[1]THE ORISSA FOREST (GRAZING OF CATTLE) RULES, 1980 In exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (i) of
Section 36 read with Clause (d) of Sub-section (1) of Section 82 of the Orissa
Forest Act, 1972, (Orissa Act 14 of 1972), the State Government do hereby make
the following rules, namely ... (1)
These rules may be called The Orissa
Forest (Grazing of Cattle) Rules, 1980. (2)
They shall come into force on the date
of their publication in the Official Gazette. (1)
In these rules, unless the context
otherwise requires- (i)
Act means the Orissa Forest Act, 1972 (ii)
closed area means the forest area
notified as closed for grazing of cattle under Sub-rule (1) of Rule 3; (iii)
forest area means any land or forest
declared or deemed to be reserved forest or protected forest under the Act (iv)
Form means a form appended to these
rules; (v)
herdsman means the man in charge of
the herd of. cattle; (vi)
open area means the forest area other
than closed area; (vii)
penning means overnight camping of
cattle inside the forest; (viii)
permit means a written permission
issued either in Form No. 1 or in Form No. 11 under Sub-rule (1) or under
Sub-rule (6) respectively of Rule 7; (ix)
permit-holder means any person who
holds a valid permit and includes the owner of the cattle, his agent or servant
and herdsman; (x)
professional graziers means cattle
owners who migrate from place to place for grazing cattle for a part of the
year and depend on such cattle as a means of their livelihood and (xi)
village cattle means the cattle kept
by the persons other than professional graziers at one and the same village or
town all the year round except when they are temporarily taken for grazing
purpose to an authorised cattle pen. (2)
All other words and expression used
but not defined in these rules shall have the same meaning respectively
assigned to them in the Act. (1)
The Divisional Forest Officer may
declare any forest are closed to grazing from time to time. (2)
Such forest areas closed to grazing
shall be notified by the Divisional Forest Officer by affixing notices in Oriya
language at prominent places in the surrounding villages and also by
proclamation by beat of drums in these villages. (3)
The notification issued under Sub-rule
(1) shall specify the period of closure and the kind of animals to which the
area is closed. (4)
The closed area shall be demarcated on
the ground by putting red bands on trees growing on the boundary of such areas
and by means of signboards erected at prominent places around its periphery: Provided that where such trees are not available on the
boundary or periphery of the area proposed to be closed the Divisional Forest
Officer may erect fences or dig up trenches around such area. (5)
A list of closed area in each range
shall be displayed on the notice-board in the concerned Range Office for the
information of the public. (1)
Grazing of village cattle shall be
free without permit in protected forests except in forest areas closed to
grazing under Rule 3 and in such of the forest areas notified under Clause (c)
of Section 34 of the Act. (2)
Professional graziers shall be charged
fees at the rate prescribed in Sub-rule (2) of Rule 5 for grazing cattle in
protected forest. (1)
No person shall pasture cattle in a
reserve forest except in the open areas and in accordance with a permit issued
under Sub-rule (1) or (6) of Rule 7. (2)
[2][Grazing fees at such rates as prescribed in the Table
below shall be levied on all village cattle that are permitted to graze in open
areas of reserve forests, except in cases of persons who have the right to
graze the cattle free in such forest up to the limit as recorded in Forest
Settlement Records. Professional graziers shall be charged one and half times
the said rate for grazing their cattle in such areas.] [3][TABLE SI. No. Cattle Rate of fees Period (1) (2) (3) (4) 1. Elephant One rupee per head Per year 2. Buffalo Seventy-five paise per head Ditto 3. Horse, mare, gelding, pony, colt, filly, mule, ass, bull, ox, cow,
calf, Fifty paise per head Ditto 4. Goat and sheep Twenty-five paise per head Ditto (3)
Permit-holders shall not be entitled
to any compensation in the event of closure of the reserve forest area or a
part thereof from grazing, subsequent to issue of permit under Sub-rule (1) or
(6) of Rule 7 on account of fire, departmental burning, or for any other valid
reasons. No goat or sheep shall be permitted to browse in reserve
forest, forests notified under Sub-section (1) of Section 4 of the Act, forest
areas closed to grazing under Rule 3 and areas notified under Sub-section (c)
of section 34 of the Act. (1)
The Divisional Forest Officer or any
officer duly authorised by him in this behalf may issue permits for grazing of
cattle which shall be for a period of one financial year commencing on the
first day of April and shall be in Form No. 1: Provided that in case of elephants and for professional
graziers permits for shorter period coveting a month or multiples thereof may
be granted." (2)
The cattle covered by the permit shall
invariably be accompanied by and be in charge of the owner, or his agent or
servant or headman engaged by the owner, who shall observe the grazing rules in
respect of the cattle in his charge. The minimum number of cattle taken out for
grazing in one hard shall not exceed fifty. (3)
The person taking out the cattle for
grazing shall always carry with him the permit in respect of the cattle in his
charge, and shall produce it for inspection on demand by any Forest Officer or
Police Officer. (4)
No pollarding of trees, lopping of
branches, and stripping of leaves or causing any other damage to the standing
trees inside a forest shall be done by the persons in charge of the cattle. (5)
Every permit-holder shall assist any
Forest Officer or Police Officer in extinguishing fire in the forests and in
the detection and prevention of offence in any forest and in arrest of the
offenders in forest offences. (6)
Penning of cattle within a reserve
forest may be allowed by the Divisional Forest Officer or an officer authorised
by him under a permit in Form No. 2 under such terms and conditions as may be
specified therein, and on realisation of a fee of twenty-five paise per day per
head of cattle permitted to be so penned. The cattle during in the penned areas
shall be the property of the Government. The permit shall be in triplicate. The
original and the duplicate shall be handed over to person concerned who shall
send the duplicate to the concerned Range Officer and the triplicate shall be
retained as counterfoils by the issuing authority. (7)
In the event of the original permit
being lost the Divisional Forest Officer, if satisfied on enquiring about the
loss of the permit may issue a duplicate permit on realisation of a fee of one
rupee for that purpose. A register of permits issued shall be maintained by the
Range Officer in respect of his Range in Form No. 3. Any breach of these rules or any of the conditions of the
permits shall render the permit liable to cancellation and the permit-holder,
to penal action under Sections 27, 37 and 83 of the Act, as the case may be,
over and above such action that may or might have taken under the Cattle
Trespass Act, 1871. Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules, at the
time of drought, famine, flood and other natural calamities, the State
Government may, by notification in the official gazette, relax any or all of
the provisions of these rules to such extent and for such period as may be
necessary. In the event of out-break of cattle epidemic no cattle
shall be allowed to graze in the forest unless preventive action has been taken
and certified by the Veterinary Assistant Surgeon of the locality. (1)
The State Government or a Forest
Officer authorised in that behalf shall have the power to charge a special fees
for allowing cutting and removal of fodder grass in plantation areas closed to
grazing in reserve or protected forests. (2)
Such fees shall be notified by the
Divisional Forest Officer from time to time, in the locality where the
plantation is situated by beat of drums in the neighbouring villages. All rules corresponding to these rules and in force
immediately before the commencement of these rules are hereby repealed: Provided that any orders made, things done or action taken
under the rules so repealed shall be deemed to have been made, done or taken
under the relevant provisions of these rules.THE ORISSA FOREST (GRAZING OF
CATTLE) RULES, 1980
PREAMBLE