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Maharashtra — an introductionwith special focus on the Vidarbha regionEditor’s note: This chapter is a combination of an introductory section on Maharashtra state in general and then a more detailed section on conservation scenario, state, history and current status of CCAs in Vidarbha region in particular. Details on status of CCAs in the entire state of Maharashtra could not be compiled.

Location and biogeographyMaharashtra has a total geographical

area of 3,07,713 sq km. The state extends from 15°35’ to 22°02’ N latitude and from 76°36’ to 80°54’ E longitude. Maharashtra is bounded by Gujarat to the north, Madhya Pradesh to the north-east, Chhattisgarh to the east, Karnataka and Goa to the south and Andhra Pradesh to the south-east. The mean maximum and minimum temperatures in the state range between 46.2° C and 26° C respectively. The state has a 720 km coastline bordering the Arabian Sea to the west.

Geologically, the state predominantly comprises Deccan Lavas (Deccan Trap). It also has Gondwana rocks in the Satpuras and laterite, alluvium and granite gneiss in the eastern and south-western parts. Some of the main rivers in the state are Bhima, Godavari, Krishna, Ghod, Koyna, Nira, Mula-Mutha, Wardha, Wainganga, Manjra, Pravara, Dudhna, Purna, Painganga, Indravati, Tapti and Narmada.

The total forest cover of the state as per the Forest Survey of India (2003) is 46,865 sq km, covering about 15.23 per cent of the total geographical area. Of the total forest area about 18,478 sq km is open canopy forest. In Maharashtra, three biogeographic zones have been identified, which cover six distinct provinces:

Table 1: Biogeographic zones in Maharashtra1

Biogeographic zone (sq km)

Biogeographic provinces

Area of province in sq km (% of state area)

Total number of national parks/wildlife sanctuaries

Size of NP/WS in sq km (% of province area)

5 Western Ghats (37,554)

5A Malabar Plains5B Western Ghats

23,626 (7.7)

13,928 (4.5)

4

4

156.75 (0.7)

1,214.46 (8.7)

6 Deccan Plateau (2,66,693)

6A Central Highlands6D Central Plateau6E Southern Plateau

12,679 (4.1)

2,46,148 (80)

7,866 (2.6)

7

23

1

1,760.95 (13.9)

11,804.40 (4.8)

10.88 (0.1)

8 Coasts 8A West Coast 3,467 (1.1) 1 29.12 (0.8)

Socio-economic profile2

The state is divided into five socio-economic regions: Vidarbha, Marathwada, Western Maharashtra, Konkan and Khandesh.

As per the 2001 census, the total population of the state is 96,878,627. There are 47 scheduled tribes in Maharashtra; these include the Gonds, Bhils, Mahadeo Kolis, Warlis, Koknas, Thakurs,

Western Ghats in the Bhimashankar region Photo: Ashish Kothari

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Halbas, Andhs, Koli Malhars, Katkaris, Kolams, Korkus and Gamits. The Scheduled Tribes constitute about 9 per cent of the total population, while the Scheduled Castes constitute about 10.2 per cent of the total population.

5809 villages and 16 towns in 12 districts, covering an area of 46,531 sq km (about 15.1 per cent of the area of the state), have been declared Schedule V areas in the state to facilitate special schemes for the predominantly tribal population here. The Schedule V districts are Thane, Pune, Nashik, Dhule, Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Ahmednagar, Nanded, Amravati, Yeotmal, Gadchiroli and Chandrapur. The Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP), which provides for a number of special schemes for the development of tribal communities, is operational in the entire Schedule V area. To provide special help and facilities to the tribal communities, the state has instituted four posts of Additional Tribal Commissioners at Thane, Nashik, Amravati and Nagpur.

As per the provisions of Schedule V of the Constitution, a Tribes Advisory Council has been formed in the state with the Chief Minister as the ex-officio president and the Minister, Tribal Development as the ex-officio vice-president. Fifteen tribal MLAs are members of the Council and two members are nominated by the Governor. The main function of the Council is to advise the Governor on important matters pertaining to the welfare and advancement of scheduled tribes.

A majority of the tribal population depends on subsistence rainfed agriculture and nearby forest resources. Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) is one of the major sources of income for most tribal communities.

Conservation There are five national parks covering an area of 955.93 sq km and 35 wildlife sanctuaries

covering an area of 14,376.66 sq km. Thus the total area under protected areas (PAs) is 15,332.59 sq km, which is about 5 per cent of the total geographical area. When portions of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) sanctuary land are denotified as proposed, this figure will come down to 2.15 per cent. Melghat, Tadoba-Andheri and Pench are the three Tiger Reserves in the state.

The Joint Forest Management (JFM) programme was introduced in the state in 1992. In 1994, about 947.27 sq km of forest land was being managed in this manner with the help of 502 Forest Protection Committees (FPCs). Degraded forest lands and plantation blocks were taken up for JFM. There are 15,694 villages in the state which contain lands categorized as ‘forest lands’ within their boundaries (as per the 2001 census). This amounts to a total of 31,653.87 sq km. Status of actual tree cover on these ‘village forest lands’ or ‘revenue forest lands’, as they are referred to in the census, is not known.

Sacred groves are a valuable traditional concept of biodiversity conservation. About 2,808 sacred groves in 500 villages have been recorded in Maharashtra so far, covering an area of about 51 sq km. Many sacred groves were established to preserve, share and save water resources of the area they were established in. Linking them with prevailing religious beliefs gave them the required sanctity and helped to regulate local uses of their resources.

20 Important Bird Areas (IBA) have so far been identified in Maharashtra by the Indian Bird Conservation Network.3 Though presently there is no Ramsar site declared, 6 Ramsar sites are proposed in the state.4

Anti-dam protest, Hemalkasa, Gadchiroli district Photo: Ashish Kothari

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Vidarbha region Mahadev Girlurkar5

1. BackgroundVidarbha or Varhad is the easternmost region of Maharashtra, comprising the basins

of the Wardha, Vainganga and Purna Rivers. The region is a thickly forested, hilly expanse, interspersed with artificial tanks, and it has significant mineral

wealth. It borders on Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. People of different castes from northern India and from Andhra Pradesh have migrated to this region. A portion of it, known as Jhadimandal (area of trees) was under the control of a Gond kingdom (hence it is also called

Gondwana), and this has a large proportion of adivasis.

In the mountainous region in eastern Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts live tribal communities like the bhils, the gonds, the rajgonds, the korkus,

the kolams, the banjaras, the pardhaans, the raathyas, the halbaas and the andhraas. Their livelihoods are based on hunting and gathering plants, honey and fruits from the forests. They visit rural areas to sell

forest produce so gathered. They have distinct cultures and their languages include gondi, kolami, chhattisgadi and marathi.

The bhils, the gamits, the mahadev kolis, the gavlis, the thaakars, the korkus, the dhaankas, the paardhis, the naaikdas, the pardhaans, the raathyas, and other tribes make their home in the hills of the Satpuda mountain range (Amravati district) of Vidarbha. They speak languages like bhilli, korku and lamani.

The total land area of Vidarbha is 97,404 sq km, of which 63,874 sq km is under forests.6 The average annual precipitation is 1016–1270 mm.7

2. Wildlife wealth of VidarbhaSome of the animals to be seen in the forests of Vidarbha are tiger, gaur, leopard, wild dog,

nilgai, sloth bear, sambar, chital, wild boar, chousinga, Hanuman langur, fox, jackal, porcupine, wild cat, black-naped hare, mongoose, blackbuck, striped hyena, and others. Monitor lizards and a wide variety of reptiles are also found in the region. In 1994, a slender loris was observed at the Sulezari water hole in Nawegaon National Park. This animal is usually seen in the forests of southern India. Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts of Vidarbha are part of Gondwana, a region populated by the Gond, Gowari and other tribes. Bhandara district is known as the district of tanks. Nawegaon National Park in Gondia district is renowned for its variety of birds, being the wintering grounds of a number of migratory species.

3. Loss of forest wealth of Vidarbha3.1 Paper industry and the supply of bamboo

The Thapar group started a paper mill at Ballarpur in Chandrapur district. Since 1950, this mill has been provided with an abundance of bamboo at an extremely low price. According to the local villagers the extraction techniques have been quite destructive, resulting in the degradation of bamboo forests in the region (also see case study on Mendha-Lekha).

3.2 The bidi industry and the supply of tendu leaves

Tendu leaves are harvested for supply to the bidi industry from most districts of Vidarbha, including Bhandara, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli. Trees of other species are destroyed while collecting tendu leaves. The collectors often set fire to patches of forests in order to induce new tender leaves, considered more suitable for rolling bidis.

3.3 Encroachment on forest land: Jabran jote andolan

The Government of Maharashtra passed legislation to regularise encroachments on revenue and forest lands that were made between 1 April 1972 and 31 March 1978. Thousands of cases of encroachments in Vidarbha were thus regularised. In Vidarbha, the jabran jote andolan (a campaign to bring under cultivation forest area for the benefit of the disprivileged) had converted much forest land to agricultural use.

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3.4 Mat weaving and the burad community

Members of the Burad community residing around Navegaon National Park and Nagzira Sanctuary weave mats from bamboo. The government has a policy of supplying bamboo to them at a concessional rate. But the businessmen exploited the Burad community, tricking them into passing on the concession to them, and mass-producing mats. Thus a scheme introduced for raising the standard of living of the Burad community was hijacked by the business community, which became rich at the cost of the Burads.

3.5 Hunting

Tiger, sambar, and other wild animals are still hunted illegally both for meat as well as sale.

3.6 Encroachment of Kathiawadis on the forest

Cattle and sheep of Kathiawadis (a migratory herder community from Kathiawad in Gujarat) are seen in large flocks in Vidarbha. These communities have traditionally been passing through these forests. Now with reducing forest cover and increasing number of cattle there are constant conflicts with the local communities. Many Kathiawadis have, in fact, begun to purchase land and to settle down here.

3.7 Coal mines

Bearing huge deposits of coal, the forests in Vidarbha are being degraded because of coal mines.

4. Forest control and administrationAs in some other parts of the country, the British introduced the malgujari system in order that

they might retain control over agricultural and forest land and maximise use of produce from revenue forests. This system is also called the saranjamdari or ryotwari system elsewhere. The malgujars were expected to collect tax on the use of any forest produce by locals and to pass it on to the government. Later, ‘the malgujari forests of Vidarbha were transferred to the FD and nistar

rights (customary rights) were given to villages for the satisfaction of their daily requirements. For this purpose, the revenue department appointed nistar officers, who set up a system for each settlement. The forest land used for satisfaction of nistar rights was not planned for, scientifically and hence over a period of time, it was degraded so that only sparse scrub (called Bhu-khanda-van or class ‘E’ forest) remained. And the area remained under the control of the revenue department except settlements in and around forests; the rural areas in Vidarbha have hence become barren.’8

Old forests stretching over large areas are still seen in some parts of Vidarbha. Some of these still surviving forested patches include, the parts of

Akola district adjoining Yavatmal district, the hilly parts of Gavilgad, the hills of southern Satpuda in Amravati district, the hilly part of Nagpur which adjoins Madhya Pradesh and the hills and low-lying areas of Gadchiroli and Chandrapur districts. These surviving stretches of forests are invariably inhabited by adivasis. Their minimal needs and forest-friendly lifestyles are the reasons why these forests remain. Some forests included in the national parks and sanctuaries of Vidarbha are a part of such forests.

4.1 National parks and sanctuaries

Four of the five national parks in Maharashtra—Gugamal NP, Nawegaon NP, Pench NP and Tadoba NP—are in Vidarbha. The area they cover adds up to 868.97 sq. km. In addition to these, seven out of the 25 sanctuaries in Maharashtra—Melghat (Project Tiger), Andhari, Bor, Chaprala, Katepurna, Nagzira and Painganga—are also in Vidarbha and their combined area is 2587.19 sq. km. Besides, six of the eight sanctuaries declared by the Government of Maharashtra in August 1997—Amba-Barwa (Buldhana), Tipeshwar (Yavatmaal), Dnyanganga (Buldhana), Bhamragad (Gadchiroli), Narnala (Akola) and Vaan (Amravati)—are in Vidarbha and they cover a total of 708.70 sq km.9

Satpura landscape Photo: Kishore Rithe

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4.2 Management of forests through rural participation

Under the National Forest Policy, the Government of Maharashtra implemented the Joint Forest Management (JFM) scheme in 1992 with the objective of regenerating degraded forests with help from the local people. In return the protecting communities were to receive 50 per cent of the benefit from any harvests from these forests.

Even before the implementation of JFM and unknown to policy makers and others, however, people in certain rural settlements were protecting their nistar rights and the forests in which they enjoyed these rights. These villages included Adyal Tekdi, Lakhapur, Dhorpa, Saigata and Metepaar in Brahmapuri taluka, Belgata and some surrounding villages in Mul taluka of Chandrapur district, as well as Mendha (Lekha) and other villages in Gadchiroli (See Case Studies).

In most of the above cases, the main decision-making body for the management and protection of these forests was the village gram sabha (the general assembly of the village or the hamlet) and its members managed the forests as per the principles of self-reliance, self-rule and villages’ sovereignty. The examples of these villages lead to the spread of the message about the responsibility for forest protection among rural society, its organisations, individuals and administration. As a result, many villages in Chandrapur, Gadchiroli and Buldhana districts took the lead in protecting their forests, thus setting an example for the rest of the state.

The state introduction has been compiled by Anuradha Arjunwadkar, member of Kalpavriksh, primarily based on information from: P. Pande with N. Pathak, National Parks and Sanctuaries in Maharashtra – Reference Guide (Mumbai, Bombay Natural History Society, 2005).

The detailed information on Vidarbha region has been provided by Mahadeo Girlurkar, ‘Khoj’, c/o Shri P.M. Khandelwal, Near Govind Lodge, Gujari Bazar, Paratwada – 444805, in March 2001. We are extremely grateful to Ajay Dolke, Yavatmal District, Maharashtra for additional inputs.

Endnotes1 Source: W.A. Rodgers and H.S. Panwar, Planning Wildlife Protected Areas Network in India, Report prepared for the Department of Environment, Forests and Wildlife, Government of India (Dehradun, Wildlife Institute of India, 1988).

2 Official website of Maharashtra Tribal Department at http://cgwb.gov.in/CR/achi-gw-resou.html.

3 Source: M.Z. Islam and A.R. Rahmani. Important Bird Areas of India: Priorities of Conservation (Mumbai, IBCN: BNHS and Bird Life International, UK, 2004).

4 M.Z. Islam and A.R. Rahmani. Potential Ramsar Sites in India. (Mumbai, IBCN:BNHS and Birdlife International, UK, 2006).

5 Translated by Anuradha Arjunwadkar

6 Source: Forest Department, Maharashtra Rashtriya Udyane va Abhayaranyancha Sadyasthitidarshak Ahwaal (National Parks and Sanctuaries, Report on the Current Status) (Maharashtra Forest Department, March 1995-96).

7 Government of Maharashtra, Cultural Activities Department, Maharashtra: Bhumi va Lok (Land and People), Gazetteer (Government of Maharashra, 1996).

8 W. Padmakar, ‘Graminanchya Sahabhagatun Vanavyavasthapan Chikitsakman Drishtikshep’ (Forest Management through Rural Participation: A Perspective), Deshonnati, 8 November 1997.

9 P. Pande with N. Pathak, National Parks and Sanctuaries in Maharashtra – Reference Guide (Mumbai, Bombay Natural History Society, 2005).

Discussion with gram sabha, Mendha Lekha, Gadchiroli district Photo: Neema Pathak