Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai on Thursday ordered a probe into the alleged eviction of Kamar tribe families in the Bagbahara forest area in the state. Sai directed the Forest Department to investigate how the notice was issued by a forest official to the families to evict them from a forest area where they had been living for years. The matter came to the Chief Ministers notice at the Jandarshan programme where Sai interacts with people to address their grievances. It is held every Thursday. A delegation of Kamar tribals residing in Bagbahara forest area submitted a memorandum to Sai to stop the eviction proceedings. Alakh Ram Kamar of the Bagbahra forest area said that 20 Kamar families, including his own, were residing in the forest area. He said they had lived there before the Special Backward Tribes Forest Rights Act 2006 came into being. The forest is the source of their livelihood, he said. The Forest Rights Committee also recommended on May 10, 2008 that land leases be given to the families. In 2008, Gram Panchayat Tamora got bores dug for drinking water. They have not been given forest right Pattas till date as they opposed the officials demand for money, the delegation members said. The Chief Minister took a serious note and directed senior forest officials to investigate the entire matter and take appropriate action.

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