Agartala, Nov. 23: The Tripura government’s attempt to launch a critical wildlife and plant sanctuary across 56 square km of hilly terrain spread over two districts has provoked a serious reaction in the indigenous tribal community inhabiting these areas.

More than 20,000 people are likely to be displaced by the proposed sanctuary that will encompass Gandacherra and Ambassa subdivision of Dhalai and Amarpur subdivision of South Tripura districts.

The issue has already become politicised with the Opposition, the Indigenous National Party of Tripura (INPT), dubbing it as anti-tribal and declaring an all-out fight to stop its implementation.

Briefing mediapersons over the issue, INPT general secretary and former MLA Rabindra Debbarma said according to notices issued by the forest department, 1,200 families would be evicted from Gandacherra subdivision, 1,500 families from Ambassa subdivision and 1,500 more families would be evicted from Amarpur subdivision.

“These are cold figures but beyond this more than 50,000 families will be indirectly affected by the evictions,” Debbarma said.

He said the families targeted for eviction were earlier displaced by the construction of Dumbur hydro-electrical project in the seventies and now they would be displaced for the second time.

“We will launch an agitation programme from the first week of December against this eviction programme and it will commence with a blockade of Dumbur Nagar block office at Gandacherra,” Debbarma said, adding that village-level meetings to mobilise tribal public opinion over the issue have already started.

However, official sources in the forest department denied any possibility of eviction or displacement.

“This area is rich in bio-diversity and if a sanctuary is formed and upgraded to a national park, the entire expenses will be borne by the Centre. The tribals living in these areas will be accommodated in cluster villages free of cost because the expenditure will again be borne by the Union government,” said an official, on condition of anonymity.

He said the project would be beneficial to the state in terms of funds flow from the Centre and at the same time tribals would lose nothing.

“It is, however, quite clear that politically this project and subsequent building of cluster villages will be beneficial to the ruling CPM because at every stage of implementation the party cadres will be involved,” the official said.

The INPT general secretary, however, objected to this and described the move as a “conspiracy” to build up and nurture vote banks of the Communists among the tribals of the state.