By Ashok Shrimali* The Union government has finally recognized that the scheduled V areas, where forest dwellers live, should be handled with utmost care, instead of allowing industrial and mining activities which may infringe upon the tribals' rights. A strongly worded letter by Union tribal affairs minister Kishore Chandra Deo to Gujarat governor Dr Kamala says that it is “a main challenge that is staring at us today” with “explosive situations prevailing in the Schedule V areas of our country”. He has also forwarded the letter to all governors, telling them that they should constitutionally safeguard the tribals' rights over the natural resources where they live.

Prajul Bhandari By Rajiv Shah A new Planning Commission-sponsored study, “Refining State Level Comparisons in India”, by Pranjul Bhandari, economist at the Office of the Chief Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, and a chief brain behind the Economic Survey 2012-13, says that her “refined” analysis has found that Gujarat stands 16th in health index, 12th in education index and 11th in infrastructure index among 21 major Indian states. Bhandari has arrived at these figures on the basis of a new methodology she adopts by “refining” raw data in order to find out how well do states perform in the context of the resources at their disposal.

By A Representative The National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development on the basis of reports alleging fierce caste-based discrimination and violence in the hostel of Dalit students at several places in India. The Commission observed that the news reports, if true, reflects “widespread prevalence of discrimination towards Dalits in the educational institutions driving them to take extreme steps”, adding, “The state has the responsibility and duty to ensure that an atmosphere is created in educational institutions wherein everyone, irrespective of caste, creed or religion, can pursue studies. The Constitution of India has also elaborate provisions to stop discrimination against the Dalits.”

By Rajiv Shah  Is discrimination of Dalits in the delivery of basic services an international human rights issue which needs a much deeper exposure than has been the case so far? The question is significant, because, despite lobbying at various levels on the part of the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) during recent years, the Government of India has strongly refused to acknowledge caste discrimination as an international human rights issue, which should be dealt with in the UN. Whether it is water, sanitation or health, the discrimination continues, and government sops have failed to do anything to subdue its impact. A recent www.counterview.org report (click HERE to see it) highlighted how discrimination in the provision of water in the Indian state of Gujarat has meant untold hardships to Dalit women, who cannot access water from the common source in Ahmedabad’s rural areas. This is quite in line with what a UN expert who visited India in 2012. In her annual repor...

By A Representative Gujarat's civil society has taken strong exception to failure of the Gujarat government to have a State Action Plan, a requirement for every state under a Government of India direction. In statement, two NGOs, Paryavaran Mitra and Janvikas, on the eve of the World Environment Day, which falls on June 5, have said that not only is there no climate change website of the state government despite the fact that it claimed to be the first to have a separate department, it has not yet prepared the State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) to submission to the Centre for further action. Worse, the state government has still not set up Climate Change Trust Fund, which was announced two years ago and even finances were set aside for it.

By Rajiv Shah  A well-known international organisation, Save the Children, has quoted official data to suggest how the neoliberal growth model, for which a section of economists project Gujarat as the idea, has failed to bring down social and economic inequalities in India.  A new report, “Reducing Inequality: Learning Lessons for Post-2015 Agenda – India Case Study”, by top international organization, Save the Children, with presence in more than 120 countries and 15 Indian states, has blamed the neoliberal growth model, for which Gujarat is being projected as the best example of success, for the current woes of widening gap between the rich and the poor in India. The report says, “There is evidence to suggest that the poorer sections of India were actually further marginalized under the neoliberal economic regime introduced in India in the early 1990s.” The report, in fact, states that the inequality gaps in India have increased at several layers. It says, “Poorer states li...

By Rajiv Shah  A recent survey, jointly carried out by Navsarjan Trust and Pani Hak Rakshak Samiti, has found that the areas around Ahmedabad which the Gujarat government wants to project as the future model of development — by developing a special investment region and an automobile hub — are also stigmatized by untouchability practices. The survey was done in five talukas of Ahmedabad district – Dholka, Dhandhuka, Sanand, Bavla and Viramgam. It has once again proved, if any proof was needed, about how untouchability is coming in the way of the rural Dalits’ failure to access water in the immediate neighbourhood at a time when drought-prone situation prevails in parts of Gujarat. The survey, carried out by Navsarjan Trust, Ahmedabad-based human rights organization, says that the situation is particularly acute as scarcity has been declared in 10 of Gujarat’s district. While 939 villages have been declared scarcity hit, another 2,979 have been declared semi-scarcity hit. “Dalit wo...

Counterview Desk A recent study, titled, “Health, Safety and Welfare of Industrial Workers in Ahmedabad”, in the and around industrial areas of the city – Naroda, Asarwa, Narol, Ramol, Vatva, Dholka, Bavla, Kharaj and Kalol – has found that 67 per cent of factories do not have any safety committees, which are mandatory as an internal arrangement and whose main job is hazard identification, accident investigation, record keeping and evaluation. These committees are meant to examine safety and health issues, and recommend policies; conduct periodic workplace inspections; and evaluate and promote interest in the safety programme, particularly education and training.

By A Representative The right to information (RTI)) helpline, run by Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel, recently got a strange query. One Devjibhai asked Pankti Jog, who handles the helpline, that there were four widows in his house, yet no one got any support under the housing scheme. “Did you ask officials in the panchayat has any department whether their forms were rejected, and what reason did they give you?” Jog asked him. After all, the Gujarat government had been giving full page advertisements about its great achievements under housing schemes.

By Our Reprsentative Several grassroots organizations of Gujarat under the banner of Mines, Minerals and People (MM&P) have represented to state governor Dr Kamla against continued mining of the tribal areas of Gujarat, saying this is happening “against the Constitutional provisions, which prohibit mining of any natural resources that come under the tribal areas, whether it is water, land or forests.” The representation underlined, “It is illegal to allow mining in the tribal areas without prior approval of the gram sabha.”  Those who represented included Ashok Shrimali from MM&P, and social workers from affected tribal villages of South Gujarat. There were Namikaben Chaudhury, who is also sarpanch of Mordevi village panchayat, Bhupendrabhai Chaudhary, of Kosambia village, Manendrabhai Chaudhury or Bahej village, and Lalsinhbhai Gamit of Valod village.