Chapter-I The Tract Dealt With

Vazhachal Forest DivisionChapter-IThe Tract Dealt WithName and Situation:1. Introduction: The present Vazhachal Forest Division came into existence witheffect from 1.8.1981 with its Headquarters at consequent on the reorganization of theerstwhile Central Circle, Thrissur and Industrial Plantation Circle, Perumbavoor toform High Range Circle Kottayam and the present Central Circle, Thrissur as perG.O.MS.197/81 Forest dated.31.7.1981, copy of which is included in the WorkingPlan as Appendix No. I. The areas of this Division fall in Kodassery Reserve,Malayattur and Idayara Reserve and Athirapally Reserve. Copies of reservenotifications are given in Appendix No. II. The areas of this division were formerlyparts of Chalakudy Division and of Industrial Plantation Divisions of Perumuzhi andVazhachal.2. This Division has the following five Ranges:Table No: 1. Ranges and HeadquartersName of the RangeHeadquarters1. AthirapaIIy Ezhattumugham2. Charpa Vazhachal3. Kollathirumedu Kollathirumedu4. Sholayar Ambalapara5. Vazhachal Pokalapara3. Period: This is the “First Working Plan for the Vazhachal Forest Division." Itdeals with all the natural forests and plantations in the Vazhachal Forest Division.Period covered is 2002-2003 to 2011-2012.4. Area: The total extent of the forests coming under this Division is 41394.398 hawhich includes all natural forests and plantations. The details of the areas are asfollows.- 1 -

Vazhachal Forest DivisionTable No.: 2. Extent of the Natural Forests and PlantationsSl. No. Category Extent (ha)1 Natural Forests 34114.1382 Teak 3891.3703 Teak & Elavu 1777.9904 Miscellaneous Plantation 1610.900Total 41394.398The areas handed over to other purposes are 1198.714 ha the details of whichare given in Appendix No. III. Details of long term leases in the division are givenin Appendix No. IV. The major portion of the area of this division falls within theRevenue district of Thrissur and the balance in Ernakulam.5. Situation: The areas of Vazhachal Forest Division fall in Mukundapuram Talukof Thrissur District and Aluva Taluk of Ernakulam District and lie distributed inSholayar, Kollathirumadu, Vazhachal, Chapra and Athirapally Ranges. Theimportant towns are Chalakudy, Angamaly, North Paravoor, Naracal, Desom,Munambam, Thuravoor, Manjapara, Koratty, Karukutty, Meloor, Cherai, Kadukuttyetc. The tract dealt with falls between 10°5 ½" and 10°23" North latitudes and 76°9"and 76°52 ½" East longitudes.6. Roads: The important roads within the Division are the following.1) Chalakudy Anamalai road up to Malakkipara2) Chalakudy Desom road (National High Way)3) Desom North Paravoor road4) Kottapuram North Paravoor Road5) North Paravoor Munambam Road6) North Paravoor Narackal Road7) Kalady Plantation Road up to Majapra.8) Majapra Angamaly Road9) Majapra Thuravoor Road10) Kalady Plantation Road up to Muringoor11) Munoorpilly Mukkanoor Angamaly Road12) Vazhachal Nellithodu Road13) Thadimudi Post Office Road14) Chulli Plantation Road- 2 -

Vazhachal Forest Division15) Vazhachal Orukombankutty Road16) Poringalkuthu Karanthodu Road17) Watchmaram Rapra Road18) Watchman Thavalakuzhypara Road19) Ambalapara Orukomban Road20) Sami Pocket Road21) Athirapally Vadamuri Road22) Athirapally Oolassery Road23) Oliveli Chully Road24) Chulli Chalikandam Road25) Vadamuri Post Office Road26) Kannankuzhy Panjanmkuthu Road27) Ittiany Panjanamkuthu Road28) Tramway Road up to Parambikulam29) Sidhan Pocket Road30) Choozhimedu Kalakkallen Road31) Pokalppara Karadipara Road32) Punnapocket Kalakkallen Road33) Anamukku Road34) Athirapally Karadippara Road35) Muringoor – Annanadu – Kadukutty Road36) Koratty – Kadikudam – Kadukutty Road37) Elavoor Vattaparambu Road7. Railway: The Shornur-Cochin Railway line intersects this Division at Chalakudyand passes up to Angamaly. There are four Railway Stations in this Division areaviz., Chalakudy, Angamaly, Koratty and Karukutty.8. Administration: The Range is the unit of administration, which is divided intoForest Stations. The boundary descriptions of the division and the five Ranges areshown in Appendix No.1.9. The details of the Ranges, Stations, Sections and Beats with their Headquarterscoming under the Division are appended below.- 3 -

Vazhachal Forest DivisionSI.No.1 AthirappillyTable No. 3 Administrative units in the DivisionRange Station Section BeatsAthirappillyEzhattumugham2 Charpa Kannamkuzhi3 VazhachalVazhachalMukkampuzha4 Kollathirumedu Kollathirumedu5 SholayarMalakkapparaSholayarAthirappillyVadamuriEzhattumughamKannamkuzhiCharpaKaranthoduPokalapparaVazhachalMukkampuzhaKaradippraKollathirumeduMalakkapparaSholayarChandhanathodeAthirappillyOolasseryVadamuriThadimudiEzhattumughamChulliKannamkuzhiKaringamparaCharpaPanjanamkuthuKaranthoduKundurmeduPokalappra EastPokalapparaWestVazhachalPoringalOrukombanMukkampuzhaKaradipparaRapraKollathirumeduMalakkapparaAnakkayamSholayarChandhanathode10. In Vazhachal Division 8 Forest Stations were constituted as per G.O (MS)No.56/91/Forest dated 16.7.1991 reorganizing the existing Stations and Beats. Copyof G.O is given in Appendix No. XVITable No: 4. Forest Stations in Vazhachal DivisionSI. No. Range Forest Station Headquarters1 Charpa Kannankuzhy Vazhachal2Vazhachal VazhachalPokalapparaMukkumpuzha Anakkayam3 Kollathirumedu Kollathirumedu Watchmuram4Sholayar Malakkippara Malakkippara5AthirapallySholayarAthirapallyEzhattumughamAnakkayamAthirapallyChully- 4 -

Vazhachal Forest DivisionConfiguration of the ground:11. Altitude: The altitude varies from 200 m to 1300 m, the highest point beingKarimalakomban in Sholayar Range.12. Topography: The Forests are situated on the Western slopes of the WesternGhats. The whole area is hilly and undulating, the eastern portion being morerugged than the west. This rugged Eastern portion has many valleys of whichSholayar, Watchmaram, Vazhachal etc. are the important ones. The northeasternportion of this division like Malakkippara, Sholayar, Chandanthodu, Sheikalmudi,Ambalappara, Anakkayam etc. and the northern portion of Orukomban, Karanthodu,Orukombankutty, Karimalagopuram and the Southern portion of Rapra, Kalakkallen,Oolassery, Choozhimedu and the Western portion of Vadamuri, Athirapally,Thadimudi etc. are with dense forests.13. Aspect: It is evident that all aspects are met with because of the rugged nature ofthe terrain with its numerous hilly features both on the main and subsidiary ridges.14. Drainage: The Drainage is mostly towards west. The main rivers and streams inthis division are the following.1. Chalakudy River: It flows from the northeastern area towards west andreaches Arabian Sea at Munambam.2. Periyar: From Desom till it reaches the Arabian Sea, it causes the drainage ofthe Southern portion of this division.3. Manimaruthuthodu: It flows southwest from Watchmaram -Thavalakuzhiparaportion and flows down to the Edamalayar Catchment area.4. Anakkayam Thodu: It flows westwards from Ambalappara -Sholayar portionand merges with Poringal Reservoir.5. Karanthodu: This flows eastwards and then southwards of Panjanamkuthuarea and reaches Chalakudy River.6. Kannamkuzhithodu: This flows from the northeastern area of Charpa Rangeand flows southwest and merges with Chalakudy River at Kannankuzhy. Thisforms the Western boundary of the Division up to Chalakudy River.7. Oolassery -Athirapallythodu:-This runs from Oolassery thodu and flows 12km down in a zigzag manner and joins into Chalakudy River at Athirapally.- 5 -

Vazhachal Forest Division8. Chullithodu: This flows southwest from the plantation area and passesthrough Chully Group of plantations.9. Orukombanthodu: This originates from the northern side of this division andflows westwards and then southwards and merges with Chalakudy River.10. Chandanthodu:-This flows from Chandanthodu area and passes throughPathadipalam and merges with Sholayar Reservoir.11. Charpathodu: This starts from Karanthodu area and flows southwest andmerges with Chalakudy River at Charpa.Geology, Rock and Soil:15. Geologically the area consists of crystalline rocks of archaen age of eitherigneous or metamorphic origin. They comprise chiefly of Charnockites, granites, andgranitic gneisses with narrow bands of pyroxene granulates and magnetite quartz aremost widespread. Many of the horn blendic and biotite gneisses are of the nature ofcharnockites. (Geological Survey of India 1976)16. Different types of soil are met with in the Division. It varies from very shallowgravelly soil on the upper slopes to deep filler textured soil on the lower slopes andin the valleys. This is due to geological erosion and the resultant alluvial deposition.Alluvial deposits are also met with along the stream and riverbanks. The propertiesof the soil are further influenced by the type of vegetation cover. Places devoid ofgood cover have a tendency for laterisation and have resulted in laterite cappings onfoothills in some areas.17. Climate: The area falls in the tropical zone. Three distinct seasons are felt in thisarea viz. cold season, hot season and rainy season.18. a) Cold Season Generally this period is from the month of November toFebruary. Usually the days are very hot and the nights are cold. Deciduous speciesgrowing on soil with rocky substrata begin to shed their leaves during this period.During the early period, almost all species often flower.19. b) Hot Season Usually it has three months span viz. March, April & May. Theclimate is very hot and the humidity is the maximum during this season. As indicatedabove it is the hottest part of the year. However, it has to be pointed out that the hotseason gets a few pre-monsoon showers in the middle of April and early Monsoon in- 6 -

Vazhachal Forest Divisionthe month of May, if it is not late. At times it so happens that one or two earlyshowers may be available as early as in the last week of March or may be delayed tillthe close of April or the beginning of May. A good pre-monsoon shower may bereceived in the month of May and quite often will be preceded by thunder andlighting. Invariably the months of April and May will be sultry.20. c) Rainy Season: The usual rainy season is from the month of June toNovember. But a well defined and specific pattern of rainfall is not in existence. Theusual rainy season will have pre-monsoon showers in March -April, then a short spanof dry weather immediately followed by the outbreak of Southwest monsoon i.e. inMayor June. This rainfall period (South-west) is closely followed by the northeastmonsoon, which ends by November to give way for the beginning of the dryweather. This was the normal pattern of rainfall. But at present, the beginning andending of both the monsoons have become quite uncertain. The heaviest of thesouthwest monsoon showers will be in July. Incessant rains are often experiencedwith little break and the sky overcast with thick clouds, often associated with strongwind. The year wise distribution of the rainfall over the entire area is given inAppendix No. V.21. Water Supply: There is an adequate and satisfactory water supply throughoutthe entire area of the division. Even if most of the streamlets and some streams dryup during the summer season there are many streams and rivers, which are perennialin nature spreading as a network over the entire area. The five major rivers, whichdrain the tract, are perennial while some of the tributaries dry up during the dryseason. The following are the main rivers.1. Karappara 2. Sholayar 3. Chalakudy4. Edamalayar Periyar 5. Periyar22. These rivers along with their tributaries form a very good water supply anddrainage system. The three water spread areas, viz., reservoirs of Sholayar lake,Poringal lake and Edamalayar lake augment the water supply in this Division. Boththe Sholayar & Poringal lakes fall within the Division where as the Edamalayar lakelies on the southeast part of the Division adjoining Kollathirumadu Range.- 7 -

Vazhachal Forest Division23. There are a number of seasonal watercourses, which carry bulk of water in therainy season, but invariably dry up during summer. There are a few springs noticedmost of which are Perennial, but some linger for a few months and dry up during thehot months.24. Wells are usually provided for almost all the residential buildings for supply ofgood and protected water. In places such as Pariyaram, Chalakudy, Koratty,Angamaly, Thuravoor, Manjapra, Desom, North Paravoor, Munambam, Narackal,Cherai etc. the water supply scheme of the Kerala Water Authority is a blessing tothe public to have a good purified and continuous water supply. In the lowerelevations, the water table is low and most of the wells get dried up during the monthof March to May.25. The Athirapally and Vazhachal water falls are along the Chalakudy River, whichare places of tourist importance. For Irrigation purposes, the water from ChalakudyRiver is used extensively in places like Angamaly, Mookanoor, Koratty, Manjapra,Kadukutty, Annamanada,Kodaly, Vellikulangara, Randukai and Kodakara. For thispurpose, the water from Chalakudy River is diverted through right bank canal andthe left bank canal from Thumboormuzhy, which supply water to the abovementioned places.26. Distribution of the Area: The following are the Range wise distribution ofareas in this Division:Table No. 5. Range wise distribution of the areaSl. No Name of Range Headquarters Area (ha)1 Athirapally Ezhattumugham 9509.8102 Charpa Vazhachal 5997.4503 Kollathirumadu Kollathirumadu 2934.8804 Sholayar Ambalapara 13888.0185 Vazhachal Pokalappara 9064.320Total 41394.39827. Out of these, the area under Sholayar Range, part of Vazhachal andKollathirumadu Ranges come under the Athirappilly un-surveyed Reserve Forestsand the area of Charpa Range and the balance of Vazhachal Range come under theKodassery Un-surveyed Reserve Forests and that of Athirapally Range and the- 8 -

Vazhachal Forest Divisionbalance of Kollathirumedu Range come under the Malayattur Un-surveyed ReserveForests. Details of Reserves are shown below:Table No. 6. Name of Reserves in the DivisionSI. No. Name of Reserve Extent (ha)1 Athirappilly Reserve 15822.802 Kodassery Reserve 15061.803 Malayattoor –Edayara Reserve 10509.80Total 41394.40Table No. 7. Range wise, Reserve wise distribution of the AreaName of Reserve (Extent in ha)SI.Range Athirappilly Kodassery Malayattoor -No.Reserve Reserve Edayara Reserve1 Athirappilly 9509.802 Charpa 5997.503 Vazhachal 9064.304 Kollathirumedu 1934.80 1000.005 Sholayar 13888.00Total 15822.80 15061.80 10509.80Grant Total 41394.40Action Plan for survey and demarcation: All the un-surveyed reserves of thedivision should be surveyed within a period of two years from the commencement ofplan period using modern technology like Remote Sensing and GIS techniques.Year wise budgetary requirements for survey of the un-surveyed ReserveForests are shown belowTable No. 8. Budgetary requirements for surveySI No. Year Amount ( Rs.in lakhs)1 2003-04 0.502 2004 – 05 0.50Boundary Consolidation: Boundary consolidation of forest area of this Division isalmost completed. Boundary demarcation of remaining 1 km extent is being taken upduring 2002-2003.Total Extent ofthe Boundary(km)Table No. 9 Details of boundary consolidationExtent of NaturalBoundaries (km)Extent of boundaryto be demarcated(km)Workcompleted(km)Balanceworkpending(km)250 180 70 69 1- 9 -

Vazhachal Forest DivisionJoint verification has to be done for 0.04 Hectare of forest land inKollathirumedu Range. So far sanction from Central Government has been receivedfor diversion of 162.152 hectare of forest land for non forestry purpose as per ForestConservation Act, 1980.28. The effective area to be dealt with in this Working Plan is 41394.398 ha, thedetails of which are as given below:Table No.10 Division of the areaSI No. Category Extent (ha)1 Natural Forests 34114.1382 Teak 3891.3703 Teak & Elavu 1777.9905 Miscellaneous Plantation 1610.900Total 41394.398Table No. 11 Details of area under Non forestry practices (ha)Total area 41394.398i. Area leased out to private persons for cultivation 813.7291ii. Area leased out to Plantation Corporation of Kerala Ltd. 545.510iii Area leased out for Hydroelectric project 249.7329iv. Poringal Church 0.184v. Hill men settlements 134.968vi.Joint verification yetEncroachmentsto be completedEffective area 39650.274An extent of 4261.048 ha of forest land coming under Kalady Range,Athirappilly Range, and Pariyaram Range have been leased out to the PlantationCorporation of Kerala Ltd. for the purpose of cultivating rubber or any otherplantation crops. Among this 3545.510 ha belongs to Vazhachal Division. Thecorporation has undertaken cultivation of cashew in the area unsuitable for Rubber.Terms and conditions are shown in Appendix VI.29. State of boundaries: Wherever possible external boundaries of the reserve forestwere adjusted along the natural features like rivers, streams and ridges. Works ofsurvey and erection of cairns to demarcate the boundary are in progress. Quite oftenroads also form external boundaries of the ranges and division in some areas. Theboundary descriptions of Ranges and Divisions are given Appendix I (G.O. (MS)No. 197181/Forest dated 31.7.1981.)- 10 -

Vazhachal Forest Division30. Interstate Boundaries: The only Inter-state boundary in this division is the onelying between Thrissur Revenue District & Coimbatore Revenue District ofTamilnadu the length of which is about 19 km. This boundary, which passes alongthe eastern border of the Division, has to be cleared and the cairns maintainedannually.31. Legal Position: All the Reserve Forests dealt with in this plan are the property ofthe Government and have been notified under the Travancore & Cochin Forests Actsfor the areas covered by the then Travancore & Cochin States respectively. The arealeased out for Kerala State Electricity Board for the Poringalkuthu Hydro-ElectricProject and Sholayar Hydro-Electric Project, the area leased out for the PlantationCorporation of Kerala (Kalady Group of Plantations), the area given forKannankuzhy Harijan Colony and Tribal Development Department and Hill menSettlements are given in Appendix No. III.32. Rights and Concessions: The Certain rights and concessions are admitted in theKodassery Reserve at the time of settlement. The rights and concessions admitted aregiven in Appendix No. VII. No rights or concessions are seen admitted inAthirapally, Malayattur & Idiyara Reserves at the time of settlement. The rightsadmitted at settlement relate to temples, enclosures and use of road and path aredefined in the notification of reservation under section 18 of the Forest Act in force.- 11 -