Amendment status not verified — confirm the current text below against the official source.
Having regard to the symbiotic relationship between the tribal people and forests, a primary task of all agencies responsible for forest management, including the forest development corporations should be to associate the tribal people closely in the protection, regeneration and development of forests as well as to provide gainful employment to people living in and around the forest. While ".........safeguarding the customary rights and interests of such people forestry programmes should pay...." special attention to the following:- One of the major causes for degradation of forest is illegal cutting and removal by contractors and their labour. In order to put an end to this practice, contractors should be replaced by institutions such as tribal co-operatives, labour co-operatives, Government corporations, etc. as early as possible. Protection, regeneration and optimum collection of minor forest produce along with institutional arrangements for the marketing of such produce; Development of forest villages on par with revenue villages; Family oriented schemes for improving the status of the tribal beneficiaries; and Undertaking integrated area development programmes to meet the needs of the tribal economy in and around the forest areas, including the provision of alternative sources of domestic energy on a subsidised basis, to reduce pressure on the existing forest areas.