Aman Singh
Oran or Devbani are the common preserved sections of forests protected in the name of some god or goddess by the villages and managed by communities. In Rajasthan, there are more than 1100 major Orans, covering about 100,000 hectares land. They are often the only surviving areas of mature woodland in otherwise denuded surroundings. These forests varying from one to four hundred hectares, provided vital grazing land for livestock, water, minor forest produce, medicinal plants and in general, green cover for the villages they served.
The decline of the Orans began once the forests went out of community control. This is attributed to the weakening influence of religion; the spread of modern civilization and legislation. Over a million people dependent on livestock are struggling hard for survival because of shrinking Orans.
Policies and laws introduced by the government play a significant role in this regard, in particular those governing developmental activities. According to the Alwar Extraordinary Gazette Notification 1934, existing ‘banis/ orans’ and ‘roondhs’ were declared as protected forest area. The state since 1950 has followed a progressive policy vis-à-vis cultivable lands as groves. Gaucher or pastureland are included in the same category of ‘cultivable waste land’. The Oran land was thus divided into ‘revenue’ and ‘forest’ land without the consent of the local users. The government went ahead and distributed this land to the landless and also embarked on forest conservation in the name of biodiversity. Many of these areas were designated as reserve forests or protected forests, ensuring their regulation under Forest Conservation Acts and Wildlife Conservation Acts. In both these cases, the people who had depended on these lands for generations were now denied access to them. There is confusion over the legal status of these lands as there is no mention of Orans in the present revenue records and legislations. Moreover, since 1950, the state has been including these lands as ‘cultivable wastelands’ leading to a complex ownership pattern.
KRAPAVIS’s Initiatives
Krishi Avam Paristhitki Vikas Sansthan (KRAPAVIS), an NGO in Rajasthan has been actively involved in reviving Orans.(For more details, see LEISA India, Vol 5, No. 3, Sep. 2003, p. 19-21).
KRAPAVIS currently works in 70 villages and hamlets covering a population of 39,000 people. There are 200 groups of Van Samitis, women’s groups and SHGs formed to ensure smooth public management of the Orans. Van Samities are formed among the villagers. They have the responsibility to oversee that the Oran is being used and maintained in accordance with the rules (e.g. dry grass can be collected for livestock; a fallen log can be taken for a funeral pyre; trees cannot be felled; the water body can be used by livestock; herbs can be used only for medicinal purposes, etc.). The villagers assess the extent of damage and repair work required. The community contributes 1/3 of the revival cost either through cash or kind. This epitomises the sense of ownership. No distinction is made between the rich and the poor. Even those with the most limited resources, participate in the re-creation of the Oran by contributing their labour.
Approximately about 300 women who are part of SHGs and are working in different villages, along with the youth teams, educate people about the Orans. The village elders come forward and share the positive results of Orans. By the help of the ‘memory bank’ of the village elders, the organization hopes to translate the age-old Oran unwritten constitution into a written form, thus producing a written record.
Action taken
KRAPAVIS realized that reviving the groves – physically and conceptually – would significantly expand the resources of village communities. At one level, they started working with communities to re-engage them as conservers and developers of common reserves governed by traditional, inclusive laws. On the other hand, they worked towards policy changes and the necessary legislations to constitutionally uphold the community’s right to own and manage these lands. Various strategies to influence the thinking of policy makers included,
- Developing a database on Orans in Rajasthan based on research studies, surveys and literature reviews.
- Publishing a quarterly newsletter and other publications and inviting government officials to training programmes and workshops for sensitising them.
- Conducting sensitization programmes for Panchayats; trying to convince the government to bring Orans under Panchayat control.
- Developing a model to showcase the procedure of reviving Orans through conservation measures on these lands, reviving water harvesting structures, checking soil erosion, plantation, sowing grass seeds and plant samplings, and by integrating traditional with scientific knowledge.
- Campaigning/advocating to recognize Orans as vital for pastoralist communities’ survival
- Networking with other institutes in and around Rajasthan, working on pastoralists, flaura, fauna, ethno-botanical and ethno-veterinary aspects.
- Exploring the possibility of using legal action to classify Orans, by advocating that if there was a mention of Orans in government documents before 1952 land settlement, it could be there today too? KRAPAVIS is trying to figure out a way of creatively using the provisions in the National Biodiversity Bill 1992.
With these efforts, KRAPAVIS has achieved certain results. For instance, in the year 2003- 2004, Government of India launched the MGY scheme for the revival of Orans and grazing lands in 10 districts of western Rajasthan. The Government departments are inviting KRAPAVIS to share its experiences with other government officials. The efforts of KRAPAVIS have been recognised by UNDP as well.
There are certain dilemmas too. There is still no mention of Orans in laws/ legislations related to land i.e. legal status of Orans is not yet defined. KRAPAVIS is still not clear as to how to proceed on the legal aspects. With no clear-cut demarcation of Oran land, the Government continues to allot Oran land for other purposes as well. Yet, KRAPAVIS continues its efforts in enabling communities to manage Orans and scaling up this effort in other areas as well.
Acknowledgements
Inputs from Ruchika Bahl, Director, Law For All Initiative, Mumbai is acknowledged.
Written by Aman Singh, Chief Coordinator, KRAPAVIS, 5/218, Kala Kua, Aravali Vihar, Alwar – 301001, Rajasthan, India. email: krapavis_oran@rediffmail.com
