West Singhbhum administration has begun verifying records and boundaries for 14 forest villages in the Saranda and Kolhan forest areas, initiating a process that could bring the settlements into the regular revenue administration framework and improve residents’ access to government schemes and civic records.
Deputy commissioner Manish Kumar has directed additional deputy commissioner Kisto Kumar Besra and other officials to conduct a detailed survey of the villages. The exercise will examine land records, maps, geographical boundaries and other supporting documents before the administration prepares a comprehensive report by the end of November.
The verification is being carried out in line with guidelines issued by the Union tribal affairs ministry and provisions of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, according to the district administration. The law provides for the recognition of eligible individual and community forest rights and allows forest villages, old habitations and unsurveyed settlements to be identified and converted into revenue villages after the prescribed procedure is completed.
Ten of the villages under review are located in the Saranda forest area: Tholkobad, Tirilposi, Navagaon-1, Navagaon-2, Bitkal Soy, Digha, Baliwa, Karamapada, Bangaon and Kumudi. The remaining four — Tumbahaka, Rajabasa, Rangamati and Husupi — are in the Kolhan forest area.
For residents, the proposed administrative change is linked to more than a change in official classification. The district administration said revenue-village status is expected to help people access government schemes, civic records and administrative services through the regular revenue system. The immediate verification, however, is intended to establish whether the historical records, village locations, boundaries and other statutory requirements are complete and accurate.
The issue was reviewed at a meeting chaired by Kumar at the district headquarters on Sunday. Saranda divisional forest officer Abhirup Sinha, deputy development commissioner Utkarsh Kumar, Besra and other officials attended the meeting, which discussed survey requirements, record verification and the administrative steps needed before any final decision.
The administration has not announced that the 14 villages have already been converted. Officials are first required to complete the verification and submit their report by the end of November, after which the proposal will proceed through the applicable statutory process.
