By IANS,
Bhopal : Madhya Pradesh has come up with a novel idea to make tribals aware of their rights – having troupes perform street plays to convey the message in an entertaining way, officials said Tuesday.
“To start with, as many as 13 troupes have left for their destinations last week. They will perform 1,000 street plays in 15 predominant tribal development blocks in the state,” said Sriram Tiwari, managing director of Vanya Prakashan, a subsidiary of the state’s Tribal Development Corporation.
The idea behind organising street plays, Tiwari told IANS, is to impart knowledge among tribals regarding their various rights that fall under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act-2006 and Rules-2008.
The act provides ownership rights over forestland to traditional forest dwellers. It includes the right to cultivate forestland to the extent under occupation, and the right to own, collect and use minor forest produce.
The act also enjoins upon the beneficiaries the duties of protecting wildlife, forests and their bio-diversity.
The troupes will stage plays in different dialects like Bhili, Gondi and Korku so that tribals have no problems understanding the provisions of the act.
Street plays will be staged in tribal-dominated blocks in many districts, including Dhar, Mandla, Ratlam, Sheopur, Jhabua, Khargone, Badwani and Burhanpur.
The troupes will also distribute copies of the Forest Rights Act and its translation in Korku dialect and claim forms among the tribals.