Agartala: To ensure development of forest-dwelling communities, the Tripura Government has designated as many as 62 locations in remote parts of the state as ‘Forest Village’, said state Forest Minister Jitendra Choudhury.
In such locations the state government had already extended development projects for 1508 people of 236 tribal families living in the hamlets and the administration had undertaken income generation schemes for the dwellers.
Mr Choudhury attributed following success of the Forest Village project in 2003 when insurgency was at its peak, the state government had begun re-grouping of tribal people living scattered in far-flung hamlets.
He argued with the re-grouping of tribal, the state was able to bring those shifting cultivators into settle cultivation besides, participating in all modern skill development activities and as a result, health, education and housing had been ensured for them.
Meanwhile, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Dr A K Gupta stated that the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) had allowed Tripura to go for community conservation of elephant in two corridors – Atharomura and Gandhari range of west and south Tripura.
Setting up of elephant corridors became necessary because of increasing incidences of man-elephant conflict, Dr Gupta said, adding as many as 58 elephants were found in the state in 2008 census. (UNI)