No saviour for Buxa tiger reserve

Photo:Samsing Chauthary

The Times of India                    For Raju Karki (name changed) of Raimatang, one of the 12 villages dotting the core area of Buxa Tiger Reserve, sneaking into the forest on a cold February night for wood was a usual affair. But that night, he couldn't dodge the forest guards. What surprised him more was that a local politician came to his rescue just when he was being packed off to jail. "It seemed strange but then I realized the panchayat elections are ahead," says the first-time voter.

Like Karki, the settlers the settlers of 12 other villages in the core area feel sheltered by the local leaders. They were getting ready to move out but the politicians managed to thwart the village relocation plan just before the last assembly polls by insisting that the area doesn't fall in the core zone and won't qualify for a relocation package.

Where gods must be dazed...

A woman from the Dongria Kondh tribe collects firewood

Kumar Sambhav S & Anupam Chakravartty: Business Standard

In February, the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) took many by surprise when it opposed a mining project in Odisha's Niyamgiri hills in the Supreme Court solely on the ground of violation of tribals' religious rights. Extracting bauxite from the region would violate the fundamental right of a particularly vulnerable tribe, Dongria Kondh, which considers Niyamgiri as the abode of their deity Niyam Raja, MoEF said. Till then, MoEF had maintained violation of environmental laws as the reason for cancelling clearance of the project by Vedanta in 2010.

Dangaria tribes demand gram sabha in 104 villages

Business Line

Reuter

A delegation of Dangaria Kondh tribes today met the Odisha Governor SC Jamir and registered its opposition to the state government’s plan to hold gram sabhas in only 12 villages of Niyamgiri Hills to arrive at a decision on proposed bauxite mining for the Vedanta refinery.

“We urged the governor to intervene in the matter as the state government has already asked district administrations of Rayagada and Kalahandi to hold gram sabha in the 12 villages,” said Kumuti Majhi, the president of the Niyamgiri Surakshya Samiti (NSS), the apex body of the agitating tribals.

Majhi, along with others, told Jamir that all tribals who have a sentimental attachment with Niyamgiri Hills should get a chance to share their views on the bauxite mining proposal.

“NSS demands gram sabhas in all the 104 villages spread over Rayagada and Kalahandi districts,” Majhi told reporters after meeting the Governor.

Majhi also said that the local tribals have no faith in the state government which they alleged was working in the interests of Vedanta.

Earlier, the Union ministry of tribal affairs (MoTA) had also objected to the state government’s decision to hold gram sabhas in only 12 villages.

In a letter to Odisha chief secretary BK Patnaik, MoTA secretary Vibha Puri Das had said that limiting the number of gram sabha meetings was not in accordance with the Supreme Court order.

“The list of villages where rights of the forest dwellers are guaranteed under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) or where cultural and religious rights are likely to be affected cannot be arbitrarily decided by the state government,” Das had said in the letter.

“It is to be decided by the people... so that no genuine gram sabha which has a legitimate claim is left out of the process,” the letter added.

When contacted, Patnaik said: “The state government is examining the MoTA letter. We will take a decision on holding gram sabha at Niyamgiri Hills after examining all angles.”

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