238 APPENDIX –II (D) GOVERNMENT OF HARYANA FOREST DEPARTMENT NOTIFICATION No. 3799-PT/98/13358 Chandigarh 29-06-1998 In pursuance of the Government of India’s letter No. (6121/89-FP) Dated June 1, 1990 from the then Secretary ( Environment and Forests) to the Forest Secretary of all states, it has been decided by the Government of Haryana to issue instructions for smooth implementation of the policy for joint Forest Management in the state already approved by the government vide Financial Commissioner & Secretary, Forest & Wild Life Department memo No. 3373-Ft-1- 9/15610 dated 13-6-90.
PREAMBLE The Joint Forest Management Policy of the Government of Haryana aims at tying the economic interest of villagers, living within or adjacent to Forest areas, with sustainable management of those areas. This is to be achieved through motivating the villagers to organize them selves into registered societies for improving the productivity of forests areas by giving them a major share of the increased production, resulting from their participation. For the state government, there will be no loss in existing revenues (if any ) from concerned areas. The Present levels of revenue will be maintained and in certain cases there will be increase over a period of time. Besides improving the economic status of villagers, the joint forest management approach aims to improve the environment of forest areas of the state.
CHAPTER – I
1.1 SHORT TITLE, EXTENT AND COMMENCEMENT :
i) these guidelines shall be called the Haryana Joint Management of Forest Areas Executive Instruction 1998.
ii) These Instruction shall extend to all Government owned forest areas in the whole of the state of Haryana.
iii) These Instruction shall come into force immediately on the day of notification.
1.2 DEFINITIONS :
a.) Forest Produce : Includes as provided in section 2, sub clause 4 of the India Forest Act,
1927.
b) Fuel Wood : Includes wood of less than 18 cm. girth.
239 c) Forest Areas : Means Forest land as mentioned in section 2 of the Forest Act, (Conservation) 1980.
d) Haryana Forest Department (HFD) : Include the official e) Hill Resource Management Society (HRMS) of Natural Resource Management Society (NRMS): Means on autonomous Society of villagers registered under the Societies Act,
1860.
f) Joint Management Agreement (JMA) : Means a written and legally valid Agreement between the Haryana Forest Department and one or more HRMS.
g) Management Area (MA) Includes a delineated Forest Area, Reserved, Protected or unclassed covered by an agreement between the Haryana Forest and one or more Hill Resource Management Societies/Natural Resource Management Societies.
h) Management Plan (MP) : Includes a plan prepared jointly by the Haryana Forest Department and the concerned HRMS (s) for the Management Area covered by a Joint Management Agreement.
i) State Level Working Group (SWG) : Means a state level working group constituted to oversee the activities of Joint Forest Management in the State of Haryana.
j) Kalyan Kosh : Means money set apart for encouraging JFM activities in other potential areas.
CHAPTER-II
2. CONSTITUTION & FUNCTIONS OF SWG:
The Government shall constitute a State Level Working Group as under:
i) Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Haryana (PCCF) ii) Chief Conservator of Forests, Social Forestry (CCF,SFP) iii) Conservator of Forests, North Circle (CF,N) iv) Deputy Conservator of Forests, Morni Pinjore.
v) Deputy Conservator of Forests, Yamunanagar.
vi) Officer Incharge of Joint Management Units at Pinjore and Yamunanagar.
vii) One drepresentative from Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute, Chandigarh (CSWCRTI).
viii) Two members from Tata Energy Research Institute, New Delhi, ix) One representative of the Ford Foundation in India.
240 x) Presidents four HRMS's by rotation.
Provided that the PCCF Haryana shall be Chairman of the SWG.
i) Statelevel workinggroup shall conveneits meeting atleast twice in a year.
ii) Its decision shall be binding upon the Hill Resource Management Societies and Divisional Fsorest officers (DFO) concerned.
iii) Guide the functionaries of HRMS(s) and Divisional Forest Officers concerned for smooth working of programme of Joint Forest Management from time to time.
iv) Decide on the administrative, technical and financial procedure for implementation of the programme, and v) Review this instructions.
CHAPTER-III
3. CONSTITUTION AND ELIGIBILITY OF AN HRMS:
An HRMS shall be constituted by its members of their own free will and consent. For participation in HFD's Joint Forest Management programme, an HRMS shall satisfy the following conditions.
i) A HRMS may be constituted by a hamlet, village or a group of villages located within or near forest areas.
ii) All adult men and women from all households residing in above location and who have usufruct Right in the M.A. as per last forest settlement or have traditionally been collecting/using forest produce from there are entitled to become members of the HRMS.
iii) Each HRMS shall annually elect a Managing Committee in a general body meeting to carry out its tasks. The managing committee shall have 7 to 9 members who should ideally be persons who go to collect produce from the forest themselves. At lease one third of the total members shall be women.
CHAPTER-IV 4 JOINT MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT A Joint Management Agreement in accordance with these Instructions shall define the basis of Joint Forest Management between each HRMS and the HFD. An outline JMA is given in Appendix I.
CHAPTER-V 5 RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE HFD.
i) To give wide publicity to the governments Joint Forest Management policy among villagers living in or near forest areas.
241 ii) To follow the procedure outlined in Appendix- II while reaching Joint Management Agreements.
iii) After signing each Joint Management Agreement, to inform different concerned wings (Production, Working Plan, Social Forestry, Kandi Project, etc.) of the Haryana Forest Department about it and ensure that any future work in the management area is done in accordance with the Joint Management Agreement in consultation with the HRMS.
All JMAs shall be incorporated in working plans or the concerned DFO shall obtain the necessary deviation.
iv) To redefine the duties of HFD personnel to make these compatible with implementing the Joint Management Policy. This should bind them to take prompt action against any person(s) willfully causing damage or attempting theft of forest produce from the MA brought to the notice of the staff by the HRMS and report the action taken in the concerned HRMS president.
v) To train HFD personnel to enable them to acquire the necessary skills for implementing the Joint Management Policy and to integrate the same in the regular training curricula for HFD personnel. In this, emphasis shall be given to practical methods for promoting women's equal participation in all aspects of HRMS decision making.
vi) To provide administrative and technical guidance to HRMS's for successful implementation of the programme.
vii) To ensure that the most disadvantaged men and women members of the HRMS have access to forest produce for meeting their bonafide needs of firewood, fodder fibre etc.
by promoting consultative and accountable decision making by HRMS office bearers.
viii) To monitor changes in the condition and productivity of forest areas brought under Joint Management with the help of baseline surveys and periodic studies.
ix) To permit sale by HRMS(s) of only surplus biomass/grass not needed within the village by their own members.changes in the condition and productivity of forest areas brought under Joint Management with the help of baseline surveys and periodic studies.
x) Where a water harvesting dam is to be built under the Joint Forest Management programme, to involve villagers in site selection, pipeline layout and ensure that a dam system is completely functional before it is handed over to HRMS(s).
242 xi) To authorize the Block Officer to be an ex-officio member of the excutive committee and help the HRMS(s) in maintaining records including cash accounts.
xii) To authorize the DFO to ensure that the accounts are maintained properly by the HRMSs and presented in the annual general body meeting in the month of April.
xiii) To facilitate resolution of conflicts within or between HRMSs related to forests.
xiv) To ensure equitable distribution of the usufruct which may be in cash or kind.
xv) To encourage involvement of grass roots Non government Organisation (NGO) knowledgeable individuals / activists , academicas in the development of the programme.
CHAPTER VI
6. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE HRMS i) to develop a MP through participatory micro planning with the assistance of HFD personnel. Bonafide domestic needs of the members regarding forests produce traditionally used by them shall be met on a sustainable basis from the MA before considering sale of such produce. Meeting the subsistence needs of the economically disadvantage members and the raw material need of artisanal producers such as bamboo basket and rope makers shall be given priority over increasing the HRMS cash income.
ii) To execute forestry works in accordance with the MP under supervision of HFD independent sources such as NWDB, NAEB, CAPART, NABARD etc. after due authorization by the Government.
iii) To honour all its commitments made in the JMA and protect its MA from encroachment, cultivation, grazing, fire and illicit felling or wilfully causing death of trees by gridling. For this, it shall evolve a code of conduct for its members which may include specifying fines, the HRMS may levy, or prescribe penalties for those members violating the code. The HRMS shall make good the loss caused due to above said activities.
iv) To inform HFD has built of any persons, particularly non members, wilfuly causing damage in its MA or attempting theft of its produce.
v) Where HFD has built a water harvesting dam or a kuhl system, to manage water distribution from it on equitable basis and take care of minor repairs and maintenance 243 through levying water charges on its members. During the rainy season to keep a vigil on the dam and in case of any breach or chances of a breach in the dam, to immediately inform the beat forest guard and take all protective measures to save the dam . All members of an HRMS shall have the tight to claim an equal share of the water irrespective of whether they own land or not.
vi) To assist HFD personnel in resolving conflict with residents of neighbouring villages over competing claims in the MA.
vii) In consultation with the Range Forest Officer to evolve rules for its members for collection/
CHAPTER – VII
7. SHARING OF FOREST PRODUCE FROM JOINT MANAGEMENT AREAS WITH THE CONCERNED HRMS(s):- All members of HRMS(s) may be permitted to collect dry and fallen wood, fencing materials, limited numbers of bamboo and poles free of cost from their respective joint management areas for their bonafide domestic use and strictly not for sale.
Provide that previously existing Rights of members or non-members are not to be interfered with. The HRMS(s) shall regulate collection of the forest produce on a sustainable basis by framing rules for their members in consultation with the concerned Range Forest Officer.
7.1 ANNUAL PURCHASE OF FODDER GRASS BY HRMS FROM HFD.- i) As a part of its Joint Management Agreement, all fodder grass shall be given to the HRMS's at the average price obtained in open auction for the last 3 years proceeding. Where such information is not available the price shall be settled between the DFO and HRMS after taking into account the condition of the area or the price fetched by similar adjoining areas. Annual Increment at the rate of 1 percent of the above. price is to be paid by HRMS after signing the agreement.
ii) Payment for the fodder grass shall be made in Lumpsum by each HRMS every year.
iii) In case of an exceptional drought or other natural disasters, the DFO may reduce the price to be paid by HRMS.
244
7.2 ANNUAL PURCHASE OF BHABBAR:
As a part of Joint Management Agreement an HRMS shall have first Right over collection and use of bhabbar grass from forest areas on an annual lease basis. The price of bhabbar grass shall be determined as under:- i) The average price obtained in open auction for the last three years proceeding Joint Forest Management will be treated as the base price, When such information is not available, price will be settled between DFO and HRMS on the advice of the State Level Working Group.
ii) The DFO may permit HRMS to pay for the bhabbar in three installments in exceptional cases.
iv) For the existing HRMS(s), which dispose off surplus bhabbar grass after fulfilling their own requirements, there will be no increase in price for subsequent years.
iv) In case of the HRMS's which use bhabbar harvest for ban making, the lease amount will increase at the rate of 7.5% annually for every subsequent year.
v) Those HRMS's which dispose for surplus bhabbar through an open bidding shall do so in a general body meeting and in the presence of the concerned DFO or his representative.
vi) The net income made from the sale of bhabbar shall be divided between the Government and the HRMS in the ratio of 25:75. The HRMS shall contribute 30% of its share towards plough back fund for further improvement of the Management Area and another 10% towards Kalyan Kosh.
vii) Other terms and conditions for the sale of bhabbar and grass are given in the Joint Management Agreement.
7.3 BAMBOO:
HRMS's of bomboo basket makers shall continue to get permits to cut a specified number of bamboos per household per month for 9 month (October-June) every year as per the terms specified in the existing notification of the Government of Haryana on -the matter.
245
7.4 SHARE OF HRMS(S) FROM SALE OF TIMBER FROM JOINT MANAGEMENT AREAS:
After ten years of Joint Forest Management to the satisfaction of Conservator of Forests of that area, the HFD shall share the income from timber, at the time of final harvest and after deduction the expenditure incurred on felling, transportation and auction with the HRMS's in the following manner:
70 percent to the Government 30 percent to the HRMS
Provided that HRMS shall contribute 30 percent of its share towards plough back fund for further improvement of the Management Area and another 10 percent towards Kalyan Kosh.
7.5 BENEFIT SHARING WITH EXISTING HARMS(S) PARTICIPATING IN JOINT FOREST MANAGEMENT BEFORE NOTIFICATION-OF THESE INSTRUCTIONS:
The registered societies already in existence prior to the notification of these instructions shall be considered eligible for their share of income from timber from the year in which they were registered.
CHAPTER -VIII 8 MANAGEMENT AND UTILISATION OF FUNDS OF HRMS:
The income accruing to the HRMS(S) from various sources would be managed and utilised as separate funds in the following manner:
8.1 Kalyan Kosh:
i) The Kalyan Kosh would be set up from contributions available from each HRMS an annual contribution of 10% from the net proceeds of sal of surplus bhabbar and-another 10% from the net proceeds of sale of timber.
ii) The contributions by the respective HRMS(s) will be pooled into a Kalyan Kosh at the Divisional Level. The concerned DFO will maintain this funds as Personal Ledger Account, to be operated with due concurrence of the PCCF/Chairperson of the SWG as authorised to do so by the SWG till a federation of societies comes into existence.
246 iii) The Kalyan Kosh would be utilised for the promotion of the activities of HRMS's and for expansion of JFM programme in the State of Haryana.
8.2. FOREST RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT FUND (PLOUGH-BACK FUND):
i) This fund would help in recycling a part of the income generated from the forest (under joint management) into the asset itself.
ii) This fund would be setup at the HRMS level from the contributions made by HRMS;. an annual contribution of 30 percent of the HRMS share from the proceeds of sale of surplus bhabbar and 30 percent from the share of timber:
iii) This fund would be retained by each HRMS as separate bank account jointly operated by DFO and the concerned HRMS functionary (according to the approval by the General Body of the HRMS.
iv) This fund would be used for the improvement and development of the Joint Management Area according to the prescriptions of the Management Plan.
8.3 VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT FUND (HRMS FUND) i) The HRMS fund is to be used by the village community.
ii) This fund would consist of the income of the HRMS from the various sources, including that available from the HRMS share of proceeds, from sale of surplus bhabbar, from timber, and all other sources.
iii) The fund would be maintained by the HRMS as a separate bank account to be operated by the cashier and any of the other two office bearers, with due approval of the General Body, according to the procedures stated in the bye laws of the society.
iv) This fund is to be used for village development and community welfare as decided by the General Body.
v) This fund is to be used strictly on non-religious and apolitical activities.
247
CHAPTER -IX 9 DISPUTE ARBITRATION/ TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT:
i) If any member of an HRMS fails to comply with any of the conditions laid down above, or the specific conditions laid down in a Joint Management Agreement between the HFD and HRMS, the HRMS may terminate his/her membership and inform the HFD accordingly.
ii) If any HRMS as a whole fails to comply with any of the conditions laid down above, despite at least two warnings in writing by the Forest officer, the DFO shall be entitled to terminate the agreement with HRMS after due enquiry.
iii) If HRMS intends to terminate the agreement due to the non fulfillment of its obligations/commitments by the Government/HFD as specified above and in the Instructions, the HRMS shall give one month prior notice to the DFO.
v) In case of any dispute arising out of any action taken at any level, the matter will be referred to an Arbitration Committee comprising of concerned territorial Conservator and two non forester members of SWG, which will be appointed by the PCCF.
Majority decision of the Arbitration Committee shall be final.
10. REVIEW These Instructions will be reviewed after every five years. However, these instructions may be reviewed and modified as and when such necessity arises.
H.C. Disodia, Commissioner & Secretary to Government, Haryana, Forest Department.
Endst. No. 3799-FT-I-98 /13358 Dated 29-6-98 A copy is forwarded to the controller, printing and stationery, U.T. Chandigarh for publishing it in the Haryana Government Gazette and send 50 copies of it for official use.
Under Secretary, Commissioner & Secretary to Government, Haryana, Forest Department.
RELATED TO PAGE NO. 112 248 APPENDIX – III ALLOTMENT OF COMPARTMENT NUMBER TO VARIOUS FOREST AREAS S. No. Name of Village Name of range Compart.
No.
Area in Acre Area in Ha 1 Kalesar R1J Kalesar 1 a 11570 41 Do 1 b 104 Do 2 140 Do 3 a 24 Do 3 b 17 Do 3 c 49 Do 3 d 43 Do 4 a 187 Do 4 b 41 Do 5 a 86 Do 5 b 11 Do 6 a 272 Do 6 b 23 Do 7a 59 Do 7 b 345 Do 8 a 90 Do 8 b 117 Do 9 a 26 Do 9 b 38 Do 9 c 41 Do 10 a 36 Do 10 b 90 Do 11 a 60 Do 11 b 115 Do 12 a 98 Do 12 b 125 Do 13 a 114 Do 13 b 161 Do 14 160 Do 15 a 81 Do 15 b 361 Do 16 250 Do 17 136 Do 18 32 Do 19 78 Do 20 144 Do 21 325 Do 22 182 Do 23 110