Bhorgiri (Maharashtra): A rusted and non-functional gym machine can be seen at the one-room Bhorgiri community centre, next to a flour mill that was never used. The rest of the room is full of fodder and garbage.
Bhorgiri, a village with a population of 800, lies in the Bhimashankar Sanctuary, 90 km from Pune.
Officially, it is the Eco Development Committee (EDC), comprising villagers and one forest department officer, that bought the equipment lying in the room, using funds given by the state government. But members of the committee allege that they were never asked before the expensive equipment was bought, and if given a choice, they would not have asked for a gym machine or flour mill. Instead, they would have chosen to build small water ponds for animals and more facilities for the village to host tourists.
To implement the National Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016), in 2011 Maharashtra formed EDCs in villages that are in or near sanctuaries, tiger projects and national parks. The goal is to increase the participation of local communities in wildlife and biodiversity conservation.
The CEO of the zila parishad, under the Bombay Village Panchayat Act 1958, is supposed to constitute such committees by holding a gram sabha meeting. The area of forest that will come under an EDC’s purview is to be demarcated by the forest department. The EDC, under the guidance of the forest department, is then supposed to make rules such as how much to fine people who take their animals into the protected area. The EDC is also supposed to select beneficiaries from the village for schemes through which items like cooking gas and solar panels are distributed.
Between 12 and 24 members of the committee are selected by the gram sabha, with representation from women and marginalised groups. The forest guard of the area is to serve as the secretary of the committee.
There are to be two bank accounts for an EDC. One account, in nationalised bank or post office, is for funds from the government and is managed by the president and secretary of the committee.
Another account is to deposit income received from other sources like fines to trespassers, toll, tourism projects, donations and so on. This account is to be managed by the EDC president and the treasurer or one other member. To use money from this account, permission needs be taken from the gram panchayat.
Manda Kate. Credit: Varsha Torgalkar
Manda Kate, a member of the Bhorgiri EDC, told The Wire, “We have been trying to get information every year on how much money has been deposited in the main account, but we were never given that information. EDC members are supposed to decide what is to be bought for the village using the government funds. But not a single time in seven years were we asked [what should be bought].”
As per the rules, a monthly meeting is supposed to be held, but members of the EDC say they barely remember when the last meeting was held.
Vandana Kate, another EDC member, said, “Once, during a conversation with the forest guard who is the secretary of the ECD, we got to know that plough machines were bought for Bhorgiri. Surprisingly, there were no machines. When we confronted them, they dropped a couple of plough machines here that were never used. On paper, there is a biogas system for the village. Take a round of the village and you will find no biogas.”
While pointing out that it seems as though there is corruption at play, she said, “The forest official decides development plans like developing roads through the forest or fencing and so on. We come to know about these activities when outside labourers start working around the village. The development work is meant to create employment for the locals.”
Vandana Kate. Credit: Varsha Torgalkar
In 2014, members of the EDC tried to get information on the funds that were deposited in the bank account and how they were utilised by putting in an RTI request. But the forest department refused to make the information public, saying that the RTI was filed by a self-help group. Later, an individual RTI application was filed, which is yet to receive an answer. Regular morchas to the Bhimashankar Forest Office have been organised, but are yet to see results.
In April this year, villagers travelled to Mumbai and met Vikas Kharge, chief secretary of the forest department, and Sudhir Mungantiwar, minister of forests. While not promising anything, they said they would look into the matter.
Gita Pawar, the deputy conservator of forests, Pune division, told The Wire, “There have been discrepancies in how funds were used from this account. The concerned forest guard, who was secretary of the EDC, has been given a show cause notice and an internal chargesheet has been filed against him. An inquiry against him is on.”
She also said, “There were so many issues that we had to block the account to stop funds from being withdrawn.”
Surprisingly, the concerned forest guard has recently been promoted. Pawar said, “How he got a promotion is not in my hands. And till now, the inquiry is on and he has not been found guilty.”
As per the rules, a new EDC needs to be constituted in Bhorgiri after the gram panchayat elections that were held in August 2014. According to the villagers, the gram sabha had constituted a new EDC in the same year, but the forest department refused to accept the new EDC, saying details of the gram sabha are not recorded. When asked, Pawar said she was not serving this area at the time, and also that this is a gram sabha issue.
The other account, which is run by the EDC president, receives a lot of funds as Bhorgiri receives one-third the total amount made from the entry fees charged from tourists who visit the Bhimashankar Temple. Thousands of devotees visit the temple daily during the Hindu calendar month of Shravan. Local MLAs and the zila parishad are also known to donate money to the village.
However, for this account as well, villagers have no information on the amount of money or how funds have been used. It remains to be seen whether the inquiry will change all of this.
Varsha Torgalkar is an independent journalist based in Pune.