Cold hearths

Energy problems have reached alarming proportions in the Tawang and Bomdilla areas. Since the last five years, Choizm, of Khamba hamlet of Lohu basti in Tawang, has been hiring help at the rate of Rs 40 per day and paying Rs 1,000 for a truckload of firewood. She has also learnt to make her wood last longer. Earlier, about eight to ten sticks were burnt at a time in her fireplace. Now not more than five are used at a time. Choizm recalls the days when collecting firewood was a short,

Who owns the land?

Arunachal Pradesh's tribals believe they have an absolute right over the state's land and forests. The state takes a different view of the matter. The entire area lying between the McMohan Line and the Inner Line is technically owned by the state. In actual practice, government land constitutes only 26.16 per cent of this territory. About 73.56 per cent of the total forest area is marked as unclassed state forest where customary laws prevail and the state cannot intervene without prior consultation with

Chopping down the future

ARUNACHAL Pradesh is one of the greenest states in India. Yet today, despite having only seven persons to a square kilometre and about 8.4 million ha of rich vegetation, the state is gravely threatened by deforestation. Forest officials claim an almost 14 per cent increase in forest cover between 1980 and 1987. About half this increase can be attributed to the inclusion of areas which satellite images