Skip to main content

Gujarat govt admits slow progress in land allocation to tribal farmers, sends identical letters rejecting claims

A tribal hamlet in Gujarat surrounded by farmland
In a sharp admission, a Gujarat government resolution (GR) has said that there has been "slow progress" in measuring land under the possession of tribal farmers in South Gujarat, one reason why there is a failure to hand over cultivation rights to them under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006.
Under FRA, 2006, those cultivating forest land as on December 13, 2005 would become rightful owners of the land their land.
The GR, which is based on a recent meeting held in Gandhinagar Sachivalaya, with the participation senior officials of forest and tribal departments, heard the state tribal secretary as admitting that "there has been strong opposition from the local people of Tapi and Valsad disricts" to measurements by the agencies appointed by the state government to carry on the job, one reason for the slow progress.
"There is lack of support", the GR, a copy of which is with Counterview, admits, adding, "As a result, officials are unable to enter villages, leading to law and order problems.”
The GR talks of "solving" the problem by taking the help of senior police officials to ensure early land measurement and provide cultivation rights.
Gujarat govt GR
The Gujarat government's sharp admission about "slow progress" in measuring tribal farmers' land comes amidst of an Ahmedabad-based NGO, Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), working in the field of social lawyering, collecting information of rejected claims of 142 tribals from South Gujarat's predominantly tribal Dangs district.
The rejected claims – copies of which are with Counterview – show that the official wordings for all rejections are identical for each of the 142 official letters sent to tribal farmers. In fact, each of the official letters appear to have been photocopied and sent out to each of the 142 claimants.
Each of the official letters says that the tribal farmer has “failed” to provide (1) at least two proofs showing that the land was being cultivated before December 13, 2006, as required by FRA, 2006, and (2) the satellite imagery does prove that the land was under cultivation before that date.
Explains CSJ's senior activist Azima Girach, “First of all, it is not necessary to provide the satellite imagery. In fact, the satellite imagery, under the law, is to be used as a proof only if other proofs are not available. Secondly, as you can see in the claim letters, not two, but several proofs have been provided to show that the land was being cultivated before December 13, 2005.”
A random examination of the official letters rejecting the claims show that the proofs include, apart from the caste certificate, the voter ID card, the ration card, the housing tax bill, the village elder's certificate, the witness' certificate, the proof of land development and tree cultivation, official spot inquiry proof, and the photograph of the cultivated land.
Says Girach, “As the matter for all the 142 cases is pending since 2011, the tribals are willing to approach the court of law against such en-mass rejection. We believe there must be many more such cases.”
GPS image of tribal land
Another NGO, Ekalavya Sangathan, making a spot inquiry based on GPS mapping in tribal-dominated Dahod district's village Parmarni Khakhariya village, Limkhed taluka, has found that out of 165 tribal cultivators, just 31 land rights have been cleared, while a whopping 134 claims have been rejected.
Claims Paulomee Mistry of Eklavya Sangathan, "Each of the tribals provided valid proof, and our GPS mapping proves that. The GPS file which we have resubmitted for reconsideration provides details of farmers' record book, map from Google Earth, GPS map, and GPS statement of measurement."
Meanwhile, facts provided by the Adivasi Kisan Sangharsh Morcha (AKSM), working in South Gujarat, say that just about 10,363 tribals received cultivation land rights certificate during the period. Till now, AKSM says, in Gujarat 73,921 tribal farmers have received cultivation rights, while 1,08,948 claims are still pending.
Comments AKSM's Romel Sutariya, “The state tribal department GR accusing the tribals for opposing land measurement is a cowardly. It only shows that the state BJP rulers are desperate in gaining tribal votes ahead of the Gujarat state assembly elections, scheduled for December 2017.”

Comments

TRENDING

Irrational? Basis for fear among Hindus about being 'swamped' by Muslims

I was amused while reading an article titled "Ham Paanch, Hamare Pachees", shared on Facebook, by well-known policy analyst Mohan Guruswamy, an alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Guruswamy, who has also worked as an advisor to the Finance Minister with the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, seeks to probe, as he himself states, "the supposed Muslim attitude to family planning"—a theme that was invoked by Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister ahead of the December 2002 assembly polls.

Why's Australian crackdown rattling Indian students? Whopping 25% fake visa applications

This is what happened several months ago. A teenager living in the housing society where I reside was sent to Australia to study at a university in Sydney with much fanfare. The parents, whom I often met as part of a group, would tell us how easily the boy got his admission with the help of "some well-meaning friends," adding that they had obtained an education loan to ensure he could study at a graduate school.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

Gujarat slips in India Justice Report 2025: From model state to mid-table performer

Overall ranking in IJR reports The latest India Justice Report (IJR), prepared by legal experts with the backing of several civil society organisations and aimed at ranking the capacity of states to deliver justice, has found Gujarat—considered by India's rulers as a model state for others to follow—slipping to the 11th position from fourth in 2022.

Punishing senior citizens? Flipkart, Shopsy stop Cash on Delivery in Ahmedabad!

The other day, someone close to me attempted to order some goodies on Flipkart and its subsidiary Shopsy. After preparing a long list of items, this person, as usual, opted for the Cash on Delivery (popularly known as COD) option, as this senior citizen isn't very familiar with online prepaid payment methods like UPI, credit or debit cards, or online bank transfers through websites. In fact, she is hesitant to make online payments, fearing, "I may make a mistake," she explained, adding, "I read a lot about online frauds, so I always choose COD as it's safe. I have no knowledge of how to prepay online."

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Of lingering shadow of Haren Pandya's murder during Modi's Gujarat days

Sunita Williams’ return to Earth has, ironically, reopened an old wound: the mysterious murder of her first cousin, the popular BJP leader Haren Pandya, in 2003. Initially a supporter of Narendra Modi, Haren turned against him, not sparing any opportunity to do things that would embarrass Modi. Social media and some online news portals, including The Wire , are abuzz with how Modi’s recent invitation to Sunita to visit India comes against the backdrop of how he, as Gujarat’s chief minister, didn’t care to offer any official protocol support during her 2007 visit to Gujarat.  

Area set aside in Ahmedabad for PM's affordable housing scheme 'has gone to big builders'

Following my article on affordable housing in Counterview, which quoted a top real estate consultant, I was informed that affordable housing—a scheme introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—has deviated from its original intent. A former senior bureaucrat, whom I used to meet during my Sachivalaya days, told me that an entire area in Ahmedabad, designated for the scheme, has been used to construct costly houses instead. 

Just 5% Gujarat Dalit households 'recognise' social reformers who inspired Ambedkar

An interesting survey conducted across 22 districts and 32 villages in Gujarat sheds light on the representation of key social reformers in Dalit households. It suggests that while Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's photo was displayed in a majority of homes, images of Lord Buddha and the 19th-century reformist couple, Savitribai Phule and Jyotiba Phule, were not as commonly represented.