6 mn displaced tribals yet to get compensation
Monday, June 18, 2007
In Meghalaya's West Khasi Hills, tribals are protesting against the government's plan to mine uranium fearing that the radiation would damage their health and ecology.
At Kalinganagar in Orissa, 16 people were killed last year when police opened fire on tribals protesting against the takeover of their land for a steel plant.
From Chipko movement against logging in Garhwal to Jadugoda protests in Jharkhand to Narmada movement in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, more and more tribal people seem to be fighting a losing battle against the industry, mines or dams.
Since 1980, about 9.8 lakh hectares of forestland has been diverted for 11,282 development projects according to an official reply to a Parliamentary question. It specifically mentions that about 1.6 lakh hectares of forestland was diverted for 300 mining projects alone.
Though exact official figures are not available on the total number of tribals displaced from India's forests due to development projects, a 2004 study by NGO Manthan Adhyayan estimates that the Indira Sagar Dam in Madhya Pradesh has submerged 42,000 hectares of forests land and displaced over 80,000 tribals. Ekta Parishad, another NGO, estimates that in the last one decade about 4.7 million hectares of forestland has been occupied by the Chattisgarh government, displacing about 15 lakh tribals.
A 2005 National Advisory Council paper titled Tribal Welfare and Development authored by D. Swaminadhan, president of Hyderabad-based Mahatma Gandhi National Institute of Research and Social Action, says in the last 50 years over 9 million tribals were displaced out of which 6 million are yet to get any compensation. Noting that displacement has led to far reaching negative social and economic consequences, the author of the paper warns that economic planning cannot ignore these consequences of displacement that come at enormous economic, social and psychological cost. It is well known that uprooting people from their ancestral lands and livelihoods alienates them from kinship and family systems completely disrupting their market links.
The government acquires land for 'public purpose' through a 113-year-old Land Acquisition Act. The displaced tribals cannot take any legal recourse as the country's laws only recognise individual ownership of land and not community ownership of shared resources like the land, water sources, ponds and pastures, as is the case with tribal 'possessions.'
The present National Policy on Resettlement and Rehabilitation for Project Affected Families of 2004 compensates only assets, not livelihoods. And since forest tribals depend on common property resources, they get very little compensation and a large part of this meager payment is spent on debt repayment and subsistence in the interim period between displacement and rehabilitation, leaving little or nothing for future livelihoods.
A study conducted by Biswaranjan Mohanty, Associate Professor of Utkal University concluded that only 25 per cent of tribals displaced from forests in Orissa since independence have been rehabilitated with proper livelihood. The rest, the study says, are languishing because of bureaucratic apathy.
The new ST and Forest Dwellers Act offers some hope by underlining that the acquisition of forestland for national parks, sanctuaries and development projects should be accompanied by resettlement packages that provide secure livelihoods to the affected communities.
saikat.neogi@hindustantimes.com
Labels: Anti-Displacement Front, NEWS
posted by Resistance 6/18/2007 09:34:00 AM,
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Demonstration at Jantar Mantar Against POSCO Displacement in Jagatsinghpur, Orissa
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
| Vistaapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan
Demonstration at Jantar Mantar Against POSCO Displacement in Jagatsinghpur, Orissa
All are invited to participate in the protest against the cold and calculated build up of state repression on the people of Jagatsinghpur in Orissa.
· Prevent another Nandigram at Jagatsinghpur
· The paramilitary deployment in this area should be immediately removed.
· Conditions favourable for hearing the villagers' concerns are immediately created by removing paramilitary forces and police from the vicinity of the project area.
· An immediate announcement should be made that no project will be located in those villages against the wishes of the local people.
· A democratic process is initiated for a healthy debate on the path of development to be followed in India.
Jantar Mantar
At 11 A.M. 17th April (Tuesday) 2007.
Rabi Ray, former Speaker, Lok Sabha Kuldip Nayar, Former Rajya Sabha Member Prafulla Samant Ray, B D Sharma, Rakesh Rafiq, G N Saibaba, and others will take part.
|
Labels: Anti-Displacement Front, PDFI
posted by Resistance 4/17/2007 01:07:00 AM,
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First Conference of Anti-Displacement Front concluded successfully
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Labels: Anti-Displacement Front, PDFI
posted by Resistance 3/24/2007 11:50:00 AM,
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An Invitation to Swim Against the Tide Together
Friday, February 23, 2007
We could give you lifetimes of empty:
The unmarked graves
The lost languages
The uprooted trees and histories
The dead stares on the faces of nameless children
Before I start this poem we could be silent forever
On just long enough to hunger,
For the dust to bury us
And you would still ask us
For more of our silence.
--Emmanuel Ortiz
This letter reaches you amidst tall claims… about a strong and secure India riding the high tide of prosperity in South Asia in the 21st century. Growth, Security and Development are the buzzwords on the lips of anyone and everyone who matters in the sub-continent. A kaleidoscope of the emerging big picture—surfeit of images of super highways, malls, flyovers, golf courses, tourist resorts, mega-dams as hydel power projects, corporate farming, Special Economic Zones, urban beautification and finally a boomimg sensex—in the sub-continent as signs of growth, security and development is also being flaunted in the sensation driven media.
The vast sections of the people have been subjected to the worst kind of socio-economic crisis in the name of development. Today more and more tribals, dalits, minorities and the poorest of the poor are most cruelly removed from their forests, fields, lands, homes and cultures. They are being evicted from their lives and livelihoods.
When this letter reaches you probably many more farmers might have committed suicide. In the rich belts of the so-called ‘green revolution’ in Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh… .The granaries of India have become the graveyards for the farmers. More than a lakh farmers have so far committed suicide. Due to debt peonage. For the farmers agriculture is no more a viable economic enterprise. There is no economic incentive for the farmer to continue with the same agricultural produce. There is no way the landless agricultural labourer can work in the fields as the wages have gone down.
Peasants as a community also has become economically unviable for the state. As per experts (the bane of our times) the purchasing power of an IT professional is considered equivalent to 100 peasants put together.
In the name of development the best of arable lands in Haryana, Punjab, West Bengal, the Vidharbha region of Maharashtra is being sold for a pittance to the MNCs for setting up Special Economic Zones (SEZs). The violence of an uncertain future have abounded the lives of vast sections of the masses who stand displaced in every possible way in this ‘model of development’. Displaced from their farmland, forest land, slums, small scale industries, villages, national territories. Displaced from their productive living. It is not to say that their lives till now have been devoid of any uncertainties, any form of exploitation or oppression.
The people of South Asia are subjected to most violent accumulation of capital. The position of the vast sections of the masses should not be confused with the dreams that are being peddled by the money merchants who want to sell the land, its resources, its peoples and their memories and dreams for a pittance.
The need of the hour is to come together, join hands and raise the voice of our conviction to redefine the world. For it is only through struggle that we can stop these designs: Of not only to exploit us economically, but also to reshape our reality so that we become willing slaves and willing servants. And it is only through uncompromising struggles that we redefine our world, where the people and only the people are the masters of their destiny. It is only possible through a united struggle of all fighting people and their organisations.
We invite you to be part of this anti-imperialist resistance, a platform against all forms of displacement to stop forever all displacement in the name of ‘development’. A note in this regard is enclosed. Let us discuss and initiate a peoples’ front against all kinds of displacement. We look forward to your participation in a meeting of people’s organisations and individuals in Ranchi on 20th and 21st January, 2007. The meeting begins at 11 A.M. The venue is Patel Bhawan, Lalpur Chowk, Ranchi, Jharkhand.
Endorsed by:
1. Dr. B. D. Sharma, Bharat Jan Andolan;
2. Gursharan Singh, Eminent People’s Artist, Punjab
3. Mahasweta Devi, Writer
4. Surendra Mohan, Socialist Front
5. K G Kannabiran, Eminent Human Rights Advcocate
6. Shyam Gaekwad, Labour Front, Maharashtra
7. Arundhati Roy, Writer
8. GN Saibaba, Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF)
9. Shamsher Singh Bisht, Loksangarsh Vahini, Uttarakhand
10. A.K. Roy, Marxist Co-ordination Committee, Jharkhand
11. Debranjan & Bhagwan Majhi, PSSP, Orissa
12. Bojja Tarakam, Eminent Human Rights Advcocate and Convenor, PDFI, Andhra Pradesh Committee
13. Anand Teltumbde, Writer, Human Rights Activist, Maharashtra
14. M T Khan, Prominent Civil Rights Activist
15. Vittal Raj, All India Federation of Trade Unions (AIFTU)
16. Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha
17. Professor Keshav Rao Jadav, Eminent Socialist leader and Prominent Civil Rights Activist
18. Prof. KR Chowdry, Andhra Pradesh
19. Suguna Rao, Telengana Aikya Vedika
20. BP Kesari, Jharkhand
21. Shashibhushan Pathak, PUCL, Jharkhand
22. Thomas Mathew, Samajik Nyaya Morcha, Delhi
23. Harish Chandola, Senior Journalist, Uttarakhand
24. Rakesh Rafiq, Yuva Bharat
25. Tridib Ghosh, PDFI
26. PC Tiwari, Jan Adhikar Manch, Uttarakhand
27. Madhuri, Jagruti Adivasi Dalit Sanghatan, Bardwani, Madhya Pradesh
28. Gopal Naidu, Vidrohi Sanskritik Chalwal, Maharashtra
29. Revolutionary People’s Front, Kerala
30. Sini Soy, Kaling Nagar Bisthapan Birodhi Activist, Orissa
31. Amin Mharana, Jan Jamin Jungle Khani Surakhya Samiti, Sukinda Orissa
32. Partap Chinara, Chasi Mulia Dalit Sangha, Puri, Orissa
33. DR. Bisvajit Roy, Rastriya Yuva Sangathan, Orissa
34. Nav Nirman Samiti, Orissa
35. Bhakta Batshal Mohanty, Kendujhar Bisthapan Birodhi Jan Manch, Orissa
36. Suraj Tekam, Vananchal Kamgar Sarvangin Vikas Samiti, Chattishgarh
37. Judge Tirki. Jal Jangal Jamin Surakhsa Parishad, Orissa
38. Ram Chandra Sahoo, Rourkela Local Displaced Association 32 Villages
39. Vistapan Virodhi Jan Sangharsh Manch, Jharkhand
40. Auranga Bandh Virodhi Sangarsh Samithi, Latehar, Jharkhand
41. Kutkoo Dam Visthapan Virodhi Sangharsh Samithi, Garhwa, Jharkhand
42. Hindalko Visthapan Sangharsh Samithi, Richu Gutha, Jharkhand
43. Jameen Raksha Visthapan Sangarsh Samithi, Amrapada, Jharkhand
44. Tiger Project Visthapan Samithi, Betala, Jharkhand
45. Khutkathi Sangh, West Singhbhum, Jharkhand
46. Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Mukti Vani, Chandel, Jharkhand
47. Visthapan Mukti Vahini, Chandel, Jharkhand
48. Netrahat Field Firing Range Virodhi Manch, Netrahat, Jharkhand
49. Coal Visthapan Sangharsh Samithi, Peeparvar, Jharkhand
50. Bauxite Khanan Visthapan Sangharsh Samithi, Gumla- Lohardaggah, Jharkhand
51. Visthapit Sangharsh Samiti, Tetheriakhad, Jharkhand
52. Caol Visthapit Sansharsh Samiti, N K Area, Jharkhand
53. Visthapan Virodhi Samanvay Samithi, Jharkhand
54. Hul Jharkhand Kranti Dal, Jharkhand
55. Nau Janwadi Chetana Manch, Jharkhand
56. NTPC Vistthapan Sangharsh Samithi, Chandwa, Jharkhand
57. Surangi Visthapan Sangharsh Samithi, Singhbhum, Jharkhand
58. Birsa Ulugulan Manch, Namkum, Jharkhand
59. Mahila Ulugulan Manch, Namkum, Jharkhand
60. Ravi Study Circle, Ranchi, Jharkhand
61. HEC Vishapan Munch, Ranchi, Jharkhand
62. Paryavaran Bachavo Samithi, Kaandra Raghunathpur, Jharkhand
63. D C Gohai, Boakaro Visthapan Sangh, Jharkhand
64. Gautam Bose, Tatanagar, Jharkhand
65. Bapikar Samanyay Samiti, Jharkhand
66. Angami Pandey, Sajha Jan Sangharsh Abhiyan, Jharkhand
67. Sambhu Mahato, Jharkhand
68. Professor Ramsharan, Ranchi College, Jharkhand
69. Lambada Hakkula Poratha Samithi, Andhra Pradesh
70. Tudum Debba, Andhra Pradesh
71. Adivasi Vidyardhi Samskhema Parishad, Andhra Pradesh
72. Adivasi Aikya Vedika, Andhra Pradesh
73. Patriotic and Democratic Front, Andhra Pradesh
74. Adivasi Swayam Prathipathti Sadhana Samithi, Vishakha Agency, Andhra Pradesh.
75. People’s Land Commission, Andhra Pradesh
(A complete list of Signatories will be provided soon.)
20 January 2007
Venue: Patel Bhawan, Lalpur Chowk, Ranchi, Jharkhand
Date: 20, 21 January 2007
Time: 11 AM
Labels: Anti-Displacement Front, PDFI
posted by Resistance 2/23/2007 11:51:00 AM,
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First Conferenceof Anti-Displacement Front
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
March 22nd, 23rd 2007, Ranchi, Jharkhand
In Lieu of an Invitation
Heaven is a forest of miles and miles of Mohua trees
And hell is a forest of miles and miles of Mohua trees with a forest guard in it.
--A popular saying of the Muria Adivasi of Bastar, Chhattisgarh
Whatever contributes to assimilating people to Nature is a dangerous threat… At least that has been the lesson, of any discernible reading of the history of humankind. Here too, in the South Asian sub-continent, the experiences of the vast sections of the people have not been an exception. Specifically, after the advent of British colonialism…
Post-1947, there has hardly been any difference in the experiences of the people of the sub-continent. "If you are to suffer, you should suffer in the interest of our country", this was what Jawaharlal Nehru asked the villagers, while laying the foundation stone of the Hirakud dam in Sambalpur, Orissa. Hirakud, or the dam at Bhakra, Nehru termed these 'temples of modern India'. Ever since then, through the years of the so-called 'green revolution', canal irrigation cultivation, introduction of cash crops and hybrid variety of seeds we have daily proof that we create our world against Nature for want of profit. That people are forced to be the mute recipients of this expropriation of wealth in the name of development; of creating a new world out of Nature that is useful for a few rich and powerful. Even the most conservative estimate of the Government of India in 1994, after lot of jugglery with statistics, had to admit that more than 10 million (1 crore) people are still to be rehabilitated displaced by dams, mines, deforestation and other 'development projects'.
Today this logic of creating a world against Nature have taken the most aggressive turn; voluminous in its scope of exploitation and destruction; murderous in its reach in that it ravages the lives and livelihoods of lakhs and lakhs of peoples. The tall claims of Special Economic Zones as havens of employment generation and productivity with legal provisions totally different from the law of the land is further evidence of recolonisation of the land and its people for brutal exploitation of imperialist and local capital. The innumerous Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) that are being signed by the GoI with various monopolies for mining in Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand are open invitations to loot and plunder the natural resources for the predatory needs of the market.
The grand design to construct mega-dams in hundreds across the sub-continent so as to generate power to sell it to the far-east market and massive super highways to access every nook and cranny of the region to the reach of big capital will without fail ravage various cultures, memories, lives and livelihoods of these peoples. Not to say, this package to loot and plunder the wealth of these regions will pit the various peoples in this region against each other.
Big labour, big industry and big capital have forced the people of the sub-continent to adjust and be assimilated in accordance to its needs. These experiences legitimized with it a history of exploitation, of domination, of considering human beings as 'human resources'. Significantly, the use of the word 'human resources' confirms the dangerous threat of forcing people to comply with the needs of imperialism and its domestic lackeys. The poorest and the most vulnerable become easy targets. The tribal whether in Orissa, Jharkhand, Arunachal or Meghalaya and the worker in the small scale sector in Delhi, Mumbai or Calcutta, the landless agricultural labourer in Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh or Andhra Pradesh and even the small and middle peasant in Punjab, Haryana, Vidharbha and Andhra Pradesh all are classified, registered alongside the mineral, vegetal and animal resources. Mind you, people so designated are not the aim of production, but its raw material.
From Polavaram to Tipaimukh, from Nandigram, Singur Shalgoni, Dadri to Vidharbha, from Kalinganagar, Kashipur to Chhattisgarh and North Andhra and Telengana and Karnataka this language is not deceptive: as we all know, resources are to be exploited, and in our world they are bound to be destroyed. The struggle has increasingly become between two worlds in opposition: that of the world of the greatest number of people labeled as 'natural resources' and the world of those who treat them as such.
The reckoning of the hour is to forge an uncompromising resistance at the ground level while building a massive public opinion against this politics of loot and plunder in the name of development. At the South Asian and international level. It is important and inevitable that the resistance be forged at as many levels as possible. As you may know, a process towards building a mighty resistance against these displacements under the garb of 'development' has been initiated. The first preparatory meeting was at Ranchi, in Jharkhand on the 20, 21 st of January 2007. Over 100 organizations and individuals are part of this process to build a massive people's resistance against all forms of displacement at the South Asian level.
The first conference of this Anti-Displacement Front will be on the 22nd, 23rd of March 2007 at Ranchi, Jharkhand. We invite you to be part of and hence strengthen this process.
No to Displacement! No to Rehabilitation!
Only Change with Equity & Justice!
On behalf of the Preparatory Committee, Against Displacement, Dr. B D Sharma & G N Saibaba
Email:notodisplace@rediffmail.com , fightdisplacement@hotmail.com ,Phones: 011-24353997, 9910455993.
Labels: Anti-Displacement Front, PDFI
posted by Resistance 2/14/2007 11:27:00 AM,
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