Bhopal, Apr 9: The beautiful spectacle of peacock dance goes unsung in dense forest where there is no one to watch it. But this notion is going to be belied soon. Now the peacock would dance in the jungles and the entire world would bear witness to it. This 'virtual' peacock is none else than village Kattipar situated in dense Balaghat jungles.

This almost inaccessible small hamlet has barely 25 houses of tribal folks and the same is going to become a village of lakhpatis as nine residents of it are to get half a crore of rupees. The village which was once miles away from development, is now going to carve out its own identity. The credit of making tribal farmers of this hamlet goes to Forest Department's Lok Vaniki Yojana.

All the families of this village, situated near the border with Maharashtra, have been dependent on forest produce and labour. After implementation of the scheme this hamlet, Jeevanlal is going to receive Rs 12.46 lakh, Dasrulal Rs 9.68 lakh, Punnu Singh Rs 5.53 lakh, Bhaiyalal Rs 5.19 lakh, Suganlal Rs 4.12 lakh, Khemlal Rs 4.26 lakh, Nathulal Rs 3.36 lakh, Rendulal Rs 1.91 lakh and Suma Bai would get Rs 1.40 lakh.

The Forest Department has made arrangement for cutting the timber-producing trees owned by these villagers through Forest Committees and auction of the same at government rates at department's wood depots. This initiative by the Forest Department has eliminated middlemen from this trade ensuring more profit to the villagers.

Rules have been simplified under the scheme. The Forest Committee would get the clearance of cutting trees within 15 days. In return the committee would get five per cent supervision fee. The farmers would have to invest 20 per cent of the amount from the sale of their trees on plantation of new trees twice in number than trees cut by them.

The farmers of Kattipar who are going to become lakhpatis say unhesitatingly that earlier they were not being given permission to cut trees in their own farms. But the assistance given by Forest Department officials have made them Lakhpatis, finally. They plan to purchase lands at roadsides for settling there. They would also get their fields dug deep so that they can get good paddy crops. They have also resolved to plant saplings in large number to compensate felling of trees by them for sale.

Drawing inspiration from Subelal Baiga of Korka, the residents of Kattipar have also got their bamboo sticks sold through auction at Bakramudi depot. They are going earn handsome money form the sale of bamboos also. Apart from making farmers lakhpatis, the Public Forestry Scheme would also help a great deal in conservation of forest.