Resolution No. F17 (140)
For-Dev/90-91/470-30-529 of 20.12.1991
"Whereas the Government of Tripura is concerned about the
continued degradation of the forest area in the State because of excessive biotic pressure
especially grazing and removal of firewood and timber, jhuming etc. and whereas the Forest
Department has taken up a massive programme for regeneration of aforesaid degraded forests
with the objective of converting the areas into productive forests:
Whereas, active participation and involvement of local people is
vital for regeneration, maintenance and protection of aforesaid forests/plantations and
successful implementation of the programme.
Now, therefore, the Governor is pleased to decide that Forest
Protection and Regeneration Committees shall be constituted for this purpose and
beneficiaries acting as members of such committees shall be allowed, as a measure of
incentive, usufructs defined hereinafter in para 4 subject to observance of the conditions
provided in this Resolution. The selected site shall be worked in accordance with a
working scheme prepared in consultation with the beneficiaries and duly approved by the
concerned circle conservator of forests.
The area under the protection of such Committees may usually be
limited to 5 ha. Per beneficiary for natural regeneration and 2 ha. For intensive
planting. A unit may be usually 500 ha. For natural regeneration and 300 ha for artificial
regeneration so as to ensure effective protection and management. The cost of regeneration
and maintenance of the degraded forests and allied development works as per the approved
scheme shall be borne by the Government.
The composition, duties and functions, and the usufructary
benefits and restrictive measures pertaining to such Forest Protection and Regeneration
Committees shall be as follows :
Composition
The Division Forest Officers shall select the beneficiaries
for constitution of the Forest Protection and Regeneration Committee(s) within their
respective jurisdictions and within the framework of the Resolution.
The beneficiaries shall be selected from rural poor people of
homogenous group living in the vicinity of the forests concerned. Each family will be
considered as one unit of beneficiary and only those families who have at least one wage
earner in the family will be eligible for becoming members of such committees.
Each Forest Protection and Regeneration Committee shall have an
Executive Committee to carry out the various activities assigned to the Forest Protection
and Regeneration Committee.
The composition of the Executive Committee shall be as follows :
Elected representative of beneficiaries (not exceeding
5)......members.
Concerned Beat Officer........Member-Secretary. The members of
the Executive Committees shall elect the chairperson at each meeting.
Constitution of the Forest Protection and Regeneration Committee
including Executive Committee will be approved by the Divisional Forest Officer concerned
on the recommendation of the concerned Range Officer after the members jointly sign an
undertaking in the prescribed form with the pledge to perform the duties and functions as
detailed in this Resolution to entitle themselves for usufructary benefits as per the
Resolution.
The concerned Divisional Forest Officer will monitor , supervise
and review the functions of the Forest Protection and Regeneration Committee.
If any inclusion of change in the Committee/Executive Committee
is necessitated, after initial constitution, the Executive Committee shall make suitable
recommendation to the Divisional Forest Officer concerned duly endorsed by the concerned
Range Officer for approval.
The Beat Officer, as Member-Secretary shall convene the meetings
of the Executive Committee as well as Forest Protection and Regeneration Committee, as per
scheduled procedure.
The representatives of the beneficiaries for the Executive
Committee shall be elected each year in the annual general meeting of the Committee, where
the concerned Range Officer shall be the observer.
Duties
2.(i) The Forest Protection and Regeneration Committee shall
maintain a register showing necessary particulars of beneficiaries as well as members of
the committee, e.g. name, father’s name, address, age, number of family members, name
of nominee, etc. The nomination forms duly filled in and approved by the concerned
Divisional Forest Officer should be pasted in the register. Such registers are also to be
maintained in the concerned Range Offices of the Forest Department for permanent record.
The Forest Protection and Regeneration Committee shall maintain
a ‘minutes book’ wherein proceedings of the meetings of the Executive Committee
held from time to time as well as the proceedings of the annual general meeting of the
Forest Protection and Regeneration Committee will be recorded under the signature of the
chairperson of the concerned Range Officer for record.
The Forest Protection and Regeneration Committee (to be referred
to as Committee hereinafter) shall hold an annual general meeting once every year where
activities of the Committee as well as details of distribution of usufructary benefits are
to be discussed, besides electing representatives of the beneficiaries to the Executive
Committee.
The quorum of the meetings of the above committees shall be
treated as complete if 50 per cent of the members are present in the meeting.
Functions
3(a) (i) To ensure protection of forest(s)/plantations(s)
through members of the Committee.
To protect the said forest(s)/plantation(s) with the members of
the Committee.
To inform forest personnel of any person or persons attempting
trespass and wilfully or maliciously damaging the said forest(s)/plantations(s) or commit
theft thereon.
To prevent such trespass, encroachment, grazing, fire, theft or
damage or use of such lands for agricultural purposes.
To apprehend or assist the forest personnel in apprehension of
such person or persons committing any of the offences mentioned above.
(b) (i) To ensure smooth and timely execution of all forestry
works taken up in the area under protection by the Committee.
To involve every member of the committee in the matter of
protection of forest(s) / plantations(s) as well as other duties assigned to the
Committee.
To assist the concerned forest officials in the matter of
selecting/engaging of labourers required for forestry works, mainly from the beneficiaries
and their families.
(c) (i) To ensure smooth harvesting of the forest produce by the
Forest Department.
To assist the concerned forest officials in proper distribution
of the earmarked portion of the net sale proceeds among the members of the committee.
To ensure that usufructary rights allowed by the Government are
not in any way misused by any of the members and forest/plantation sites are kept free
from any encroachment whatsoever.
(d) (i) To prevent any activities in contravention of the
provisions of Indian Forest Act of 1927 and any other relevant Acts and Rules made
thereunder.
(ii) To report about the activities of a beneficiary or
beneficiaries which are found prejudicial and detrimental to the interest of particular
plantation(s) and/or forests to the concerned beat officer/Range officer, which may result
in cancellation of membership of the erring beneficiary or beneficiaries.
To ensure protection of wildlife in such areas.
To ensure protection of all forest (s) plantations(s) other than
the area taken up for participatory management within the jurisdiction of the respective
village/villages from which members for the aforesaid Forest Protection and Regeneration
Committee have been drawn, by prevention of the trespass, encroachment, grazing, fire,
theft or damage, and by generally assisting the forest personnel in their legal functions
in prevention of such forest offences and prosecution of offenders.
To ensure that none of the beneficiaries included under the
participatory management programme shall practise jhuming.
Usufructuary Benefits
4. (i) In case of natural regeneration taken up under the
scheme the beneficiaries will have to protect the forest for at least 5 years
to be eligible for sharing of usufructs under this programme. No
such time bar will be applicable for sharing of usufructs in case of artificial
regeneration areas which will be worked according to their silvicultural requirements and
as per the approved scheme.
The beneficiaries will be permitted to collect minor forest
produces, dead and fallen leaves and wood and fodder free of cost without causing any
damage to the forest(s) / plantations.
Out of the harvest from silvicultural thinnings and main
fellings, the beneficiaries will be entitled to the produce for their bona fied domestic
needs as may be approved by the Divisional Forest Officer concerned on a formal proposal
from the Executive Committee duly recommended by the concerned Range Officer.
The surplus out of the harvest from silvicultural thinnings and
main fellings after meeting the bona fide domestic needs of the beneficiaries shall be
sold by the Forest Department. The beneficiaries will be entitled to 50 percent of the net
receipts from silvicultural thinnings and from main fellings. The net receipts will mean,
the sale value of the produce less the direct cost of harvest. The concerned Divisional
Forest Officer shall set apart proportionate amount from the sale proceeds as above and
shall distribute the same to the eligible beneficiaries in consultation with the Executive
Committee upon satisfactory performance of the duties and functions detailed herein
before.
Termination of Membership, Dissolution of Committee, Appeal
etc.
5. (i) Failure to comply with any of the conditions laid
down hereinbefore as well as contravention of provisions of the Indian
Forest Act of 1927, other relevant Acts and/or Rules made
thereunder, may entail cancellation of individual membership and/or dissolution of the
Executive/Forest Protection and Regeneration Committee, as the case may be without paying
compensation to any one for work that might have been done prior to such cancellation by
the officers of the Forest Department as stated below.
The concerned Divisional Forest Officer, shall be entitled to
take appropriate action, even dissolution of any Executive/Forest Protection and
Regeneration Committee, on the grounds stated above on the recommendation of the concerned
Range Officer.
The concerned Range Officer may be authorised by the Divisional
Forest Officer to take proper action, even termination of an individual membership on the
above mentioned grounds, on the recommendation of the Executive Committee of Forest
Protection Committee.
Appeal against any such penal action by the Range Officer may be
preferred to the concerned Divisional Forest Officer.
Appeal against any such penal action by the Divisional Forest
Officer may be preferred to the concerned Circle Conservator of Forests, whose decision
shall be final.
The format of the undertaking to be provided by the FPC formed
by the community is given below :
Memorandum of Understanding
We, the members of the ......................Forest
Protection and Regeneration Committee do hereby undertake to perform the duties and
functions as detailed in the Resolution No...........dated.......of the Forest Dept.,
Govt. of Tripura, for proper protection of the forest(s) plantations assigned to this
committee as per the schedule given hereunder :
Schedule
1. Name of the Forest Protection and Regeneration Committee
-
2. District -
Sub-division -
Police Station -
Mouja -
C.S.Plot No.(s) -
Status of the land -
Area (ha) -
Boundary -
North East
South West
We understand that the usufructuary benefits as detailed in the
attached Resolution dated.......shall be allowed only upon satisfactory observance of the
duties and functions by this committee and the individual beneficiaries as per the
aforesaid resolution.
A copy of the aforesaid resolution is annexed herewith duly
signed by us on every page in proof/evidence of our having read/understood to same in
letter and spirit.
Signature of the members of the committee Signature of Witness
Name and Signature Name and Signature
Address Address
1.________________________ 1.________________________
2.________________________ 2.________________________
3.________________________ 3.________________________
4.________________________ 4.________________________
5.________________________ 5.________________________
6.________________________ 6.________________________
Signature of local forest officers
Name and Designation Signature
1.________________________ 1.________________________
2.________________________ 2.________________________
3.________________________ 3.________________________
4.________________________ 4.________________________
5.________________________ 5.________________________
6.________________________ 6.________________________
