Adivasi farmers threaten existence of Wenlock Downs, one of the last remaining grasslands in the Nilgiris

Over 100 hectares of the last remaining grasslands in the higher Nilgiris, in Wenlock Downs, is being slowly eroded by encroachments by the Shola-grasslands’ former adivasi protectors — the Todas and Kotas.

According to Forest Department officers, over a 100 hectares of the complete expanse of 1,500 hectares of land designated as “forest lands” in the Udhagai North Range, have been encroached upon by the Todas and Kotas, many of whom have leased their lands to non-tribals in alternate for a small payment.

Explaining the significance of defending the space, N. Mohanraj, a Nilgiris-based conservationist stated, “The Wenlock Downs Reserve Forest is a crucial wildlife corridor, which allows wildlife from the Sigur plateau to make their way up to the upper Nilgiris. The landscape is also one of the last remaining patches of Shola and grasslands in the entire Nilgiris other than Mukurthi National Park.”

Forest Department officers advised The Puucho {that a} majority of the lands which were encroached have been previously lands to which the Todas had grazing rights to, or Toda patta lands, the place the Todas have been allowed to domesticate small landholdings with the specific permission of the district administration. However, since the early 2000s, the adivasis have stopped making use of for permissions and are cultivating with out correct approvals. Most of the encroachments have occurred close to Tenth Mile, Samiyarmattam and Pudumund areas, officers added.

“In the last 20-years, the Todas and the Kotas have started claiming that all these lands are ancestral lands, and that they have the right to cultivate crops here. They have put up fences and destroyed much of the grassland in the area, as their earlier pattern of land-usage, from being pastoralists grazing the land, has changed and they have become settled agriculturalists,” stated a conservationist from the Nilgiris.

One of the Todas, who has been cultivating crops in his small landholding of round two acres over the last 5 years in Wenlock Downs, stated that almost all adivasis really feel that it’s unfair that they’re being focused by the Forest Department. “It is not just the Todas and the Kotas who are cultivating. Violations are being carried out across the district, from illegal buildings to illegal tree-felling. When there is little being done to stop construction and farming elsewhere, why should the adivasis alone be held accountable when our farming activities are considerably lesser?” he puzzled.

Siddhartha Krishnan, convenor of the ATREE (Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment) Academy for Conservation Science and Sustainable Studies, who has studied the historical past of the Wenlock Downs Reserve Forest since the early twentieth century, when it was administered by the British, and following Independence, stated that the Wenlock Downs reserve forest has modified dramatically from being a Shola-grassland mosaic to one populated primarily by woody, thorny and invasive species of flora.

“The issue is extremely complex, as sub-leasing of the lands has been going on since colonial times. Moreover, government policy in the past too has encouraged the Todas to take up settled agriculture, while plantations of eucalyptus, wattle and pine taken up by the forest department in the past has destroyed much of the grasslands, some of which were in the designated Toda patta lands,” stated Mr. Krishnan.

While making it clear he wasn’t condoning the harm that was being induced to the panorama, Mr. Krishnan stated that there wanted to be cooperation between the Forest Department and the adivasis to provide you with a complete panorama administration plan.

“Grasslands are always vulnerable in policy discourse as being designated as wastelands. There is also the question of the Forest Rights Act in this area, as to whether it would supersede the rights acknowledged under the Toda patta lands, or whether it offers additional protection,” he stated, including that focused restoration initiatives may very well be carried out, whereas making certain that cultivation doesn’t unfold additional.

When contacted, District Forest Officer, Nilgiris division, Guru Swamy Dabbala, stated that the Wenlock Downs Reserve Forest requires speedy safety. “The problem is that the adivasis encroach on a small portion of forest one year, and the next they lease it to outsiders and move on to another portion of the grassland or forest. This will inevitably lead to more problematic human-animal interactions not just in Wenlock Downs but in other areas as well,” he stated.

Mr. Mohanraj stated that the panorama was superb to advertise eco-tourism as an alternative choice to damaging agricultural practices. “This is the only Shola-grassland landscape that is easily accessible to the public, and if the local community can be involved in promoting eco-tourism, they will make much more money than what they receive from leasing the land to outsiders,” he stated.

N. Sadiq Ali, founder of the Wildlife and Nature Conservation Trust, stated that efforts needs to be taken to right away establish the non-tribals who’re cultivating in the space. “Their illegal farms should be immediately returned to the forest department so that they can be restored,” he stated.