MOCKERY OF PESA ACT MADE IN FULL PUBLIC VIEW AT LOHANDIGUDA FOR TATA'S STEEL PLANT

Tribals of lohandiguda in bastar have fallen victims of state excesses
to translate the pre determined decisions into manufactured mandate
of Gram Sabha by making mockery of PESA 1996,

A report

Pravin Patel

The protests of Tribals of Lohandiguda area not to part with even an inch of their land and the protests and agitation from time to time is to save them from being ruined and fear of being uprooted from their own soil. It is pity to note that though those tribals, despite of being protected by the virtue of special provisions of the constitution, that protests their property rights are victims of the excesses committed on them by the state actors and more particularly the district administration to ensure that the land of theirs is grabbed at any cost to facilitate the construction of a steel plant by Tata Steel company.

The statements issued by the district administration from time to time also makes systematic efforts to give an impression that Tribals have willingly given their consent, to give away their land and have accepted the R & R package of the state. The systematic attacks on all those who are working for the protection of the rights of the tribals of Lohandiguda are labeled as anti developmental forces. Meetings are organized at the office of the District Collector where one sided decisions are taken to facilitate the establishment of the steel plant at any cost. The decisions are taken in the name of development of tribals but at the same time, those tribals from the Lohandiguda are never consulted but on the contrary, they are expected to sign on dotted lines.

Even for a minute we accept that the tribals have agreed on their own, and then questions are raised, why all these agitation and protests, that often results in violence. We need to analyze the facts and explore the situation at the ground level. We begin with what happened on 4th June, 2005.

On this date, Government of Chhattishgarh inked a MoU with the biggest investor of the country, TATAs, for their proposed Greenfield 5 Million Tonnes Per Annum Steel Plant to be set up on 2500 Acres land located at Salepal and Barupata of Bastar District. This MoU is inked by Mr. Shivraj Singh, in the capacity of being the Principal Secretary, Govt. of Chhattishgarh, Dept. of Industries and Mr. M. Muturaman, M.D. of Tata Iron & Steel Company Ltd., in presence of Mr. S.K.Gupta, as the Addl. Director of Industries. Govt. of Chhattishgarh and Mr. T. Mukherjee, Dy. M.D. of Tata Steel.

The doubts on the role being played by the state government, working as the agent of Tata Steel grew in to suspicion since the state government kept the MoU, a secret document. Even its contents were not disclosed to the people or their elected representatives. Right to Information Act, 2005 also explored but in vain. If there was nothing in the MoU that goes against the interest of the people of the state, why the contents are not disclosed?

The doubts gained weight by the fact that though the MoU speaks of 2500 Acres of land to be acquired at Salepal and Barupata, in Bastar, the actual land acquisition process starts for over 5300 Acres of land at 10 villages of Lohandiguda area. The famous tourist place in shape of Chitrakut lies at the dead end of the road. Department of tourism also has not objected. It is also interesting to know that for a bigger 6 Million Tons per Annum steel plant, the same Tata Steel has inked a MoU where also land requirement is stated as 2500 Acres, where as the company is allotted less than 2000 Acres. Naturally for a smaller plant at Chhattishgarh would require less than 1900 Acres of land then from where this 5300 Acres has jumped in? Where is the home work done by the bureaucrats who have inked the MoU? Can we take it for granted that without any application of mind, bowing down to the knees of a private industrial house, our bureaucrats have signed on dotted lines? The subsequent actions of the district officials to forcibly uproot the tribals at Lohandiguda area confirms the doubt as all sorts of gimmicks are played to push out those poor tribals, against their will, even though that much land is not required.

Tribals of the 10 villages of Lohandiguda area made it very clear that they will not part even a single inch of their land, nor are interested to get displaced. Fact is that those tribals also have legal protection on their side, in shape of the constitutional provisions as laid down under the Panchayat Extension of Scheduled Area Act, 1996, known as PESA Act. As per the provisions of the PESA Act, tribals enjoy extra ordinary powers to protect their interests as their approval through a Gram Sabha is mandatory. The rules also lay down the norms and modalities of how the gram sabha are to be held. However, making mockery of the said provisions, government made repeated attempts to any how get the mandate of the tribals through the Gram Sabha. The first attempt failed. A second attempt was made. This also failed. State actors became furious, as they wanted to ensure that the mandatory resolve of the tribals must be secured at any cost.

Sweeping changes were made in the district administration by bringing in a bureaucrat with a single point agenda to get the pre determined decisions translated in shape of a resolution duly passed by the tribals at the Gram Sabha, that they are ready to give away their land for setting up of a steel plant on their land.

While government and the agents of the Tata Steel company tried their best to sell the day dreams to tribals that with the proposed project of Tata Steel Company in their area they will be running fast on the road to their economic development. An impression was created amongst the tribals that with the industrial development, their area will also develop. Even the R & R policy of the state was sold to them as the best in the country. But the tribals were not in any mood to compromise their long term strategic interests. The example of what has happened to their displaced brothers and sisters at NAGARNAR was in front of them. They also heard the stories of brutalities unleashed on the tribals at Kalinga Nagar in Orissa that took away the precious lives of 13 tribals and causing serious bullet and other injuries to many.

For tribals, this is not a question of development versus displacement; it is a question of a project that is going to uproot them and against their will. They were worried to even think of their uncertain future and loss of livelihood. They were expected to convert themselves in to a daily wage earner from land owners. They worried as why they are expected to get them changed from farming activities and to learn other trades that they are not interested nor are capable of doing. Those poor tribals are not entrepreneurs that they can manage the cash they receive against the land. But what was important is not what they think but what is going in the minds of the district administrators and the project proponent, who wanted those tribals to be driven out at any cost to ensure that their land is acquired in the name of setting up of a steel plant.

With changed district administration, a third attempt was made. This time, it was well planned to ensure that no civil society organizations, Human Rights Activists or those social activists working for the protection of rights of tribals are kept away. The villages where gram sabhas were to be held were fortified. Barricades were erected on all the roads to block the entry of the people. Only those persons were allowed who were considered to be working for the interest of setting up of the steel plant and in favour of the land to be forcibly acquired. Leaders of the political parties and other private musclemen type of people took the centre stage. Armed police took the control and under barrel of gun, the predetermined decisions of the government was managed as if the tribals have resolved at a gram sabha, as per the norms and legal requirements as laid down under the PESA Act, 1996. If some one wants to learn how to make mockery of the PESA Act, the area was a best exhibition ground for them. Despite of all the drama, district authorities could manage only at 8 Gram Sabhas and their attempt failed at two villages. A fourth attempt was made and there also against the wises of the tribal, the drama to make mockery of the PESA Act was played again, to show off, that at last those tribals have also paved way for the plant.

The story doesn’t end here. The subsequent actions of the government also faced severe resistance of the people. A massive rally of the Adivasi Maha Sabha at Jagdalpur and clamping of false cases on those who took leadership initiatives are also part of the excesses committed by the state. Even the local officials have been pressed into service to see that the cheques of the amount of money in lieu of land gets deposited in the bank accounts of the those whose lands are targeted to be grabbed in the name of acquisition. Those tribals protested but who bothers when the very people who are constitutionally duty bound to protect their interests are themselves indulging in unleashing harassment on them. Even one advocate who is also from the area was also put to jail for his only crime that he was giving legal advice to the tribals in whose account the money was forcibly deposited. Tired of all such actions, more than 100 tribals in two buses were en-route to Raipur to submit a Memorandum to His Excellency, the Governor of Chhattishgarh. Worried about the out come of such meeting of the tribals with the constitutional head of tribals in a state, the authorities immediately swung in to action. Police raided both the buses and took it under their custody. RTO was summoned from his residence, where he was sleeping in the night hours to seize both the buses. All the tribals were forced to sit at the police station through out the night and detaining 34 of them who took leadership initiatives. Besides the state actors, there are a number of persons who are acting as fiddle to the district authorities and project proponent company to silence any voice that speaks about the rights of the people. We now see the statement coming in news papers that a Hon’ble Member of Parliament will not be allowed to reach Lohandiguda. This is what is happening in the largest democracy of the world.

Other related issues:

LAND: Lohandiguda is just the beginning. Many more tribals from other areas of Bastar are also required to move out. The land required for captive iron ore mines; for captive coal mines; for captive Lime stone mines; for captive dolomite mines; to lay private railway lines and construction of private roads linking those mines with the plant; for construction of weirs at rivers and pump houses to pump water from the rivers to the Steel plant and Mines; for laying of service pipe lines and for power transmission lines.

WATER: This is not the end. Company is promised to allow exploitation of 35 Million gallons of water per day to be met through by the exploitation of river waters over which the company is allowed to construct weirs. For mining and allied operations, as well as townships to be established, government has assured to allocate the company to meet its requirement by exploiting any suitable source (s). The guaranteed water supply from local rivers is going to threaten the drinking water sources and create problems for farmers at Bastar region.

Time Schedule to arrive at full operation: The plant will come in two stages. The first state of 2 MTPA is likely to come up in 48 to 60 months from the date of receiving all clearances and the second phase will take next 36 to 48 months from the date of completion of first phase. Thus to arrive at full operation, company is going to take up to 9 years from the date of getting all clearances. 2007 is already over. The land acquisition is in great dispute. Even if we take middle of 2008 to get all clearances, it will not be before middle of 2017 at the earliest when the full operation of the company will take place. Company says in its MoU that company will employ large work force at full operation.

It must be remembered that over 25% of the total population of tribals in the country have already been displaced. Many more are going to join them at Bastar, the way the present mind set of the state government is seen. Exploitation and intrusion in to the rights of tribals taking benefit of their poverty and illiteracy, in it self invites attention of all those social and human rights activist to stand with those poor persons who are the victim of the state oppression in the name of their development.

Pravin Patel
Human Rights Activist

Comments are welcome at tribalwelfare@gmail.com