Bastar tribals facing “subversion of justice”

NEW DELHI: Environmental groups and individuals have appealed to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh to suspend implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 in the areas where the Salwa Judum movement has forced thousands of tribals to flee their villages.
In a letter addressed to Dr. Singh, the environmentalists have pointed out that the plans to implement the Act in Bastar district, hit by naxalite activities and the subsequent Salwa Judum movement, would be a “terrible subversion of justice,” depriving lakhs of people of their rights.
Villagers displaced
“We are concerned about the rights of those villagers in Dantewada and Bijapur districts who have been compelled to leave their villages due to the ongoing Salwa Judum campaign against naxalites. The total population of about 1,200 villages in the two districts is 7.19 lakh, of which 78.5 per cent is tribal. About 50 per cent of these villages, with an approximate population of 3.5 lakh, are displaced.
“While about 47,000 are living in roadside camps set up by the State government, another 40,000 or so have fled to the forest areas of Andhra Pradesh to escape the ongoing violence between the Salwa Judum and naxalites. The whereabouts of the remaining 2,63,000 villagers from the abandoned villages are unknown,” the letter said.
No gram sabha meeting
In at least 644 abandoned villages in the two districts, no gram sabha meeting, required to be held under the Act for initiating the process of recognition of rights can be organised under the present circumstances. At a meeting organised by the Department of Tribal Welfare of Andhra Pradesh, it was decided that Gutti Koyas, who have sought shelter in the State’s forests, would not be eligible for recognition of land and forest rights in Andhra Pradesh. Moreover, as they were displaced from their own villages, they would not be able to claim their rights even in their own villages in Chhattisgarh, the letter said. In the meantime, no land should be allocated to outsiders and no leases or prospecting licences for minor minerals should be given in these villages. These also require gram sabha permission, which is not possible under present circumstances. “Consequently, we appeal to you to suspend implementation of the Act in affected areas while facilitating speedy return of the villagers.”
Signatories
Among the signatories to the letter are Madhu Sarin, Nandini Sundar, Nagaraj Adve, Rohit Jain, C.R.Bijoy, Shankar Gopalakrishnan and Gautam Kumar Bandyopadhyay.
Copies have been sent to the President, the Union Tribal Affairs Minister and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. THE HINDU; Special Correspondent Sunday, Mar 23, 2008