Press Release
Odisha Government in Violation of Supreme Court Judgement Starts Process of Gram Sabha in Serakpadi Village in Niyamgiri
Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti Declares Holding of Gram Sabhas in more than 100 Villages in the Vicinity as per Supreme Court Order
New Delhi / Bhubaneshwar, July 18 : The first Gram Sabha, following Supreme Court's April 18th judgement, is being organised today in Serakpadi village of Raygada district. Since, morning amidst heavy police and security forces, government officials, and villagers from nearby villages have been gathering in the village. In the meeting, Dongria Konds asserted their claim to Niyam Raja, sacred mountain, and sent a loud message about the fact that the whole mountain is their God and they are opposed in any mining activity in the mountain range and nearby.
Earlier on Odisha government willfully misrepresented the Supreme Court and declared that they would hold the gram sabhas in only 12 villages. Records show that there are actually only 186 voters registered in the twelve villages combined according to the old voter lists (five in Kalahandi district and seven in Rayagada), while more than 8000 Dongria Konds live on and worship the mountain, plus many more Kutia Konds are living around Niyamgiri. Ijrupa in Kalahandi dist – one of the villages listed, only has one voter according to the old voter lists which are likely to be used. Several of these villages are primarily occupied by Yadav immigrants and not the adivasis whom the judgement is aimed at. This is in blatant violation of SC judgement restricting participation in the Palli Sabha process, and make it easier to manipulate and manage by the Odisha State which has worked alongside Vedanta from the start.
On June 12, a 18 member Dongria Kond delegation had submitted a memorandum to the Governor of Odisha, Shri S C Jamir, in this regard. Union Tribal Affairs Minister, Shri Kishore Chandra Deo has also very categorically said that the selection of just 12 villages violates the Supreme Court order. The Dongria Konds and other affected tribal groups have hence, decided to hold Palli Sabhas (Gram Sabha) in all villages to be affected by the proposed bauxite mining. "We have decided that all villages will call for Palli Sabha under the Orissa Gram Panchayat Act. The Palli Sabhas will receive individual and community claims to forest resources and will also decide whether mining will affect religious and cultural rights of Dongria Kondh and other tribal and non-tribal forest dwellers," said Lingaraj Azad from Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti (NSS).
Prafulla Samantara, National Convener, National Alliance of People's Movements, and an intervener in the Supreme Court case, from Bhubaneshwar, condemened the move of the Odisha government and also decried the fact that CRPF has been harassing them and in an incident on June 3rd fired on Konds in order to scare them. CRPF is present in area for combing operations and have been spreading terror and threatening Dongrias to stop their resistance to the Vednata mining project."
Devangana Kalita, of FOIL Vedanta, an international solidarity group, said, "we have registered complaints with the Odisha Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, but there has been no response yet. To highlight all these violations by the State government and Vedanta, simultaneous demonstrations in Niyamgiri, Bhuwaneshwar and Delhi on 31st July, a day before the Annual General-Body Meeting (AGM) of Vedanta in London, has been planned by different rights groups and people's movements."
National Alliance of People's Movements reiterates its support to the struggle of the Dongria Kondhs and demands that Odisha government desist from intimidtaing and threatening people. Dongrias of Niyamgiri are determined to save their land, forest and water and with support of people's movements across the country will do so and not let any mining happen in Niyamgiri.
Madhuresh Kumar & Seela Mahapatra (NAPM), Devangana Kalita (Foil Vedanta), Sanjeev Kumar (Delhi Solidarity Group)
For details call : 9212587159 / 8130414606
Relevant Excerpts from Supreme Court's judgement dt April 18, 2013 :
The Gram Sabha is also free to consider all the community, individual as well as cultural and religious claims, over and above the claims which have already been received from Rayagada and Kalahandi Districts. Any such fresh claims be filed before the Gram Sabha within six weeks from the date of this Judgement. State Government as well as the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, would assist the Gram Sabha for settling of individual as well as community claims.
We are, therefore, inclined to give a direction to the State of Orissa to place these issues before the Gram Sabha with notice to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, and the Gram Sabha would take a decision on them within three months and communicate the same to the MoEF, through the State Government. On the conclusion of the proceeding before the Gram Sabha determining the claims submitted before it, the MoEF shall take a final decision on the grant of Stage II clearance for the Bauxite Mining Project in the light of the decisions of the Gram Sabha within two months thereafter.
--
===============================================
National Alliance of People's Movements
National Office : 6/6, Jangpura B, Mathura Road, New Delhi 110014
Phone : 011 26241167 / 24354737 Mobile : 09818905316
Web : www.napm-india.org
Facebook : www.facebook.com/NAPMindia
Twitter : @napmindia
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Initiative India" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to initiative-india+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to initiative-india@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/initiative-india.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment