Click to play videoNilgiri Hills: Inspite of living in the Nilgiris for three generations, Hari's family was regularly served eviction notices by the Forest Department for encroaching on forest land.
"They burnt all my crops and served me an eviction notice. They say this is forest land but I have been living here for so many years where else do I go?" says a distraught Hari.
But the Recognition of Forest Dwellers Rights Act, has made Hari the legal owner of his land. Many other, however, have been left out as the new Law allows the rights of residence in the forest only to those who have lived there for three generations.
"We came from Sri Lanka. The forest department keeps trying to remove us by saying we have occupied forest land," says Vimla, a forest dweller.
Another omission in the new Law is the local community's consent before diverting tribal forestland for other use. This would have empowered local communities against commercial abuse of forestland.
Wildlife conservationists and tribal rights activists, who have been at loggerheads for long, have now found common cause as the new law allows backdoor entry to commercial exploitation, which could wreck India's forests and tribal livelihood.
Even before the Act came into force, CNN-IBN's special investigation team found commercial encroachments in the Nilgiris.
An example of such encroachments was a motorable dirt track and an electric fence that keeps off elephants. That's not all—tea and coffee estates also operate illegally, defying a 1999 Supreme Court order.
Conservationists and tribal activists say the new law has blurred the role of the forest department, which is already in shambles.
The average age of a forest guard is 50 and surprisingly, no recruitment has taken place in the last 10 years. What's more is that half of the staff is not trained to investigate poaching or illegal felling
Conservationists say a complete overhaul is needed. "The forest department has no powers they are protecting with a stick. Even when they do have arms they cannot fire," says Dr Rakesh Singh, a conservationist.
As the battle intensifies, a law that was supposed to bring relief to thousands of tribals has only brought in more confusion. As for the forests, no one is sure whose going to protect them.
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