The Andhra Pradesh government taken up JFM programmes with World Bank funds in 1993. SAKTI supported by SPWD hosted the first state level conference of NGOs and officials in December 1993 in Rampachodavaram. Then Principle Secretary forest department Sri S.Ray participated for three days in this conference. In the preparatory workshop conducted in Maredumilli forest guesthouse preceding the conference SAKTI proposed that here after the tribal should implement and follow FC act either by checking the government where it goes wrong and supporting it where it is needed. In the conference SAKTI shared its experience through charts photographs, distributed material on the experience of Chipco movement taking up afforestation; the forest protections committees of people successfully protecting forests in 20000 village in Orissa state; the traditional management system of common property resources particularly among the tribals of East Godavari. The venue of the workshop was named after the local idiom used for such system ‘Noorinti Adavi’ which means 'forest of hundred house holds’. Already several villagers are protecting forests in drought hit Anantapur district.

SAKTI tried to impress upon the participants, while the government orders allowing deforestation can be challenged in court of law, the inconsistencies and loopholes in the management allowing smuggling, not following silviculture principles and under payment of wages and corruption in executing the works can only be checked by a vigilant NGO moment educating themselves and community in forest operations and influencing an attitudinal change in the foresters and forcing a change in the policies on the ground. SAKTI felt that the department should not be allowed to wash of its hands pumping money to JFM. It is duty bound to follow the guidelines of MoEF, activise forums constituted under the wild life protection act and allow the poor to participate in conflict resolution – forest protection afforestation. SAKTI went ahead with its Nurinti Adavi community forest management programme. Sri Aravind Khare the then Executive Director of SPWD observed that -

"NGO-supported community-based conservation: NGOs are supporting community struggle for conservation of their resources in two ways: one is to fight the attempts of entrenched classes to do any more damage and the second is to devise positive solution for conservation. For example, Sakti is a federation of 23 community groups who have been protecting their forests for more than 10 years, much before the advent of JFM, and, because of their strength, are in a position to consolidate their conservation efforts by utilizing JFM provisions".

- Aravind Khare in Communities and Conservation,
Natural Resource Management in South and Central Asia. Page No:98
– Published by Kalpavriksh in 1998

Instead of taking afforestation under the specific guidelines of MOEF inviting proposals under "Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Association of Scheduled Tribe and Rural poor in Afforestation of Degraded Forests" the department went ahead with JFM programme in the lands under theoccupation of tribals in the reserve forests with fond hope of erasing the hope of individual ownership from the minds of tribals.

"The task of the VSS is to protect land falling within its revenue boundaries. But the use of forests was not based on revenue demarcations. So the VSS took on the responsibility to keep away the ‘outsiders’. The project funds compelled the VSS to raise and protect the ‘boundaries’ from its traditional users. Overnight, many people lost access to grazing lands, fuel wood and livelihood. Even beedi leaf, a seasonal plant that is harvested when the leaves are tender and within a short time was not accessible. the VSS then had to stop grazing by cattle from the people in the village. Then began curbs on shifting (podu) cultivation – a practice among tribals to grow subsistence food crops on hill slopes. The appraisal mission of the World Bank has acknowledged with satisfaction that the project has succeeded in reversing and podu".

- Participatory Forestry and Peoples Entitlements
– A Case Study, Dr. K.S.Gopal, CEC.,

The staff appraisal report of World Bank identified delay in setting of rights of the people in the Wildlife Sanctuaries is one of the reasons for the hostilities between forest department and tribals in A.P. District Collectors who are vested with powers to settle the rights used to act as check on the claims of forest department. But forest department in 1997 delegated the powers of District Collector to one of their senior officers in the department, the conservator. Inspite of getting such sweeping powers the department did not initiate the process of settlement.

GOs protested the attempts of government inviting private investment in the JFM programmes and opposing the alleged attempts of the forest department to dislocate the tribals from their lands covered by JFM. Govt changed the name of JFM to CFM by a order again announced a state policy of forest management similar to 1993 order.

The Department confined involvement of JFM committees only to the works supported by the World Bank. When the government released funds for the excavation of trenches on the boundaries, the department executed the works importing their choice of labour.

Tribal efforts to improve their involvement in the process:

In 1993 Upholding SAKTI petition against leasing of lands to non-tribals the court ruled that ‘person includes government’. The Commissioner Tribal Welfare instructed to the Collector, Khammam to evict APFDC managed by a govt. nominated body of non-tribals having cashew plantations in the scheduled areas of the district. But in SAMATA judgement in 1997 government and its corporations are allowed to own lands. But tribals of Khammam district forced the FDC to distribute 1600 acres of cashew plantations to the self help groups. The Chenchu tribes of Mahaboobnagar district exposed and the department supporting fishing for commercial purposes in Nagarjuna sagar – Srisailam Tiger reserve (wild life sanctuary) where such activity is prohibited under law and checked the same through court orders. They obtained court directions to dispose the proposal regarding declaration of their villages in the sanctuary as revenue villages. For the last 50 years since independence, government ignored to enroll them as voters in the elections of Panchayat Raj institutions. Now not only they are enrolled as voters; they elected their representatives. They are demanding active participation in the management of Sanctuary participating in the state wild life advisory board and other related forums and insisting a stake in working out tourism programme.

In May 2002 govt of India issued a circular to take up measures evict encroachers from forest lands. SAKTI traced the history off these encroachments and the abandoned attempts to regularise them in a petition filed in High Court of A.P. The court stayed the eviction of tribals from forest lands.

"NGO-supported community based conservation: NGOs are supporting community struggle for conservation of their resources in two ways: one is to fight the attempts of entrenched classes to do any more damage and the second is to devise positive solutions for conservation. For example, SAKTI is a federation of 23 community groups who have been protecting their forests for more than 10 years, much before the advent of JFM, and, because of their strength, are in a position to consolidate their conservation efforts by utilizing JFM provisions."

-Aravind Khare Community based conservation in India-1998

GCC has monopoly rights to purchase Minor Forest Produce. There are 30 Co-operative Societies affiliated to Girijan Co-operative Corporation holding monopoly rights over the purchase of NTFP. The membership in these societies is confined to tribes. The Presidents of these societies become the members of GCC and in turn are supposed to elect the Board of Directors of GCC. These elections are required by law to be held every three years. The Board of GCC is however, nominated by Government. Since 1985, no elections were conducted to any of the 30 affiliated co-operatives.

Unless tribals are members of the local Co-operative, they cannot participate in the elections. Thus they cannot participate in the process of purchase price fixation and policy making of vital functions of the monopoly purchaser. Realising this, and after consulting community members, SAKTI filed a writ and the High Court ordered elections to be held to these societies in 1995. The very notification of these elections created enthusiasm among the tribes as the aspirants sought to inform themselves of the activities of the co-operatives and what benefits they could obtain for their electorate. The tribes people also became involved in this process. Thus the elections elicited interest in a democratic forum and the issues that they confront while selling produce to the monopoly buyer of NTFP. An important outcome was the change in perception of the way the tribals viewed the GCC: no longer as being an interlocutor but rather as being an extension of their own community.