ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the forest management in the villages that are registered under the Joint Forest Management agreement. The villages are Bhagwati Chowk and Amratola-Phulpahari in West Bengal, and Maheshpur and Nawagarh in Jharkhand. Villagers, however, are conscious of the boundaries to the forest that have been allotted to their Village Forest Management and Protection Committees. The chapter also discusses the population composition, the history of local forests, the degree of dependence on forest, management patterns, local leadership, and how villagers have responded to Joint Forest Management in each of forest protection committees. It illustrates the essential disjunction that exists between the village polity and forest politics. The chapter describes intervillage contests over forest usufruct. It demonstrates that village leadership plays a unique role in guiding forestry practices within a village and in giving shape to the relationship with neighbouring villages and the officials of the Forest Department.
