CHAPTER XIII

RULES FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND CONTROL

OF FOREST VILLAGES

 

( Under Sections 70 (d), 79, 82, Indian Forest Act, 1927 )

 
Establishment
 of Forest Village.		 81. Forest villages may be established within the limits of any reserved forest on sited the location of which shall be approved by the Chief Conservator of Forest in writing with the prior approval of the Government of Manipur.

 
Bar to new entrants to 
forest villages.		 82. Forest villages are designed for the purpose of providing a source  of the suitable local labour and farming and maintaining plantations and taungyas, and nom person who are not habituated to living and working in the forest are eligible for admission. The Chief Conservator of Forests may admit new entrants to existing forest villages in accordance with the order of the Government of Manipur.

 
Demarcation 
of forest villages.		 84. The boundaries of all permanent forest village will be demarcated by boundary pillars and shown in maps together with all interior details such as fields homesteads, etc. and a register shall be maintained of the houses in each forest village in the Beat forest \Office concerned.

 
Eviction from forest villages. 85. The Chief Conservator of Forests is authorized to evict summarily from a forest village without payment of compensation to any one who does not comply with the rules or who refuses to carry out his orders so far as they are consistent with these rules or whose conduct impairs the harmonious working of the village. An appeal however shall lie to the Deputy Commissioner but in the event of the latter disagreeing with the Chief Conservator of Forests the case must be referred by the Deputy Commissioner to the Administrator of Manipur whose decision shall be final. Such appeal to the Deputy Commissioner should be made by the aggrieved party within three months of the cause of action.

 
Allotment of 
land to a resident
of a forest village.		 86. An allotment upto one acre of land to include homestead or bari will first be made for each resident household in a Forest village to which will be added 05 acre of land on account of each working member residing in that household.

 
Inheritance of
land owned by
a person in a
forest village.		 87. On the dead of a householder the name of his male heir will be registered as a forest villager, unless he is considered by the Chief Conservator of Forests to be unsuitable in all respects, or in cases where a daughter is the heiress, if he is suitable for employment as a forest villager. The names of heirs who are minors will be recorded as forest villagers when they became fit for work or in the case of females, when married, if their husbands are suitable for employment as forest villagers but nothing in this rule shall be held to recognize any heritable and transferable right in land allotted to a forest villager.

 
Ban to sublet
land by a forest
villager.		 88. The subletting of land by a forest villager is not permitted in any circumstances, but with permission of the Chief Conservator of Forests servants any be engaged to assist in agricultural operation and their names shall be recorded as temporary forest villagers.

 
Levy of land
revenue.		 89. Land revenue shall be levied fore the (excluding homestead or bari) given to a forest villager at such rates as have been approved by the Government of Manipur or fixed by law from time to time.

 
Forest villager
to render labour .		 90. Each adult forest villager shall if called upon render 20 days labour per annum at the rate of wages locally current .

 
Forest villager
to be allowed for
grazing.		 91. (1)   In addition to cultivating land at concessional rate of revenue, for which an annual patta will be issued by the Chief Conservator of Forests, each householder in a forest village will be allowed free grazing for all necessary plough cattle and ten heads of other cattle, but this term shall not include buffaloes, in cases where on account of proximity to plantations or other considerations they are likely to cause damage. Cattle belonging to outsiders shall not be allowed to be kept by a forest villager.

 
    (2)   No forest villager or his agent or servant or other member s of his family shall be allowed to keep or graze goat within any reserved or protected forest areas.

 
Concessions 
to payment 
of royalty for 
all forest produce
by adult male
forest villagers.		 92. (a)   Adult male forest villagers shall  pay for all forest produce taken by them at ordinary rates in force in the reserved forest concerned, but may be allowed to removed free of royalty sufficient building materials to erect and maintain their houses and 10 cart loads of fuel annually if they effect to render 5 days labour in lieu of paying royalty .The Chief Conservator of Forests may allow not mote than one servant per householder to remove forest produce to the above amount free of royalty without the obligation to render 5 days labour

 
    (b)   Forest villagers who render free labour should be employed as far as possible in the vicinity o their villages if labour is given un-under the preceding or succeeding paragraphs of this rule, in return for free produce, and if work cannot be found within a distance if vie miles from the village concerned , it will be paid for at the current rate of wages. Labour should not be called upon be reported to the or reaping season save in emergency which should be reported to the Chief Conservator of Forests and must be in connection with work other than domestic work in the household  of any forest Officer, and must not be on the construction or repair of latrines. This applies also labour rendered under rule 90.

 
Explanation. A man giving labour between 3 - 10 miles from his village and doing 6 continuous days, work will be given half day's free labour for traveling there and back and a man giving labour over 10 miles from his village and doing 6 continuous day's work will be allowed 1 day's free labour for traveling there and back .The days given being counted to the work.

 
Admission of
Jumias into
 reserves.		 93. Jumias may be admitted into the reserve on condition that they sow with their crops the seed forest trees in such manner as the Chief Conservator of Forests may direct, Building materials and 10 cart loads of firewood annually will be given to them free of charge, but they will be liable to render 10 day's labour if called unon, at the local rate of wages. Jumias who in addition cultivate wasteland, will similarly required to sow tree seeds with their Jhum crops. They shall be liable to pay for building materials and firewood required by them but may commute the payment annually due for these by them but may commute the forest seedling in each Jhum, from being suppressed by weeds for a period of 2 years fro the time cultivation is abandoned. They will still remain liable to render the 10 days' labour at the local rate of wages.

 
Explanation   The jhumias admitted into the Reserved Forest under Rule 93 will make an agreement in the Form "C" appended.

 
Forest Dept. 
and its contractor
to  have first
claim to the
labour of forest
villagers.
 94. The Forest Department and its contractor shall have the first claim to the labour of forest villagers.
Resumption of
work register.		 95. The Forest Department may resume occupation of land allotted to a forest villager by giving notice to the occupier as prescribed in the conditions in Form "C".

 
Maintenance of
work register.		 96. Separate work register in addition to the ordinary muster rolls will b maintained by the Beat Forest Officer for each forest village showing the amount and the nature of the work done by each villager. The village register, the work register and the muster rolls will be inspected by the Chief Conservator of Forests and Divisional Forest Officers at the time of range and beat office inspections. 

The Divisional Forest Officer will be responsible for proper utilization of such labour, subject to the supervision and control of the Chief Conservator of Forests.

 
Payment for 
work done .		 97. Payment for work done should be made by a responsible officer at intervals which should not exceed a week except in special circumstances with the permission of the Chief Conservator of Forests.

 
Power of Chief
Conservator of
Forests		 98. for each forest village, the Chief Conservator of Forests may with the sanction of the Government of Manipur, appoint a headman and ,if necessary, a watchman, and the power for their suspension, and dismissal and awarding other punishments shall be vested in the Chief Conservator of Forests. The duties of such headman or watchman may be prescribed by the Government of Manipur.

 
Govt. servants 
to exempted 
from rendering
labour.		 99. The Chief Conservator of Forests, may with the written permission of the Government of Manipur exempt forest villagers who have become old or infirm, poor widows, minor s incapable of work or person who are for the time being whole time employee of the Forest Department and other of the government from rendering labour in exchange for forest produce removal for home consumption, and will forward a list of such exempted persons annually to the Government of Manipur in the Forest Department.