As many as 100 people, including fishermen and tribals, held an innovative protest in 10 fishing boats in the sea as part of the ‘Asia Day Against Gas Expansion’ against the activities that are against the objectives of the Paris Agreement that combats Climate Change.

Mines, Minerals & PEOPLE (MM&P), an NGO, organised the protest on behalf of international organisations Asian People’s Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), Asian Energy Network, Don’t Gas Asia, and Don’t Gas The South, on the Bay of Bengal along the Visakhapatnam coast.

Speaking to The Hindu, MM&P chairperson Ravi Rebbapragada said, “We held the protest on the Bay of Bengal along the Visakhapatnam coast. We are members of international organisations, and similarly along the west coast, at Palghar in Maharastra, and some places in Gujarat as well, similar protests were held against the activities that affect the environment and go against the objectives of the Paris Agreement.”

Apart from local fishermen, tribals from Borra Caves and other parts of ASR district also participated in the protest by holding placards in the 10 boats in the sea, Mr. Ravi added.

“The Paris Agreement is an international treaty that aims to limit global warming and help countries adapt to climate change. It is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris on December 12 in 2015, and entered into force on November 4, 2016,” Mr. Ravi said.

“World leaders of The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is an international treaty among countries to combat dangerous human interference with climate change, have stressed the need to limit the global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of this century,” he said.

“Even as the world is facing a climate change-induced crisis year after year, gas projects continue to rise at a pace faster than how countries must reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This prompted us to launch the protest against the expansion of the gas projects with placards saying ‘Stop Gas Expansion’, ‘Stop Financing Natural Gas’ & ‘No to Gas & LNG’. However, the solution is renewable energy. Gas is not a transition fuel. Fossil gas is harmful for the planet, toxic to humans, and expensive. So, don’t gas the south,” Mr. Ravi said.

The post Protest held off Vizag coast against gas expansion appeared first on SAMATA.

The plight of the Putel family came to the attention of Holenarasipura officials through social media after their videos were posted by an NGO on the micro-blogging platform X.

A family of four who had been forced to work as bonded labourers at a brick factory in Hassan district in Karnataka were rescued by Revenue Department officials on July 2. The brick factory owner Sathish was arrested by the Holenarasipura police on July 4.

According to the police, the rescued family, Mokardaj Putel, 35, his wife Urmila Putel, 27, and their two children, aged 11 and 5, hail from Balangir district in Odisha. They had migrated to Mandya, Karnataka, three years ago in search of employment. Initially working in a brickmaking unit in Mandya, the family moved to Jodi Gubbi village in Holenarasipura taluk of Hassan, lured by the promise of better wages and an advance payment of Rs 17,000 from Sathish.

Sathish had promised the family Rs 800 for every 1,000 bricks they produced daily and provided them with shelter and cooking supplies. However, they were not paid for their work over the last three years and were not allowed to move freely or visit their native place.

The plight of the Putel family came to the attention of Holenarasipura officials through social media after their videos were posted by an NGO on the micro-blogging platform X. Tahsildar KK Krishnamurthy, along with other officials, rescued the family and relocated them to a post-metric hostel of the Social Welfare Department in Ambedkar Nagar, Holenarasipura.

According to Labour Inspector Yamuna, the family will be sent back to Odisha only after they have been registered as bonded labourers. “The Revenue Department is in the process of declaring them as bonded labourers. Once they are registered as bonded labourers, they will be rehabilitated by the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department. Their bank accounts will be opened and we will need their identity proof,” Yamuna said. She added that the family does not have any identification documents, which has slowed the process.

Sathish, the brick kiln owner, faces multiple charges under sections 143 (trafficking of a person) and 146 (unlawful compulsory labour) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, sections 16 (punishment for enforcement of bonded labour), 17 (punishment for advancement of bonded debt), and 18 (punishment for extracting bonded labour under the bonded labour system) of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, and section 3 (prohibition of employment of children in certain occupations and processes) of the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act.

According to The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, a bonded labourer is a person who is forced to work under certain conditions. A primary condition is debt bondage, where the individual is compelled to work as a result of any pre-existing debt or obligation. This can include work without wages or for nominal wages, or work to repay an advance or loan taken by themselves or their family. Bonded labour also encompasses situations where the labour or service is given due to coercion, and the person cannot freely leave the employment.

The Act specifically addresses cases where the debtor, or any of their family members, are forced to work as a result of a debt, and their freedom to move or to seek alternative employment is restricted. It also covers conditions of labour that are exploitative or harsh, and situations where the amount of the debt is such that it is virtually impossible to repay, leading to a state of continuous bondage.

The post Karnataka: Odisha family rescued from bonded labour in Hassan, factory owner arrested appeared first on SAMATA.

New Delhi : Madhya Pradesh has notified its PESA Rules on the occasion of Janjatiya Gaurav Divas on 15th November, 2022. At the State Level Janjatiya Gaurav Divas Sammelan at Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh, Governor of Madhya Pradesh Shri Mangubhai Patel handed over the first copy of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA Act) Manual to the President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu.

The PESA Act, now under implementation in Madhya Pradesh, will empower the Gram Sabhas to take decision on the rules and regulations with regard to all natural resources in the forest areas. The PESA Act will give more constitutional rights to the tribal people to reap the benefits of natural resources from the forest areas where they live.

“The new PESA Rules made for the scheduled areas in Madhya Pradesh will be effective in empowering the lives of tribal communities and giving the tribals their rights”, said the President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu while addressing the above Sammelan.

Other dignitaries present at the Sammelan included Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Tribal Affairs Minister Shri Arjun Munda, Union Minister of State for Rural Development & Steel Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, other dignitaries and public representatives and a large number of tribal community representatives and local citizens, including women and youth, who had assembled from different parts of the State to celebrate the Janjatiya Gaurav Divas.

With the objective of effective implementation of PESA, Ministry of Panchayati Raj circulated Draft Model PESA Rules in 2009. Based on continuous advocacy and persuasion by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj eight States namely; Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana have notified their State PESA Rules under their respective State Panchayati Raj Acts. Recently, State of Chhattisgarh has notified their PESA Rules on 8th August, 2022. In the States of Jharkhand and Odisha the process of inter-Departmental consultation is still in progress.

Nine PESA States, except Rajasthan, have incorporated the provisions of PESA 1996 in their respective State Panchayati Raj Acts. The tenth State, Rajasthan, has notified “The Rajasthan Panchayat Raj (Modification of Provisions in their Application to the Scheduled Areas) Act 1999”.

Presently, 10 States viz. Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana, have Fifth Schedule Areas in their respective States.

Background

To bring the people residing in Fifth Schedule Areas in the mainstream, the Parliament, in terms of Article 243M(4)(b) of the Constitution, has enacted “the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996” (PESA) to extend Part IX of the Constitution, relating to Panchayats, to the Fifth Schedule areas, with certain modifications and exceptions. States, having Fifth Schedule Areas, have been empowered to make Panchayat Laws for these areas.

Under “The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas), Act 1996” (PESA), State Legislatures have been empowered to frame all laws concerning the extension of the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution relating to the Panchayats in Fifth Scheduled Areas, subject to such exceptions and modifications as are provided in section 4 of the Act.

PESA is an Act to provide for the extension of the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution relating to the Panchayats to the Scheduled Areas. In terms of section 2 of this Act, “Scheduled Areas” means the Scheduled Areas as referred to in clause (1) of article 244 of the Constitution. Out of the ten PESA States, eight States namely; Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana have framed and notified their State PESA Rules under their respective State Panchayati Raj Acts.

To celebrate 75 years of progressive India and commemorate 25th year of enactment of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA), the Ministry of Panchayati Raj in collaboration with Ministry of Tribal Affairs and National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, had organized a one-day National Conference on the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996 (PESA) as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav on 18th November, 2021 at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. This one-day National Conference was organized by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj to commemorate 25th year of promulgation of the PESA Act, with an objective to evaluate the progress of States in implementation of PESA as well as fostering a shared outlook on its impact at the grassroots level. This National Conference not only marked the 25th year enactment of PESA in the country, it also laid down a way forward to address the challenges and gaps in effective implementation of PESA in Scheduled Areas.

The post Madhya Pradesh Notifies PESA Rules On The Occasion Of Janjatiya Gaurav Divas appeared first on SAMATA.

Activity picks up at plant, power plant trial run held

Anrak Aluminium Limited (AAL) which was set up in 2014 with an investment of around ₹6,000 crore at Rachapalle in Makavarapalem mandal of Visakhpatnam district, is yet to go into production. The plant was set up with an installed capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per year, but with the cancellation of G.O. 97 by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government and the company failing to get a linkage for bauxite ore, the operation of the plant has been stalled. Now there are strong rumours that the company is gearing up to start production and it is learnt that initially February 5 was the date given but it had to be postponed to a later date.

Initially, G.O. 97 had given permission to the plant to mine bauxite ore in Gudem and Chintapalle block in Visakhapatnam Agency, and the mining was to be done by the A.P. Mineral Development Corporation in the reserve forest area. But due to stiff resistance from the tribals who followed the Niyamgiri model of agitation, the YSRCP government had cancelled the G.O., sticking to its election promise. AAL, a joint venture between Penna Group and Ras Al-Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA), has been waiting since then to establish a bauxite linkage and start production.

Sources say that it has been importing bauxite ore from abroad and building up its stock. It is also learnt that AAL is going the Vedanta way that has an alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Odisha. After Vedanta failed to get its linkage from Niyamgiri due to the resistance, it had established linkages from other States such as Rajasthan and Gujarat. Sources say that apart from importing bauxite, AAL is also planning to take one mine from Vedanta on lease to establish domestic linkage. However, no AAL official could be contacted for confirmation.

Sources say that a railway line is being laid from Bayyavaram in Kasimkota mandal to Makavarapalem, along with a siding to unload bauxite.

Hinting that something is on at the company, a few employees confirmed that hectic maintenance activity was on and the trial run of the power plant has been conducted successfully.

Ravi Rebbapragada of Samata, who was the architect of the Samata Judgement, based on which mining in the Fifth Schedule area by private parties was banned, said, “We do not mind if AAL imports bauxite or takes a mine on lease in some other State, but it cannot mine in Fifth Schedule areas.”

The post AAL going for production shortly? appeared first on SAMATA.

Villagers near Andhra-Odisha border are fighting the state for calcite reserves two decades after securing Supreme Court victory

In 1997, the residents of Nimmalapadu, a village in Andhra Pradesh, achieved the unthinkable: They won a legal battle against the state government and a private company to save their village from mining.

The Supreme Court overruled a 1993 Andhra Pradesh High Court order in favour of the state government, it declared that only people belonging to the Konda Dora tribe and their cooperatives can exploit the minerals in Fifth Schedule areas and that private mining here, even with government backing, is illegal.

The verdict, popularly called the Samata judgement after the name of the non-profit that helped the people fight the case, adds that even if the state government decides to mine directly, it needs to keep the interest of the tribal people first.

Yet, over two decades later, the residents of the village near the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border are fighting the state over their calcite reserves. Calcite is a mineral that is used in building material, abrasives, soil treatment, construction aggregate, pigment, and other applications.

The residents allege that the Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC), the state agency responsible for mining licences, has issued licences five times since 1997 to cooperatives or individuals from the state belonging to the Konda Dora community. Every time, it has found new ways to keep the people out of the process.

“The Durga Sandstone MAC Society gave Rs 2 lakh per year to people whose land was brought under mining. Landless residents were given Rs 1 lakh per year. It also enrolled some of the residents as members and gave them a salary,” says Latchanna Rao of adjoining Karakavalasa village.

The most recent attempt to undermine the people was made on March 16, 2021, when APMDC floated a tender to mine calcite in a 32.7-ha area, which will impact Nimmalapadu along with the neighbouring Karakavalasa and Ralagaravu villages. Within days of the tender, the residents got a stay order from the High Court on the grounds that they will not be able to apply as the tender only allowed bidding by contractors with experience in heavy-mechanised mining.

The petition was filed by Sri Abhaya Girijana Mutually Aided Labour Cooperative Society, a group floated by the residents who worked with Durga Sandstone MAC Society, and now want to mine directly.

“Our elders never wanted mining. But seeing the government’s persistence, we have decided it is better if we get involved,” says Chompi Balaraju, a member of the cooperative.

In April last year, APMDC removed the contentious clause and awarded a five-year-long mining licence to two contractors who belong to the Konda Dora community but are not from the three villages.

“The contractors have no experience in mining and will remain responsible for the mines only on paper. Private players, whom the people have been fighting for long, will start to exploit the land through them,” says Ravi Rebbapragada, executive director of non-profit Samata.

He adds that if the government was serious, it would award the contract to the people’s cooperative. The contractors can extract 4,000 million tonnes of calcite every month and will pay APMDC a fee of Rs 448 per tonne.

The residents allege the government agency has also not taken a go-ahead from the three gram sabhas before awarding the licences, as mandated under the Provisions of The Panchayats (Extension to The Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996.

“While 18 families have land in the proposed mining area, there are at least 130 families who are either agricultural labourers or cultivate on government land for generations without legal rights. All of them need to be compensated,” says Rebbapragada.

Based on their learnings from 2012, the residents are demanding royalty for their land, besides annuity till the time the project is operational. They also want a fund for rehabilitating the land after the company is gone. Other demands include employment, land for land, a cellular tower, a 24-hour doctor, and transportation facilities.

“Most of our demands are about development, which is ideally the work of the government. But the state has punished us for not allowing private mining. It has not carried out any developmental projects in the region since the 1970s when calcite was first found in the area,” says 60-year-old Pandana, who had actively participated in the struggle.

The nearest hospital is in Bobbili, a town some 40 km away. “There is a surge in malaria and typhoid cases because of poor sanitation. We also do not have good roads or reliable mobile connectivity,” says Balaraju. Education is another challenge with most children forced to travel to other villages or cities to attend good schools.

In December 2021, the contractors and APMDC proposed that they will only mine government land, and asked residents for approval. The residents have in response demanded `1.50 lakh per acre (0.4 ha) for families cultivating on government land. They also said that if the land adjoining the mines gets disturbed, the contractor will have to compensate for the same.

“Durya Rukmani, a former mandal parishad president and one of the new contractors, is trying to convince us informally. His people are organising cultural events and festivals. But we will not budge till the time they agree to all our demands and sign a legal contract for the same,” says Balaraju.

The post Nimmalapadu’s protracted struggle: Despite legal win, 3 Andhra tribal villages fight to save land from mining appeared first on SAMATA.

The draft notification pushed during the lockdown, in more ways than one, tries to minimise public participation in determining impacts of any particular industrial project on livelihoods and environment.

New Delhi: In what could spell catastrophe for the lives and livelihoods of millions of citizens across the country, the Central government has sought to introduce new rules whereby environmental clearances can be granted to industrial projects on a post facto basis. That is, projects that have commenced operations – by way of construction, installation, excavation, production, etc – without obtaining necessary clearances can be legalised as per provisions of the Draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2020 when it comes into effect.The notification has been, at present, put up in the public domain by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, inviting objections and recommendations to it, for which the last date is May 5.

The provision in the notification, which allows granting of post facto environmental clearances, is being seen as a tool that could be used by business interests to easily bypass environmental concerns affecting millions of people in order to maximise their own profits. The provision, once it is in place, will allow industries to circumvent the process of EIA which has so far been mandatorily conducted beforehand in order to ascertain the scale of setbacks that are likely to be suffered by natural settings owing to the construction of a project.

The post facto clearance can be granted against payment of a penalty, which as per further provisions of the notification, will be fixed at 1.5 times of the “ecological damage assessed and economic benefit derived due to the violation” if the application for it is made suo motu by the project proponent.

The penalty will, however, be fixed at two times the extent of damages and benefits if the violation is reported by any government agency. The sole prerogative of determining the extent of the “ecological damage assessed and economic benefit derived due to the violation” will be that of an Appraisal Committee appointed for the purpose.
The committee, however, will be empowered to scrap a project altogether only if it has been constructed at a site where it is not permissible to be set up as per provisions of the law.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations defines the purpose of EIA as alerting decision makers, regulatory agencies and the public of environmental consequences of projects “so that those projects can be modified, if need be, to prevent environmental deterioration, to avoid construction errors and to forestall economic losses caused by negative side effects.” A post facto assessment defeats the very purpose of EIA as has been described by the FAO because irreversible ecological damage will already have been committed with the commencement of operations.

“The provision is likely to encourage industries to commence operations without bothering for clearance and eventually get regularised by paying the penalty amount. It is likely to open a floodgate of violations and give rise to a situation of fait accompli, where damage to the environment is irreversible. The provision goes against the precautionary principle which is the sole basis of Environmental Impact Assessments,” said New Delhi-based environmental lawyer Parul Gupta.

The provision also circumvents various judgements of the Supreme Court of India which have held post facto clearances as going against the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and the Right to Life guaranteed to citizens as a Fundamental Right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

However, this is not the only attempt by the NDA government to grant post facto environmental clearances to industrial projects. “Three years ago, in March 2017, the Central government had introduced a one-time amnesty scheme, opened for a period of six months, whereby industries that had not procured prior environmental clearances were invited to fill in applications to procure them on a post facto basis. It is worrisome for environmental conservationists to see that this amnesty scheme is now being attempted to be made a permanent feature in environmental laws in the country,” said independent environmental researcher, Meenakshi Kapoor.

The amnesty scheme for post facto environmental clearances had been introduced in March 2017 after the National Green Tribunal quashed procedures laid in place by the erstwhile Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to grant post facto environmental clearances to violators. The Union Ministry of Environment & Forests (as it was called under the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance regime) had issued the two memoranda in quick succession – in December 2012 and June 2013. The green court quashed these memoranda, in an order issued by it in July 2015, on the grounds that they cannot subvert a central government notification.

The NDA government thereafter brought out the amnesty scheme justifying it with the argument that existing operational units are more polluting if they are not brought under the environment compliance regime. Apparently, the idea behind the scheme, as per the own words of the central government, was “to take away the economic benefit (if any) derived by the company due to violation and pay for the remediation of damage caused due to violation” as per the own words of the government. Only the central government, however, was empowered to examine all cases of violations under this amnesty scheme.
The central government had promulgated an EIA notification for the first time, under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, in the year 1994. A new notification was again brought out in the year 2006 which empowered state governments too with the responsibility of clearing certain projects depending on the size and capacity.

Environmental clearances were made mandatory, not only for new projects but also for “expansion or modernisation” of existing projects.

The draft notification of 2020 attempts to blur the difference between expansion and modernisation.

In January 2020 the central government had amended the EIA rules of 2006 – without public consultations or hearings – whereby the need for a prior environmental clearance was ruled out for changing the raw material or product mix of a project where it wanted to increase its production capacity by as much as 50 per cent. In the new draft notification, the central government has gone further to include changes in raw material or product mix under the definition of ‘modernisation’ itself in contrast to the notification of 2006 which made a clear differentiation between ‘modernisation’ and ‘change in product mix’.
Besides, the draft notification has also done away with the need to apply for a new environmental clearance for existing projects when it intends to go for an increase in its production capacity by as much as 25%. The need for public consultations is intended to be totally done away with for projects that go for increase in production capacity by as much as 50%.

In fact, the draft notification, in more ways than one, tries to minimise public participation in determining impacts of any particular industrial project on livelihoods and environment. The new notification seeks to reduce the minimum period offered to the public to notify their responses to the Environment Impact Assessment report of any project from the existing 30 days to 20 days.

As per experts, provisions in the notification are lenient on mining leaseholders too as far as environment protection norms are concerned. In accordance with Section 19 (1) (I) (d) of the notification, the period of validity of a prior environmental clearance of a mining project, for the purposes of construction and installation of machinery, can stretch over the entire life of the project provided mining activities commence within 10 years from the date of grant of the clearance.

“A mining leaseholder can begin construction and installation of machinery as much as ten years after obtaining an environmental clearance. The environmental conditions under which the clearance would have been granted must have changed by the time mining activities commence after a decade. In any case, the new notification is being pushed during the period of the Covid 19 pandemic. There is no tearing hurry for the government to push through the legislation when the entire country is under lockdown,” said R Ravi, Chairperson of mines, minerals and PEOPLE, an alliance of individuals and communities concerned and affected by mining.

News link

The post ‘Post Facto’ Environmental Clearance Set to be New Normal in India appeared first on SAMATA.

VIJAYAWADA: The disquiet among the Adivasi community in the tribal regions of Visakhapatnam has been rising in recent months as the state government appears to be turning a blind eye to critical rulings by the courts, including the Supreme Court, on the rights of Adivasis to their land.<!–more–>

One important ruling on the rights of the Adivasis was given by the Supreme Court in July 1997. In its judgment filed in the lawsuit brought by Samata, a non-governmental organisation, the apex court declared null and void the transfer of land in the scheduled areas and also upheld the Forest Protection Act of 1980.

“The Supreme Court decision, which has since been called the Samata judgment, is by far the most progressive of rulings, but unfortunately its efficacy has been steadily diluted in AP and other states,” says Ravi Rebbapragada, who is the executive director of Samata, which had brought the lawsuit against the AP government. The Samata ruling had allocated 20% of the net profit to the local area development councils in the states, but somehow that order has been followed more in the breach than in practice, Rebbapragada claimed.

The AP government has also been tardy in enforcing laws pertaining to the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, which governs the laws in Adivasi land. “While the AP government has not given any licence for mining of bauxite in the Agency areas of Visakhapatnam, it has allowed the mining of laterite, which is also illegal. More importantly, the government has been allowing plains people to illegally set up so-called tourism projects in Agency areas like Lambasingi, Paderu and Anantagiri,” Rebbapragada alleged.

“The Adivasis are even not paid minimum wages. They are treated like slaves by owners of guest houses and hotels and other attractions in these places,” Rebbapragada said.

Apart from over-exploiting the fragile ecology of the Agency areas, tourists have made a mess of the region with rampant littering. “Dallapalli has been almost drowned in single-use plastic bags and other litter, which has not been removed by the administration, making it clear that it wants to exploit the Agency areas at the expense of the Adivasis who have been living in the region for generations, eking a living out of the forests,” he added.

The alleged continuing onslaught on Adivasi rights has prompted them to get together to launch an agitation for the protection of the Fifth Schedule rights. The community held a massive show of strength in Paderu on February 12 which was attended by over one lakh people. A joint action committee of the Adivasis has also requested the AP government to resolve their issues at the earliest.

According to EAS Sarma, a former Union expenditure secretary, Adivasis’ land was being commandeered illegally by plains people on the pretext of setting up hotels in Anantagiri, Paderu and Lambasingi .

The post Vijayawada: Disquiet in Agency areas over violation of SC orders appeared first on SAMATA.

आंध्र प्रदेश उच्च न्यायालय ने केंद्रीय वन एवं पर्यावरण मंत्रालय की उस अधिसूचना को रद्द कर दिया है, जिसमें कहा गया था कि लीनियर प्रोजेक्ट में ग्राम सभा के मंजूरी की जरूरत नहीं होगी।

करीब छह साल बाद ग्राम सभा को अपनी खोई हुई ताकत वापस मिल गई है। गांव में आर्थिक और सामाजिक विकास वाली योजना और परियोजनाओं को जमीन पर उतारने के लिए पहले ग्राम सभा की मंजूरी लेनी होगी। आंध्र प्रदेश उच्च न्यायालय ने केंद्रीय वन एवं पर्यावरण मंत्रालय की ओर से जारी की गई उस अधिसूचना को रद्द कर दिया है, जिसमें ग्राम सभा की भूमिका को कम करते हुए विकास परियोजनाओं और कार्यक्रमों के लिए जमीन अधिग्रहण व लैंड यूज में बदलाव जैसी गतिविधि में ग्राम सभा से मंजूरी लेने की शर्त को खत्म कर दिया गया था। यह अधिसूचना 5 फरवरी, 2013 को जारी की गई थी।

आंध्र प्रदेश उच्च न्यायालय के कार्यकारी मुख्य न्यायाधीश सी प्रवीन कुमार और जस्टिस एम सत्यनारायण मूर्ति ने अपने आदेश में कहा है कि पंचायतों के प्रावधान (अनुसूचित क्षेत्रों पर विस्तार) अधिनियम, 1996 (पेसा अधिनियम, 1996) की धारा 4 (सी) ग्राम सभा को यह शक्ति देता है कि वह गरीबी उन्मूलन के लाभार्थियों की पहचान करे साथ ही विकास की योजनाओं और परियोजनाओं को मंजूर करे। धारा 4 के होते हुए संविधान के नौवें भाग में अन्य कोई कानून नहीं हो सकता। न ही राज्य और केंद्र इस संबंध में कोई नया कानून बना सकते हैं। पेसा कानून, 1996 न सिर्फ राज्यों को इस संबंध में कानून बनाने से रोकता है बल्कि यह धारा 4 के ए से ओ तक में वर्णित आदिवासियों के लिए विशेष सुविधाओं के साथ असंगत भी है।

पीठ ने कहा कि पर्यावरण मंत्रालय की ओर से ग्राम सभा की शक्ति छीनने वाले सर्कुलर को भले ही इस शर्त के साथ जारी किया गया हो कि वह आदिवासियों या समुदाय के संस्कृति को प्रभाव को जांचेगी तब भी पेसा कानून की धारा 4 के साथ यह उचित नहीं है। इसके अलावा केंद्रीय वन एवं पर्यावरण मंत्रालय और आदिवासी कल्याण विभाग ने भी यह स्वीकार किया है कि संबंधित सर्कुलर पेसा कानून के अनुकूल नहीं है। ऐसे में 5 फरवरी, 2013 को जारी संबंधित सर्कुलर को रद्द किया जाता है।

गैर सरकारी संस्था समथा के निदेशक रवि रब्बा प्रगडा और डॉ ईएएस शर्मा की ओर से केंद्रीय वन एवं पर्यावरण मंत्रालय की 5 फरवरी, 2013 को जारी की संबंधित अधिसूचना को आंध्र प्रदेश उच्च न्यायालय में चुनौती दी गई थी। याचिका में कहा गया था कि लीनियर प्रोजेक्ट्स में ग्राम सभा की मंजूरी और अन्य भूमिका को कम करना और उसकी शक्ति को क्षीण करना संविधान अनुरूप नहीं है। वहीं, सर्कुलर के आधार आदिवासी वन क्षेत्रों में परियोजनाओं को शुरु किया जा रहा है जो असंवैधानिक और गलत हैं।

गैर सरकारी संस्था समथा के निदेशक रवि रब्बा प्रगडा ने डाउन टू अर्थ से कहा कि आंध्र प्रदेश का यह फैसला बेहद अहम है। खासतौर से लीनियर प्रोजेक्ट्स यानी सड़क, तार, नहरें, पाइपलाइन, ऑप्टिकल फाइबर, ट्रांसमिशन लाइन बिछाने वाली परियोजनाओं में ग्राम सभा की मंजूरी खत्म किए जाने से वन और गैर वन भूमि में जमीनों का मनमाने तरीके से अधिग्रहण किया जा रहा था और उनमें परियोजनाएं भी संचालित की जा रही थीं।

आंध्र प्रदेश सरकार का यह फैसला तब आया है जब केंद्रीय मंत्रालय ने देशभर में पाइपलाइन बिछाकर हर घर जल पहुंचाने की योजना बनाई है। इसके अलावा रेलवे और हाईवे जैसे लीनियर प्रोजेक्ट्स में केंद्रीय वन एवं पर्यावरण मंत्रालय ने 800 हेक्टेयर भूमि में 13 लंबित रेलवे परियोजाओं को भी मजूरी भी दी है।

News link

Judgement copy

The post गांवों में विकास परियोजनाओं के लिए ग्राम सभा की अनुमति होगी जरूरी appeared first on SAMATA.

By Our Representative
A delegation of two civil rights groups, Samata and mines, minerals and People (mm&P), has impressed upon several of India’s members of Parliament (MPs) to discuss and raise issues relating to illegal mining, the Samata judgment, children in the mining areas and the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) in Parliament, adding, the issue of involvement of gram sabhas in decision making ought to be central for allowing any new projects in forest areas.

The delegation — consisting of mm&P’s Ravi Rebbapragada (chairperson), Ashok Shimali (secretary general), Deme Oram, Mukesh Birua, Raju Pandara, Shivkumar malagi, and Swaraj Das; and Samata’s Mithun Raj, BP Yadav and Sree Harica — told Kirodilal Meena, MP, Rajasthan, about the need to implement the Samata Judgment in letter and spirit in Rajasthan.

The delegation said, the Samata Judgment, 1997, protects the land of the tribal people under the fifth schedule of the Constitution. Under the judgment, the transfer of land in scheduled areas, which are home to forest dwellers, by way of lease to non-tribals or a corporate entity is prohibited to prevent their exploitation in any form.
However, it was pointed out, more than two decades have passed, but the implementation of the judgment in the fifth scheduled areas has been dismal. The judgment had called for a conference of the Prime Minister, concerned Central ministers, all the chief ministers, and concerned ministers of states to take a policy decision for a having consistent scheme throughout the country in respect of tribal lands.

“Yet, this has not taken place. In this regard, we urged Dr Meena to raise the issue of implementation of theSamata judgment in the entire country which will help in the protection of the tribal community”, Shrimali told Counterview.

The issue of children in mining areas was taken up with L Hanumanthaiah, and Naseer Hussain, MPs from Karnataka. They assured the delegation that they would surely raise this important issue in Parliament.

The two MPs agreed that the tragedy is, “mining children” are nobody’s children. Neither the Central ministry for mines and minerals nor their counterparts in states look after the mining children. Even other Central ministries or state departments do not look after children. Ministries and departments of social welfare, labour, women and child development, education, or tribal welfare do not have children in mining areas on their radar.

The MPs were to told, some of the impacts on children include increased morbidity and illness, malnutrition, exploitation and abuse, increase in child labour etc. There is a need for the inclusion of issues related with children in mining laws and convergence of ministries and departments to benefit children.

The delegation asked Mansukhbhai Vasava and Prabhubhai Vasava, MPs from Gujarat, to raise the issue of illegal mining in Parliament. In a reply, the concerned minister had told Parliament that in the year 2018-19 alone 1,15,492 cases of illegal mining had been registered.

Illegal mining has huge repercussions on the socio-economic and environmental balance of the country. The government should take strict measures to curb illegal mining, they were told.

The delegation simultaneously met National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) vice-chairperson Ansuya Uikey and members Hiralal Damor and Mahesh Vasava to discuss issues related with forest rights violations in the fifth schedule areas and other governance issues, pointing out, displacement due to development projects is the highest among tribals.

The commission office bearers were asked to take steps for timely rehabilitation and resettlement of those already affected by mining projects.
“We urged Parliamentarians to raise the issue of involvement of gram sabhas, especially in the decision making in DMF committees. The Chhattisgarh government recently announced the inclusion of two members of gram sabhas in these ommittees. This should be replicated all across the country, we insisted”, Shrimali said.

“We told MPs that forest rights has been a focus area of our advocacy programme. The draft Indian Forest Act, 2018 mandates all state governments to hold consultations with all the stakeholders in order to carry out any work related with forests. However, most states have not yet initiated the process. We wanted MPs to take up this issue as well”, he added.

The post None of India’s ministries, departments have mining children on the radar: MPs told appeared first on SAMATA.

‘They are neither regularised nor given share in income’

Rebbapragada Ravi, founder of Samata, an NGO, met District Collector Vinay Chand on Friday and represented the long-pending case of the tourist guides of Borra Caves.

The tourist guides at the million-year-old Borra Caves, which is one among the most sought after tourist destinations, are in dire straits. They have been fighting a battle with the authorities concerned over regularisation of their employment, since last two decades.

About 20 guides, were recruited by the Tourism Department in 1993, on temporary daily wage basis, with promise of regularising them in a short time.

Four of them have died since then and that promise has not been fulfilled till date, despite the then Sub-Collector writing a note to the government to take up the issue.

“They were neither regularised nor they were given the percentage share as per the Samata Judgment,” said Mr. Ravi.

As per the Samata Judgment, tribal people have to been given 20% of the share from income that generates from any commercial venture in the notified areas under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution.

It has been over 26 years that we have been fighting for justice, but nothing has moved. We were then recruited as daily wagers and now we are under contract with APTDC, said Somesh, a guide.

We are also not being paid the 20% share from sale proceed of tickets, as per the Samata judgement. In the middle, between 1999 and 2000 we were paid, but it was again discontinued, he added.

Meanwhile, the traffic to the Archean age (4000 to 2500 million years) cave has increased phenomenally from about 3 lakh per month during season to over 9 lakhs. But the pay that the guides take home still varies between ₹8,000 to ₹12,500.

Mr. Ravi said that as per the Samata judgement, for all business ventures in Schedule V areas, 20% needs to be ploughed back into the development of the area, which includes human resources.

The post NGO takes up tourist guides’ issue with Collector appeared first on SAMATA.