two acres of land and Rs. 10,000/- to each family. Roads have been built in the camp, safe drinking water and essential commodities provided, and a school established.

A major stumbling block to the resettlement camp, however, is that it was established to accommodate 512 families, which a census has revealed that there are now 1390 families in the proposed Park area, and Pathri cannot accommodate these large numbers. Until additional land is allotted by the government and the final notification under Section 35 of the Wild Life Protection Act issued, it is clear that Van Gujjar families cannot be forced to move out of the forest. The Commission has taken the view that, in the meantime, it is necessary to protect the interests of these families. The Commission has hence recommended that the Government of Uttar Pradesh appoint a retired District Judge to assess the willingness of the Van Gujjar families to move, subject to provision of adequate facilities. Only those families that the judge finds to be willing, will be resettled.

The Commission has further stated that those families that remain within the forest will be given access to medical care, and ambulances will be allowed to enter to cater to medical emergencies. As the forest authorities are concerned about the effects of grazing and tree-lopping, the Commission has suggested that the Park authorities provide additional grazing ground for the cattle outside the Park area. It has also suggested that personnel of the forest department mark out particular areas of the forest for lopping, depending on the age and growth of trees. These two measures would minimize the degradation of the forest, until additional land is allotted and families begin to resettle voluntarily.