Srinagar: Apni Party Chief Spokesperson Javid Hassan Baig on Friday asked the district administration Baramulla and the Forest Department authorities, in particular, to do away with its anti-tribal policies.
Taking a strong exception to the forest department diktats, Baig said that Gujjar nomadic tribes of Baramulla have been asked not to go for vegetation in the upper reaches of the district.
“Such high-handedness of the forest officials is only aimed to deprive these forest tribals of their ancestral rights. Their seasonal migration and distinct lifestyle is not something needed to be preserved rather than to be intimidated or manhandled,” he remarked.
Baig asserted that the constitution of India gives a special status to these forest-dwelling tribes who from ages have got adapted to such a routine.
“The Forest Department officials in contrast to their imperiousness towards these tribals are supposed to safeguard the rights of Gujjar Community under Forest Dwellers law that ensures protection for constitutional rights of these groups,” he observed.
He said that in this time of Pandemic the administration must be concerned about the health of these nomadic groups as they immensely lack basic medical facilities. “The administration must address the woes of such tribal people and ensure that essential commodities are provided to them in these turbulent times. Furthermore, the Forest Department should also desist from daunting these poor people and work for their empowerment in accordance with the provisions available in the constitution and as directed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court.”
