Composition
There shall be constituted a Village (Rehabilitation of Degraded
Forests) Committee in each forest range for the purpose of protection and management of
degraded forests.
People residing at the edge of degraded forests shall form the
basis of membership of the village (Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests) Committee.
One adult male/female member of each independent household
residing at a Village (Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests) Commitee. The Block Forester
and/or Forest Guard shall verify the membership of all members of Village (Rehabilitation
of Degraded Forests) Committee within their area of jurisdiction.
Each Village (Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests) Committee
shall have an Executive Committee of 11 members (including at least two women and two
members from Scheduled Case / Scheduled Tribe / Backward Classes) etc. to carry out the
task of such committee.
The members of the Executive Committee shall be elected annually
by the respective village (Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests) Committee. The concerned
forest Range Officer/Block Forester shall be in Returning Officer for conducting such
elections.
The Executive Committee shall select one of its members as
president and also choose a treasurer among themselves.
The concerned Block Forest/Forest Guard shall act as
member-secretary and shall be responsible for assisting the Village (Rehabilitation of
Degraded Forests) Committee to coordinate its activities with other Government Department
and shall also be responsible for the maintenance of records of the concerned committee.
Constitution of all the committees under these rules shall be
subject to the approval of concerned Divisional Forest Officer (Territorial) or Divisional
Forest Officer, Social Forestry, as the case may be.
If any inclusion or change in the Village (Rehabilitation of
Degraded Forests) Committee or Executive Committee is necessitated after its initial
constitution, the Executive Committee shall make the recommendations to the Divisional
Forest Officer (Territorial), Divisional Forest Officer, Social Forestry, as the case may
be, whose decision shall be final.
Meetings : The member secretary of the Executive Committee shall
convene at least 4 meetings of the Executive Committee and 2 meetings of the general body
in a calendar year.
Supervision : The functioning of the Executive Committee shall
be subject to the supervision and review of the District Level Policy Review Committee
which shall consist of the following :
Deputy Commissioner of the district concerned / Divisional
Forest Officer/ Territorial or Divisional Forest Officer (Social Forestry) - Chairman
Forest Range Officer - Member
Block forester concerned - Member
Agreement : The village (Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests)
Committee shall enter into an agreement with the Divisional Forest Officer (territorial)
or Divisional Forest Officer, Social Forestry as the case may be in terms of the
conditions agreed upon by the parties. The agreement shall be in the Form "A"
appended to these rules.
Functions : The village (Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests)
Committee shall perform the following functions namely :
to assist the Social Forestry Department / Forest Department as
the case may be in protecting the Social Forestry / Forest Department Plantations through
the members of the committee.
to inform forest personnel of any person or persons attempting
trespass and wilful damage to the Social Forestry/Forest Department plantations or commit
theft thereon;
to assist Social Forestry/Forest Department in preventing such
trespass, encroachment, grazing, theft or damage;
to assist Social Forestry/Forest Department in preventing such
trespass encroachment, grazing, theft or damages;
to assist the Social Forestry/Forest Department in the smooth
and timely execution of all plantation works taken up in the degraded lands;
to assist the concerned Social Forestry/Forest Department
officials in selecting/engaging labourers required for plantation works.
To assist in harvesting of the plantation by Social
Forestry/Forest Department;
To assist the concerned Social Forestry/Forest Department
officials in the distribution of the usufructs among the members of the Village
(Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests) Committees as per the register of members maintained
by the committee.
To assist in preventing any activity done at the plantation site
in contravention of the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Forest Act Svt. 1987 and the
rules made thereunder;
To report about activities of a particular member which are
prejudicial and detrimental to the interests of plantation, to the concerned Range Officer
which may result in cancellation of membership of the erring member.
To assist Forest officials to take action or proceed under
J&K Forest Act, Samvat 1987 (Act No. . of 1987) and the rules made thereunder against
the persons involved in forest offences in degraded forests; and
To evolve procedure in consultation with Social Forestry/Forest
Department officers to be adopted by its members for collecting produce such as fodder
grass, dry and fallen wood from the plantation site in a manner which ensures sustainable
yhields of such produce from the area.
Termination : The Divisional Forest Officer or any Range Officer
authorised by the Divisional Forest Officer, in this behalf may take action including
termination of the membership against any member who has failed or neglected to perform
his functions under these rules.
Appeal (i) Any person aggrieved by the order made under rule 8
may within 15 days prefer an appeal to :
the Divisional Forest Officer against an order of Range Officer.
The circle Conservator of Forest/ Regional Director, Social
Forestry concerned against the order of the Divisional Forest Officer.
The order passed under sub-rule (i) shall be final.
Maintenance of Register : (i) The Village (Rehabilitation of
Degraded Forests) Committee shall maintain a register showing necessary particulars of
beneficiaries who are members of the Committee e.g.)
Name
Father's Name
Address
Age
Members of the family
Name of the nominee
The nomination forms duly filled in and approved by the
Executive Committee should be pasted in the register. Such registers are also to be
maintained in the concerned Range Office of the Social Forestry/Forest Department for
permanent record.
Proceedings : The Village (Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests)
Committee shall maintain a register wherein proceedings on the meetings of the Executive
Committee held from time to time as well as proceedings of the annual general meetings of
the village (Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests) Committee will be recorded under the
signature of the president of the committee and such minutes duly attested shall be sent
to the Concerned Range Officer for records.
Sharing of Harvest : The committee in consultation with all the
members will determine, how to share a minimum 25 percent of the proceeds from the first
major harvest of the plantation in kind or the sale proceeds of the produce of the
plantation of degraded forest among members after deducting the costs, incurred by the
Forest Department/Social Forestry to raise, protect and maintain the plantation.
Works (a) : An agreement specifying the rights and
responsibilities of all parties shall be signed before commencement of any works in the
plantation.
The content of the works to be undertaken shall be decided in
consultation with the Village (Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests) Committee.
Usufructuary Benefits (a) The Block Forester/Range Officer in
consultation with the Executive Committee and with the approval of the Divisional Forest
Officer concerned will distribute to the beneficiaries their proportionate share of
usufructs from the final harvesting, not before the crop attaining the age of 10 years.
The members shall be entitled to collect free of royality,
without
causing any damage to the plantation, grass, fodder, dry and
fallen wood, pruning thinning etc. with the permission of the Block Forester.
The members will have to assist in protecting the plantation to
be eligible for sharing of usufructs under these rules.
The members will not be entitled to produce from trees preserved
under the Jammu and Kashmir Preservation of Specified Trees Act 1969 (V of 1969).
An individual whose membership stands terminated under any of
these rules shall not be entitled to benefit /sharing of usufructs under these rules.
15. Reviews : The major rights and responsibilities of Village
(Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests) Committee and Executive Committee will be reviewed by
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests / Chief Conservator of Forests (Project Director)
Social Forestry Project annually.
Chapter III
Village Plantation (Protection and Management) Committee
16. Composition
There shall be constituted a Village Plantation (Protection and
Management) Committee in each forest range for purposes of protection and management of
such waste undermarcated forests and khalsa lands as are not included in demarcated
forests.
The Committee shall consist of the following :
(a) Tehsildar - Chairman
Range Officer, Social Forestry, Territorial as the case may be
– Member.
Two representatives of the village concerned – Member
Meetings and Procedure :
The committee will meet at such place as may be convenient to
members or in such villages where such plantations are to be raised on the dates that may
be notified by the Chairman.
The committee will in consultation with people of the village
concerned select areas as required for the benefit of the villagers, their cattle and
agriculture and for prevention of denudation and soil erosion.
The committee will open a file in each case in which the
statement of villagers, the points agreed upon and the decision of the committee are
recorded in the form of a resolution in the following manner.
Description of boundaries of the area to be covered
The produce to be removed by the villagers
Acts that are prohibited
Regulation on closure of grazing
All points of disagreement between villagers, objections, claims
and rights willbe heard, discussed and eliminated by the committee before a final decision
is recorded which should be signed by all members.
The rules of protecting the forest will be the same as provided
for in the Forest Act, Samvat 1987. Similarly the concessions as granted in Jammu and
Kashmir Forest Notices will be availed of by the villagers. Any deviation from the rules
and concessions, should be specifically mentioned in the file.
The file be then handed over to the revenue official who will
get the area demarcated through villagers by means of boundary pillars of the same type as
forest boundary pillars. The revenue official, will get a map of the area prepared by the
patwari.
The file having been completed will then be submitted in
duplicate through proper channel to the Deputy Commissioner. The Deputy Commissioner of
the respective district will be the sanctioning authority.
The file having been sanctioned, a notification will be issued
by the Deputy Commissioner under Chapter II of the Forest Act Samvat 1987. The file will
then be returned to the tehsildar.
On receipt of the file, the area so demarcated will be placed in
charge of concerned village (Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests) Committee constituted
under Rule 3.
Functions
The Village Plantation (Protection and Management) Committee
will enter into an agreement in terms of resolution arrived at the sanctioned by the
authority with Divisional Forests Officer, Social Forestry wing of the area. The agreement
shall be in Form "B" appended herewith.
The Village Plantation (Protection and Management) Committee
will then enforce the rules framed for the protection of the area and regulation of
concessions, benefits and grazing rules as sanctioned in the file.
In case of an act, concession or benefits not specifically
provided inthe rules as sanctioned in the file, the Village Plantation (Protection and
Management) committee will enforce rules formed under Jammu and Kashmir Forest Act, Samvat
1987.
Supervision : The functioning of the Village Plantation
(Protection and Management) committee shall be subject to the supervision and review of
the district level policy review committee constituted under Rule 5.
Motivation of villagers : The Deputy Commissioner and Divisional
Forest Officer of the District in which these rules are made applicable will discuss and
explain the advantages of the scheme to the villagers in their respective (Protection and
Management) Committee and report their progress to the Divisional Commissioner and
Regional Director/Conservator of the province respectively.
Grazing :The area should usually be closed to grazing; when
closure of the whole area is not possible, as much of the area as can conveniently be
closed for a number of years, should be closed.
Joint Management
If the villagers undertake to carry out a programme of sowing
the plantation it will be done under the joint management of Social Forestry Department
and the villagers.
For the joint management of the area, a development cum
management plan will be prepared by the Social Forestry in collaboration with the
villagers
Cost of Planting : Maintenance and Protection (i) Cost of
planting, maintenance and protection would be borne by the Social Forestry Department for
the first five years, the local population will participate in protecting the plantation.
Thereafter the management and protection of the plantation will be the responsibility of
the Village Plantation (Protection and Management) Committee.
(ii) The Social Forestry Department will continue to monitor the
management of the plantation even after management and protection has been taken over by
the village committee.
At the first major harvest after establishment of the plantation
Social Forestry Department will recover its cost (except the cost of seedling) from the
sale of fuelwood, timber or poles, and cash balance will be given to the Village
Plantation (Protection and Management) Committee.
Distribution of funds : The Village Plantation (Protection and
Management) Committee will utilize the funds either for replanting the area or for
financing the establishment of additional village woodlot or for financing public works in
the village/villages (i.e. construction of water supply, village roads, etc.).
Usufructs and Benefits
The villagers will be entitled to collect grass, fallen wood and
tree loppings from the plantation area as provided under the Kashmir Notice for Kashmir
Province and Jammu Notice for Jammu Province.
Social Forestry Department acting through its field staff will
encourage villagers to participate in establishing village woodlots by explaining the
benefits to be obtained from community plantation and assist Village Plantation
(Protection and Management) and Village (Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests) Committee in
demarcating areas of wastelands on which plantation is to be done.
Chapter IV
Repeal and Saving
All rules and orders corresponding to these rules, in
force immediately before the commencement of these rules are hereby repealed.
Provided that all rules and orders made, permits, licence and
passes granted, fees levied, imposed on assessed proceedings instituted and all actions
taken or thing done under any of the rules of orders in force before the commencement of
these rules shall be constructed to have been made,granted levied or done under the
corresponding provisions of these rules.
Form A
J&K Social Forestry Project
Proforma Agreement for Degraded forests
An agreement made this_________day
of_____________19____between_______Village (Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests) Committee
hereinafter referred to "The Committee" (which expression shall also include its
successors) and _____________the Divisional Forest Officer________________Division,
hereinafter referred to as "the Forest Officer" (which expesssions shall mean
and include his successors).
(i) Whereas the Forest Department has planned to rehabilitate an
area within a demarcated forest and more particularly described in the schedule hereto
(hereinafter referred to as the "degraded forest area") and
(ii) Whereas the said degraded forest area is contiguous to the
territory within the land revenue jurisdiction of mouza_______and
(iii) Whereas the inhabitants of the mouza are electors and
within jurisdiction of the panchayat and have approached the panchayat to request the
Forest Officer to permit them to protect any rehabilitation works within the degraded
forest area in return for a share of the forest produce at harvest and
(iv) Whereas the panchayat conveyed such request to the Forest
Officer to which the Forest Officer has conceded
Now this agreement witnesseth :
The Forest Officer will rehabilitate the degraded forest area in
accordance with plans sanctioned by the Forest Department.
The panchayat on behalf of the said mouza undertakes that the
inhabitants of the said mouza protect the said rehabilitation works and will prevent any
person from damaging the said works.
The Panchayat further undertakes on behalf of the said mouza
that the inhabitants of the said mouza will keep the forest officer duly informed of any
attempts to damage the said plantation and cooperate with forest officer to the extent
necessary to fulfil their obligations hereunder.
In consideration of the aforesaid acts, the inhabitants of the
said mouza and upon their due performance of the forest officer agrees and undertake that
the inhabitants of the said mouza will be entitled to receive forest produce (or cash in
thereof property in cash and property in forest produce) to the extent of 25 per cent of
the value of the forest produce accruing from the said degraded forest area at harvest,
deducting therefrom all direct cost. For the purpose of this agreement the term
"direct costs’ shall mean an included cost of establishment maintenance.
The panchayat agrees and undertakes the beneficiaries will
enclose the said plantation with bushwood fencing upon being requested by the forest
officer to do so and at such time (or times) as the Forest Officer may deem fit.
For all plantation work, The Forest Officer and the Committee
will as far as is practicable employ labour from among the beneficiaries giving preference
to landless agricultural labourers and persons belonging to the traditionally poorer
segments of the population.
During the operation of the segment the Forest Officer will
provide regular training to the villagers nominated by the panchayat in order to develop
skills and transfer techniques of cultural operations so that the panchayat and the
beneficiaries may assume management of the plantation as soon as possible and also develop
the ability to establish run and manage similar plantations in the future.
The Forest Officer will maintain in a plantation a journal which
will follow the format of the existing Forest Department Journal, record of the numbers of
plants by species survival, mandays of labour and other inputs and expenditures incurred
by the Forest Officer and the panchayat (by or on behalf of the beneficiaries) and will
make such information available upon request to the representative of the beneficiaries
duly authorised in writing by the panchayat.
Before the commencement of this agreement the parties hereto
have prepared a scheme more particularly set in Schedule 2 hereunder which sets out; inter
alia :
the minor forest product which the beneficiaries may collect
free of charge and the manner of its collection subject, however, to the right to the
Forest Officer to prohibit such collection (in part or entirely) after discussion with the
beneficiaries if the Forest Officer deems such prohibition necessary for improvement and
establishment of the plantaiton.
The method by which the forest produce accruing at each thinning
cutting or final felling subject to the recovery of costs by the Forest Officer set out in
clause 9 below, be distributed among or sold to the beneficiaries or sold to persons other
than the beneficiaries and in the event of such sale, the objects on which the net income
arising from such sale will be expended and
Where any sale takes place under sub clause (b) above the
percentage of the net income which will be reserved for the purpose of reforestation.
At the first rotation, the Forest Department shall be entitled
to recover all its direct costs without interest ina manner determined by mutual agreement
between the parties hereto and the beneficiaries and falling such agreement, at the
discretion of the Forest Officer, until such recovery all costs incurred shall be an
interest free charge on the plantation. For the purpose of this agreement the term
"direct costs" shall mean and incluse costs of establishment, maintenance
supervision and protection but not the cost of seedlings and bushwood fencing.
During the operation of this agreement the Forest Officer shall
be entitled to enter upon the said lands for inspection, supervision and other works
connected with or incidental to the creation, maintenance and harvesting of the said
plantation and for such scientific and technical studies as may be considered by the
Forest Officer appropriate and relevant.
This agreement shall remain in force for a period of 30 days
after distribution and/or receipt of net income from the sale of forest produce from final
felling unless earlier determined by mutual consent of the parties after consultation with
the beneficiaries.
In the event of any disagreement between the parties hereto
about the interpretation of the agreement, or of any of its terms, either party may refer
the matter to the Director, Social Forestry Project, Jammu and Kashmir whose decision
shall be final and binding on the parties.
