Tribals body seeks ?6,000 crore compensation for displaced families before Saranda sanctuary creation

Ranchi: Vijay Shankar Nayak, Central Vice President of Adivasi Moolvasi Janadhikar Manch and former Legislative Assembly candidate, on Saturday urged the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand Government to compensate displaced and affected families from nine existing wildlife sanctuaries before proceeding with the proposed Saranda Wildlife Sanctuary. Nayak said that the total compensation owed to these families amounts to ?6,000 crore.

He warned that if the compensation is not provided, legal action would be initiated in the Jharkhand High Court against the State Government and the Forest Department for violating Section 18A(1) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Nayak alleged that the government never followed due process under Sections 19 to 25, nor issued any final notification under Section 26 for the nine sanctuaries already declared in Jharkhand. “The government has neglected its statutory duty under Section 18A(1) toward displaced and affected families,” he said.

Referring to the 2003 amendment introduced under former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which inserted Section 18(2) to ensure that affected communities retain access to fodder, fuel, and other forest resources until a final notification is issued, Nayak said the state has ignored these legal safeguards.

He added, “Approximately 3 million people — about 600,000 families — depend directly on forest resources within these sanctuary zones. Even at a modest rate of ?20,000 per family per year over fifty years, the total compensation due comes to ?6,000 crore. This amount is both legally and morally owed to them.”