4-Day Training on CFR, MRNREGA concludes in Berhampur
Berhampur, May 16: A four days Training of Trainers (ToT) on Community Forest Rights(CFR) and MGNREGA concluded today at Mahuda Campus of Gram Vikash at Berhampur. The training programme was organized by Odisha Development Action Forum (ODAF), Bhubaneswar for its partner organizations.
Around 40 staff members of different partner organizations i.e Gram Vikas(Ganjam), ACM(Mayurbhanja), SebaBharati(Kandhamal), SVK(Gajapati), VPK(Nawarangapur), AD(Koraput), TSRD(Kamdhamal), PIPAR(Dhenkanal), IRDWST(Koraput), SEDP(AngulandKeunjhar) and CPSW(Kandhamal) etc participated in the four days training programme.
The training Pogramme was inaugurated by Jo Madiath, advisor, Gram Vikash. He also inaugurated “Manual on Claiming Community Forest Rights” prepared by Dr. Manohar Chauhan and “Field Guide for Claiming Employment Rights” Prepared by Mr. Raj Kishor Mishra. He congratulated the forest dwellers of the State to have got the historic Forest Rights Act, 2006. Sharing his past experience of the problems faced due to strict forest laws in forest area, he said, “When we tried to bring water using the gravity flow method from the hill top of forest to provide drinking water to the tribal villages, the then DFO filed cases against me and wanted to arrest me, such are the forest laws we have in our country”
He called upon the organizations participated the programme to help the tribal and forest dwellers so that they can be benefitted out of this historic act and can get their genuine rights.
Prem Patra Jani, President of Odisha Adivasi Adhikar Abhian joining in the inaugural session discussed on the various FRA implementation issues in the State and said, “Most of the Individual Forest Rights (IFR) titles issued in different districts of the State are not as per the actual possession of forest land and in many cases, physical verification of the plots are not being done”.
While the training on Community Forest Rights (CFR) was conducted by Dr. Manohar Chauhan, Member, Campaign for Survival and Dignity(CSD), Odisha on 13th and 14Th May, the training on MGNREGA was conducted by Mr. Rajkishor Mishra, Odisha State Advisor, Supreme Court (rights to food) on 15th and 16th May 2015.
At the end of the prgramme, the partner organizations have planned to file B and C form in 110 villages in their operational area and to expedite the demand generation for employment under MGNREGA. Mr. Gadadhara Pradhan, Advocacy Desk , ODAF and Santosh Patnaik, Coordinator of ODAF coordinated the four days training programme.