Why in news
In Karnataka’s section of the Western Ghats, lies Makuta village, under Betoli gram panchayat of Virajpet taluka in Kodagu district.
More specifically, the village falls under the Makuta Aranya Valaya which is in the vicinity of the Kerti reserved forest.
This area is in the Talacauvery sub-cluster, identified as one of the 10 World Heritage Sites in Karnataka and is a region of dense tropical evergreen forests that have remained undisturbed to a large extent.
The village has a Girijan colony inhabited by the ‘Phani Yerava’ tribe.
In 2021, with the help of two local people including a Muslim gram panchayat member, all the 19 Yerava households here were able to successfully claim their ‘land’ in the forest, under the Forest Rights Act.
In a joint survey conducted by the Forest, Revenue and Social Welfare Departments, officials found that the Yeravas reside on 135 acres of forest land, right from the time of their ancestors.
Phani Yerava tribe is found mostly in which state
The Phani Yerava tribe is primarily found in the Western Ghats region, India.
Mostly in the state of Karnataka.
COMMENTS