Indian Express: Ahmedabad: Thursday, 15 Feb 2024.
The petitioners, meanwhile, have claimed that they are traditional agariyas (salt pan cultivators) hailing from Santalpur in Patan's Little Rann of Kutch. They have been cultivating salt there and were issued agariya pothi a card identifying them as salt pan cultivators in 2008.
Responding to a petition
moved by 53 salt pan workers alleging that they have been stopped from
undertaking cultivation work on land that is a part of the Wild Ass Sanctuary
in Little Rann of Kutch, the state government has told the Gujarat High Court
that the petitioners want to enter the sanctuary for illegal salt cultivation.
In an affidavit submitted before the HC on February 13, Dhavalkumar Gadhavi, the Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) at Wild Ass Sanctuary at Surendranagar’s Dhrangadhra, noted that to cultivate salt in the Wild Ass Sanctuary, prior permission has to be obtained by availing the ‘agariya card’, which is issued only to individuals or entities or cooperative societies whose name appears in the Survey Settlement Report issued by the sanctuary’s settlement officer.
It added that the names of the petitioners are not reflected in the Survey Settlement Report of 2008 and they also do not possess agariya cards, which is issued by the forest department, and only those salt workers who have such cards can enter the sanctuary for salt cultivation.
The petitioners, meanwhile, have claimed that they are traditional agariyas (salt pan cultivators) hailing from Santalpur in Patan’s Little Rann of Kutch. They have been cultivating salt there and were issued agariya pothi a card identifying them as salt pan cultivators in 2008.
However, the affidavit noted that agariya pothi is merely an “identification card” required to avail welfare schemes and it would not be valid for any other legal purpose. It added that the document is issued to any person involved in any work related to salt industry “without distinguishing” whether the document-holder is a salt farmer/cultivator or any other labourer working in the industry.
The petitioners have claimed that traditional agariyas do not require license or lease to cultivate up to 10 acre of land for production of salt by virtue of recommendation of the Salt Expert Committee constituted by the Union government in 1948.
However, the DCF’s affidavit stated that by way of a communication dated May 24, 2023 issued by the principal chief conservator of forests (Wildlife) “it was instructed that only individuals whose name appears in the Survey Settlement Report… should be issued the agariya card and be allowed to enter the sanctuary area for salt farming”.
The petitioners have challenged this communication on the ground that the survey and settlement of rights of those using the land much prior to declaration of the area as part of the Wild Ass Sanctuary has not been finalised till date. This, even though the survey and settlement to determine the rights of those who have been using the land for non-forest activity started in 1997 and the Little Rann of Kutch was declared as a wild ass sanctuary in 1978, they added.
The petitioners, meanwhile, have claimed that they are traditional agariyas (salt pan cultivators) hailing from Santalpur in Patan's Little Rann of Kutch. They have been cultivating salt there and were issued agariya pothi a card identifying them as salt pan cultivators in 2008.
In an affidavit submitted before the HC on February 13, Dhavalkumar Gadhavi, the Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) at Wild Ass Sanctuary at Surendranagar’s Dhrangadhra, noted that to cultivate salt in the Wild Ass Sanctuary, prior permission has to be obtained by availing the ‘agariya card’, which is issued only to individuals or entities or cooperative societies whose name appears in the Survey Settlement Report issued by the sanctuary’s settlement officer.
It added that the names of the petitioners are not reflected in the Survey Settlement Report of 2008 and they also do not possess agariya cards, which is issued by the forest department, and only those salt workers who have such cards can enter the sanctuary for salt cultivation.
The petitioners, meanwhile, have claimed that they are traditional agariyas (salt pan cultivators) hailing from Santalpur in Patan’s Little Rann of Kutch. They have been cultivating salt there and were issued agariya pothi a card identifying them as salt pan cultivators in 2008.
However, the affidavit noted that agariya pothi is merely an “identification card” required to avail welfare schemes and it would not be valid for any other legal purpose. It added that the document is issued to any person involved in any work related to salt industry “without distinguishing” whether the document-holder is a salt farmer/cultivator or any other labourer working in the industry.
The petitioners have claimed that traditional agariyas do not require license or lease to cultivate up to 10 acre of land for production of salt by virtue of recommendation of the Salt Expert Committee constituted by the Union government in 1948.
However, the DCF’s affidavit stated that by way of a communication dated May 24, 2023 issued by the principal chief conservator of forests (Wildlife) “it was instructed that only individuals whose name appears in the Survey Settlement Report… should be issued the agariya card and be allowed to enter the sanctuary area for salt farming”.
The petitioners have challenged this communication on the ground that the survey and settlement of rights of those using the land much prior to declaration of the area as part of the Wild Ass Sanctuary has not been finalised till date. This, even though the survey and settlement to determine the rights of those who have been using the land for non-forest activity started in 1997 and the Little Rann of Kutch was declared as a wild ass sanctuary in 1978, they added.
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