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Unkept Promises
Over
the years, the Karnataka government has taken over more than 20,000 acres
of land for dam and park projects, displacing hundreds of tribals who
remain homeless and jobless till date. India Today's Stephen David takes
a look.
Kali
Mariah has never seen a television or even a car in her 70
years. She belongs to the 90,000-strong Kadukuruba tribe which
inhabits the dry, decidous forests near Heggadevanakote (better
known as H.D. Kote), 150 km south of Karnataka's capital,
Bangalore. In the 1960s, when the government built a dam across the Kabini
river that flowed through the forests, many of
the tribals were ordered out of their homes. Mariah too had to
surrender her two-acre holding. Today 154 families like hers, who
lost their homes, are waiting in vain for rehabilitation and resettlement
(R&R). "I lead a hand-to-mouth existence," she says, living
in a thatched run-down hut. "I have waited for over 30 years for
a piece of land but all I get is empty promises from government officials."
The story was repeated in 1973 when much of the tribal land in
Begur forests incidentally the home of elusive brigand Veerappan)
was taken over by the government-this time for the Bandipur
National Park. Between the dam and the park projects, the
government has taken over more than 20,000 acres covering nearly 20 villages
and four taluks in the south Karnataka districts of Mysore, Mandya and
Chamarajanagar. Hundreds of tribal and
non-tribal families, many of which owned two to five acres of land each,
were displaced. Some were rehabilitated, others were claimed to be.
The displaced, apart from being homeless, are not able to earn a
living as they have had to forgo their traditional occupations. As
a result 60 per cent of the landless tribals in this area know no
means of subsistence. Like 60-year-old Kempaiah Kurupaiah who lost three
acres of land near Beechanahalli where the Kabini reservoir is situated.
He is an expert honey collector but is not permitted to collect honey
or even minor food produce (MFP) from the protected forests. "It
is a sick feeling, now I have to beg for food," says Kurupaiah, sitting
forlorn outside his hutment in Sargur village on the fringes of the park.
"I can't even go to the land or the fields I once owned." Though
the Wildlife Conservation Act restricts the tribals from collecting any
MFP, the notification declaring the area as national park is yet to be
completed. The act mandates making a prior announcement of
government intent to declare an area national park, prepare a list of
rights of the people and adequately compensate them. The Supreme Court
had set a June 15, 1998 deadline for completing the park notification
proceedings but evidently this hasn't happened. The ongoing tensions between
the tribals and forest
officials, claiming the life of a tribal in 1988.
"There is much the governments can do to help these displaced
tribals who have no voice. We have identified alternate lands but the
powers that be are yet to react positively," says R. Balasubramaniam,
founder-president of the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM). A voluntary
organisation started by
a group of doctors in 1984, svym has set up health and other
welfare centres for tribals in many parts of H.D. Kote taluk. After svym's
petitions to several government and quasi-judicial bodies like the National
Human Rights Commission (NHRC), there has been some movement in the "files".
The issue
of r&r has been dealt at various quarters, including a
spot visit by nhrc representative and foremer ips officer Chaman Lal and
a meeting in April 2000 at Delhi with National Commission for Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes Chairman Dileep Singh Bhuria. The state Government,
following a note from nhrc, even submitted a report in 2001 saying it
had identified 500 acres of land in North Begur area in Mysore district
to be given to the displaced tribals. But since this is forest land, it
requires
the final nod from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF). The
state Government has sent a proposal to the Centre for according Forest
Conservation Act 1980 clearance for diversion of this land for rehabilitation.
"It is up to the Centre to bail them out because we have done everything
possible," says Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna who had released
Rs 1
crore in December 2000 to the Mysore zilla parishad for development work
among the affected tribal families. Balasubramaniam says the chief minister,
who held two Cabinet meetings in the H.D. Kote area in the past three
years, has been sympathetic to the tribal cause but that the Centre seems
to have scuttled moves to keep them back in the forests. Top government
officials reason that the Centre is reluctant to give a green signal as
it fears a flood of requests from displaced families all over India.
The moef has, however, denies receiving any report from the
state Government. "We are aware that the Karnataka Government has
identified land for rehabilitation," says A.K. Srivastav, deputy
conservator of forests, MOEF. "We've been asking for the total rehabilitation
plan with all the details but that is yet to be given. We have to study
the plan carefully before giving our submissions." If that's not
all, the problem of the displaced has been further complicated with revenue
authorities issuing title deeds and collecting taxes for land over which
the tribals have not got physical possession for over two decades. The
tribals are now clearly in a combative mood. The displaced
families are planning to stage a dharna in Mysore and Bangalore by the
end of June and even seek the help of social activists to file a public
interest litigation to force the Centre to respond to their decades-old
rights. "After all, what do we lose by fighting?" asks N. Maga,
who helps out in the svym outreach projects. "It is better to fight
the government and land in jail, where we are assured of our meals at
least." But 30 years is quite a long time for the homeless Kadukurubas,
Yeravas and Jenukurubas of
southern Karnataka to find justice.
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