Instead of adhering to the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 or PESA on the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, August 9, Madhya Pradesh government was found celebrating festivals in tribal areas on the occasion by spending huge sums, top anti-dam organization Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) has said in a statement.
“The ninth schedule of the Constitution clearly mentioned provides complete rights of self-governance to tribal areas, including natural resources”, NBA said, adding, “Instead of providing tribal gram sabhas to all the special rights, the government is seeking to abuse them, pushing PESA into the cold storage. It is instead helping industrialists exploit natural resources.”
Pointing out that the problem is particularly acute in the Narmada valley, NBA said, “Instead of rehabilitating a few thousand tribals, the regime is making false claims, reports and affidavits on the implementation of PESA. The Forest Rights Act has also not been followed each village of along the river in Badwani, Alirajpur and Nandurbar districts.”
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