Tribals unite to fight delay, denial of forest rights

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Bhubaneswar: Several inhabitants of tribal areas across Odisha who were jolted by a Supreme Court order threatening their eviction from the forests, in denial of their forest rights, and upset by the state government’s rejection of their forest rights, are now joining their hands to fight for their legitimate rights.
Although the apex court had stalled its eviction order subsequently, the tribal inhabitants of the state understand that they could face similar threats of eviction in Odisha if the bureaucrats continue to reject their legitimate claims and rights over the forest region.
In an innovative move, several tribals including some of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) from tribally-predominant districts like Keonjhar, Sundargarh and Mayurbhanj are coming together to learn from the experiences of others. The tribals have expressed their keenness to learn the provisions of the forests rights as enshrined in the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
Last week, several people from Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Angul converged at Banspal in Keonjhar district to discuss the provisions of the law, learn from other successful tribes and regions where the tribals could succeed in asserting their forest rights through concerted struggles.
“The main issue before the tribes in the state is that many people are less legally aware of the existing laws which empower them to have their legal rights over the forests. A mass awareness is needed to get our rights from the state through settlement, so the inter-district and inter-tribe meeting was organised to get us together to fight for our cause,” said Birban Nayak, a villager from Gonasika in Keonjhar district.
Tribes like Paodi Bhuyan which comes under PVTG met the Juangs and other tribesmen at the meeting to know more about larger issues affecting their community and also methods of fighting for the rights which the state government often tries to stagger by dilly-dallying for obvious reasons.
“The main reason for such delays is the District Level Committee which is constituted under the FRA Act does not meet regularly to settle tribal claims. Failure to arrive at consensus over forest rights under the Gram Sabhas and bureaucratic lethargy often lead to delays,” said Pavitra Deuri from Charigaon in Keonjhar district. An affidavit filed by the Odisha government before the Supreme Court recently had stated that 5,73,867 claims had been filed by members of the Scheduled Tribes (STs) community.
Out of these, 1,22,250 claims of STs and 26,620 claims of OTFDs have been rejected. The Odisha government has, however, told the Supreme Court that the rejected claims are being reviewed.
The Supreme Court had then asked the Odisha government as to why the evictions have not taken place despite the claims being rejected.