In Kikruma village, after deciding on declaring a wildlife reserve the village council faced a challenge as to which land to declare as a wildlife reserve. The land in the entire village is individually owned, and villagers were not ready to part with their land. The council then decided to buy the land from those who were ready to sell it. Since water conservation was one of the main objectives, the land on the top of the ridge was selected. The council lobbied with the local MLAs and managed to get sufficient resources to buy all the land covering the top of the ridge, which was being used for jhum cultivation. This area covers about 70 ha. Subject to availability of funds, the village elders intend to buy off more land along the same ridge. This forest is currently being used to meet the firewood requirements by the villagers and hunting seems to be still prevalent here.