Tribals in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve hold gram sabhas, demand forest rights

Mysuru: The district administrations of Mysuru and Kodagu, along with the forest department, are preparing for an unprecedented grassroots mobilisation as tribal communities inside the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve are holding the first-ever organised gram sabhas in their haadis. These meetings are expected to culminate in unanimous resolutions demanding recognition of land, community, and forest produce rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, on Jan 2, 2026, in HD Kote taluk.The movement was initiated by the Nagarahole Adivasi Jamma Paale Hakku Stapana Samiti (NAJHSS), bringing together particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) such as the Jenu Kuruba, Erava (Yerava/Ravula), and Paniya (Paniyan) communities. The campaign formally entered Mysuru district at Periyapatna on Tuesday, after being launched earlier in Kodagu.Adivasis to assemble in HD Kote taluk on Jan 2As part of the next phase, adivasi families will assemble at Kere Haadi in HD Kote taluk on Jan 2, a site that holds symbolic importance as chief minister Siddaramaiah interacted with the tribals in Nov 2024. Tribal leaders said they would gather near Udbur Gate and wait for govt officials to hold talks.According to JK Thimma of NAJHSS, the organisation plans to conduct gram sabhas in all 42 haadis within the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve. "Through these gram sabhas, we are pressing the govt to honour the provisions of the Forest Rights Act, 2006," he said.Expressing frustration over prolonged delays, Thimma pointed out that claims submitted as early as 2009, are still pending. "Our applications have not been honoured for over a decade. We are left with no other option," he explained.The drive began on Dec 21 at Titimati village in Kodagu district. Members of the tribal village committees, along with haadi residents, are holding meetings in every settlement and formally passing resolutions.A key demand emerging from each gram sabha is the removal of camera traps, with tribals asserting that their installation inside haadis amounts to a violation of privacy and dignity of tribal families.Land grab in name of tiger conservation: TribalsIn every tribal grama sabha, the communities have unanimously resolved to declare Dec 20 as the ‘Day of Land Grab in the Name of Tiger Conservation.' The decision stems from the fact that on this day in 2007, the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve was declared so, without the consent of the local adivasi communities. To reiterate what they describe this as an illegal takeover of their traditional land and customary rights in the name of conservation, the villages of Nagarahole have resolved to observe Dec 20 every year, as a day of protest and remembrance.

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