The Kerala model tends to the averages, often excluding the outliers in their development experience (Kurien, 1995). The state has repeatedly prioritized its agendas over the rights and welfare of such communities. Communities depending on forest lands and resources for their livelihood have been specially excluded from the Kerala development paradigm. The Adivasis in Kerala have faced the brunt of this restrictive nature of policies. While studies have looked into the impact of the Kerala development model on the livelihood of the Adivasis, contextualizing it from the perspective of NTFP dependency and governance is few and sparse.
Moreover, the focus of such studies is limited to the ecological impact on forests due to tribal NTFP dependency. Furthermore, there is a significant research gap as to how the bureaucratic machinery of the Kerala development model induces tribal NTFP dependency while simultaneously cutting off the NTFP access to the Adivasi communities. Venturing beyond the environmental and conservation implications is also essential to address the existing research gap of the sociocultural impacts of these communities due to NTFP dependency. Similar studies have limited their scope to the economic aspect of NTFP dependency Prior studies have suggested tribal resettlement from the forest lands or restricted access as a means of ecological conservation. However, the current study aims to demonstrate the adverse impact of such a strategy within the context of NTFP-based subsistence. Overall, the aims to highlight how the development plans in the country fail to accommodate the livelihood needs and welfare of the Adivasi communities from the perspective of NTFP access and dependency.
