TURA: Garo Hills, a region blessed with an abundance of lush green forests, could soon turn into a desolate land unless steps are taken to halt jhum cultivation by farmers and the destruction of virgin forests to make way for plantation crops, particularly areca nuts.
According to data revealed during a high level district meeting chaired by West Garo Hills deputy commissioner Ram Singh in Tura on Tuesday, out of 2882 registered villages under the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council as many as 2538 continue to engage in jhum cultivation resulting in fresh forest areas being virtually obliterated.
In West Garo Hills district alone, there are 616 villages that still practise jhum cultivation.
The results from the shifting cultivation and the ever rising expansion of plantation areas have led to acute water shortage even in areas where streams and rivers once flowed free.
To regulate jhumming in Garo Hills, the GHADC had passed the Garo Hills District Jhum Regulation Act, 1954 wherein certain areas are allotted for jhumming while prohibiting individuals from extending to areas in the radius of 400 meters from any water source, village or community forests.
Despite these rules and regulations, there has been no check on the expansion of jhum cultivation which has now spread to catchment areas on the foothills of the Nokrek National Biosphere from where the Simsang and Ganol rivers sustain their water table.
The implications that come with jhum cultivation include compaction, loss of soil structure, nutrient degradation and soil salinity coupled with loss of fertile land due to soil erosion.
In many places, particularly the upper reaches of the Ganol and Simsang rivers, there has been an increase in pollution and sedimentation in streams and rivers resulting in the clogging of waterways and a significant decline in fish and other species.
Suggestions have been mooted during discussions to focus primarily on natural resource management and sustainable programmes for the people while implementing MGNREGA work in the Garo Hills.
Another danger facing Garo Hills has been the widespread illegal felling of trees.
The divisional forest officer of Garo Hills, Sachin Gavade, informed about large-scale felling of trees and illegal saw mills utilizing the timber.
He said that despite the challenges, as many as 34 such illegal sawmills have been raided and their equipment confiscated.
The state forest department has suggested to the GHADC to notify the few remaining reserve forests in the region so that more stringent checks can be put in place to control the unauthorised felling of trees in protected areas.
