Less than 15% of Odisha tribals' community rights recognized, thousands of forest land claims rejected: CSD activists

Participants in the CSD rally

By A Representative
The tribal rights group Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), Odisha, has revealed that while around 40,000 mainly tribal villages are eligible to get community rights over forests, the state government has “haphazardly recognized” community forest rights of just about 5,964 (14.91%) of them, including 1070 in Kandhamal, followed by Keonjhar (511), Mayurbhanja (414), Kalahandi (185), Rayagarda (178), Malkangiri (74), and Koraput (58) districts.
The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, also known as Forest Rights Act (FRA), gave traditional forest dwellers their rights to access, manage and govern forest lands and resources within village boundaries, which had been controlled by the forest department since colonial times.
Under the law, forest dwellers can apply to state governments for either individual or community forest rights, which means they can take ownership of the process of protecting and conserving forests in their areas. They can also gather and sell minor forest produce such as tendu leaves or bamboo, which was an illegal activity before the law was enacted.
Things are no better with regard to individual forest rights (IFR), said CSD, noting that as on December 31, Dec 2017, just about 1,040 IFR claims of Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) have been approved, while only 628 OTFDs have issued IFR titles, including 555 in Sundargarh, 15 in Angul, 11 in Rayagarda and 47 in Malkangiri districts.
Addressing a rally in Bhubaneshwar, organized by the CSD to highlight the rights of the tribals in Odisha, Duleswar Bhoi from Deogarh district wondered, “If OTFDs of these districts are eligible under FRA, 2006, how OTFDs living in other districts are ineligible?”, adding, “State bureaucrats are responsible for the low recognition of IFR rights to the OTFDs in the state.”
Providing more details, Meghnath Kharsel from Nuapada district, leader of the Jami Jungle Mukti Andolan, a CSD affiliate, said a whopping 1,48,870 IFR claims have been rejected in Odisha, insisting, the state’s governor should urgently look into this problem.
In all, about 5,000 tribals and OTDTs marched in the city from Master Canteen and to Lower PMG, where a public meeting was organised. The protesters’ slogans included “Gram Sabha Sarkar Zindabad”, “CAF (Compensation Afforestation Fund) Act Radkaro”, “Adibasi Virodhi 28th March 2017 NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority) Order Radkaro”, Gosti Adhikar Aamar Dabi”, “Samasta Swikruti Praptya jungle Jami Chinhata Kara”, and so on.
Gopinath Majhi, convener, CSD, Odisha, said, special focus of the march was to point towards how the CAF Act is seeking to accumulate funds in order to destroy forests by undermining the forest dwellers’ rights, even as empowering the Forest Department.
“Even the draft rules ignore the demands we made before the Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India. They dilute the provisions of the FRA, undermining the authority of the Gram Sabhas and exclude the rights of the holding communities from decision-making by stipulating that compensatory afforestation activities would be undertaken in consultation with Van Samrakshan Samitis or Village Forest Committees”, Manjhi said.
Karmi Besara of Odisha Narisamaj slammed the Odisha government for deciding to stop implementation of Central government’s “MSP (minimum support price) for MFP (minor forest produce)” scheme, demanding “fair price” to minor forest produce gatherers, creation of proper storage place for the collected produce, and to support for value addition, if any.
The protest rally saw opposition to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which seeks to restrict the implementation of the FRA implementation in tiger reserves, with speakers demanding its immediate withdrawal.

Comments

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Pairing not with law but with perpetrators: Pavlovian response to lynchings in India

By Vikash Narain Rai* Lynch-law owes its name to James Lynch, the legendary Warden of Galway, Ireland, who tried, condemned and executed his own son in 1493 for defrauding and killing strangers. But, today, what kind of a person will justify the lynching for any reason whatsoever? Will perhaps resemble the proverbial ‘wrong man to meet at wrong road at night!’

Dowry over duty: How material greed shattered a seven-year bond

By Archana Kumar* This account does not seek to expose names or tarnish identities. Its purpose is not to cast blame, but to articulate—with dignity—the silent suffering of a woman who lived her life anchored in love, trust, and duty, only to be ultimately abandoned.

Search This Blog