Baripada: Wildlife authorities in a move to relocate the human settlements from core and buffer regions of the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) recently shifted 75 families to another village.

STR officials said the relocation was done after the villagers requested them to facilitate their shifting.

The villagers are now given shelter at Sialinai village under Batapala gram panchayat from Ramjodi under Dudhiani range of Karanjia. Ramjodi is close to the core area of the sanctuary.

The villagers along with their household items and livestock were ferried to the new location, about 30km from their village, by transports provided by the authorities. They are relocated and given basic facilities, including temporary accommodation, kitchen, toilets, cattle shed, solar light, health care centre and so on.

Karanjia divisional forest officer Prasanna Kumar Behera said the relocation for the patch was undertaken after the settlers had volunteered to move out from the buffer zone. "Around 200 members belonging to 75 families are relocated under the state government's voluntary relocation policy. Each family are being given Rs 10 lakh besides 10 decimals of land and Rs 1.30 lakh for construction of house under the Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana," said Behera.

"For three months, the displaced would be given free food," he said, adding that a part of expenditure of relocation was borne by the water resources department as the patch was coming under the Deo irrigation project.

Assistant conservator of forests Batakrushna Padhi said the process had begun about a year ago.

"The relocated villagers have been provided with all basic facilities in the temporary shed. Their kitchen, cattle shed and dining space is common. They are given with a kit for day-to-day household use items by the Red Cross. One anganwadi centre has also been established," Padhi said.

On May 30, 75 members belonging to 41 families got relocated at Raikabasha from their native place Matakacha (Sanabarhakamuda) under Dudhiani range of Karanjia.

The STR authorities have relocated all the human settlements within its core area according to the guidelines of National Tiger Conservation Authority. However, Bakua, which is a human habitation in the critical core area of the sanctuary with about 60 families, has still been left out.