BHUBANESWAR: Even as the State Government has settled a record number of forest lands in favour of tribals and other traditional forest dwellers, the livelihood status of a large number of beneficiaries remains unchanged due to lack of administrative support. Though the beneficiaries belong to the marginal section of society and badly require handholding support from the Government for taking up agricultural and allied activities on the land settled in their favour, they are not getting desired support from the district administrations.
While each of the beneficiaries is entitled to a financial assistance for housing under Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) or the Statesponsored 'Mo Kudia' programme, the Government has the provision to extend maximum support ` 50,000 under MGNREGS for creation of farm ponds, development of land, soil conservation, plantation, horticultural activities and other livelihood programmes, said a senior officer. A recent review revealed that 13,293 beneficiaries were provided financial assistance under IAY, 929 under Mo Kudia and 2,953 under 'Mo Pokhari' schemes. While 18,359 beneficiaries were provided assistance for land development under MGNREGS, 3,577 were covered under the National Horticulture Mission. That apart, 4,183 families were covered under other livelihood programmes, he said. According to the latest report, the Government has settled forest land in favour of 2.85 lakh applicants under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, which is alltime high compared to the number of settlements in other states. The Government has so far received 4,49,546 claims from tribals and other traditional forestdwellers for settlement of forest land in their favour.
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