PTR resettlers to get raiyati rights as Jharkhand cabinet approves land conversion
THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK Daltonganj, August 26: A long-awaited change in land status is set to give a sense of security and…
THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, August 26: A long-awaited change in land status is set to give a sense of security and ownership to families voluntarily relocated from the core area of the Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR).
The Jharkhand Cabinet has approved the conversion of forest land into revenue land at Polpol, paving the way for raiyati rights for villagers from Jaigir and Kujrum who were relocated from the tiger reserve.
For the resettled families, the decision addresses a key concern that had followed their relocation: while they had moved to safer and more accessible surroundings, the land on which they had rebuilt their lives remained classified as forest land.
With the Cabinet decision, around 60 families from Jaigir and nearly three dozen families from Kujrum are set to become raiyyats on the new revenue land.
Cabinet decision brings relief to resettled families
The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Soren on August 25.
The villagers of Jaigir, located at an altitude of more than 3,000 feet, and families from Kujrum near Budha Pahar were rehabilitated at Polpol by the PTR management in 2024.
Following the relocation, the Forest Department, in coordination with the villagers, facilitated the construction of permanent houses and provided basic facilities, including electricity and drinking water. The families have also begun agricultural activities at the new site.
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From difficult forest life to better access
Deputy Director Kumar Ashish said villages with inadequate basic amenities were identified for relocation.
The move has significantly improved access to essential services for the resettled families. Jaigir residents earlier had to walk for nearly two hours uphill even to purchase basic items such as matchboxes.
Residents of Kujrum had to travel nearly 16 km through forests on an unpaved road to buy essential food items.
The villages also lacked proper roads, electricity, education and healthcare facilities.
The new rehabilitation site, located along the Daltonganj-Ranchi National Highway and the Dubiyakhand-Betla-Mahuadand State Highway, has improved connectivity. Kechi railway station is around 2 km away, while Daltonganj is also more accessible for education and healthcare.
Relocation carried out with villagers’ consent
Officials said the rehabilitation process was voluntary and that villagers were not subjected to coercion, pressure or intimidation.
The programme was first explained to Kujrum residents in 2019 and to Jaigir villagers in 2023. After obtaining their consent, proposals were submitted to the state and Central governments, following which the families were relocated to Polpol in 2024.
Officials acknowledged that some villagers initially had apprehensions about the process and concerns over whether promised financial assistance and land rights would materialise.
However, sustained engagement with the communities gradually helped build trust.
‘Landless families can now secure their future’
Lallu Oraon, head of Kujrum village, said there was now an atmosphere of happiness among the residents.
Kujrum is a forest village whose residents had traditionally been landless. Oraon said villagers had been hearing about rehabilitation since the 1980s, but the process gained momentum after Kumar Ashish became Deputy Director in 2019.
He said the Cabinet decision would enable families that had remained landless for generations to receive raiyati land and secure a better future for their children.
Anu Devi, another Kujrum resident, recalled that villagers initially feared that the promised financial assistance and land rights might not materialise.
She said Kumar Ashish had maintained regular contact with the villagers and assured them that government procedures could take time but would eventually lead to land ownership.
Resettlement brings new economic opportunities
Surendra Oraon of Jaigir said the villagers had never imagined they would get an opportunity to start a new life outside their earlier habitat.
Ramesh Birjiya, another Jaigir resident, said land in their previous location was valued at less than ₹1 lakh per acre, while land at Polpol was worth more than ₹20 lakh per acre.
He said basic facilities were now available and thanked the Forest Department for the rehabilitation initiative.
A new beginning outside the tiger reserve
Several villages inside the Palamu Tiger Reserve continue to face severe shortages of basic amenities, with movement becoming particularly difficult during the monsoon.
Officials said rural aspirations have also changed, with communities increasingly seeking better healthcare, quality education, employment opportunities and improved living conditions.
For the Jaigir and Kujrum families, the conversion of the rehabilitation site’s forest land into revenue land represents more than an administrative decision. It gives families who spent generations without secure land rights the prospect of becoming legal landholders.
Sources said the rehabilitation process faced several setbacks before the families could move from the PTR’s core area to the plains outside the reserve.
The relocation, officials and sources said, should not be viewed merely as displacement but as a new beginning aimed at providing families with greater dignity, security and opportunities for the future.
