Civil society members and lawyers joined a seminar on ‘Tribal People’ organised by voluntary outfit Madhusudan Nyaya Pratisthan (MNP) here on Saturday. The seminar had discussion on different problems faced by tribal people in the State, in general and primitive tribal groups, in particular, due to land acquisition in their habitat.
Speaking on the legal aspects for protection of tribal people, advocate Gupteswar Panigrahi highlighted various protective laws meant for protection of tribal land in pre and post-independence period.
Member of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity) Manohar Chauhan and environmentalist Biswajit Mohanty joined the seminar as guest speakers.
Elaborating on the Forest Rights Act (FRA)-2006 and its implementation in the State, Chauhan said, “Forest Rights Act is a stepping stone in re-establishing the lost tribal rights in the country in pre and in post-independence period”. Sharing the individual and community forest rights recognised under the FRA, he said the FRA aims at directing democracy at grassroots level giving rights to local people through Gram Sabha to take ultimate decision over its natural resources.
Highlighting the victory of Dongaria Kondhs over Vedanta at Niyamgiri, he said the FRA has recognised the Gram Sabha as ‘Gram Sabha Sarkar’ that can make laws, execute them and even give punishment to its offenders within the village and take final decision in case of diversion of forest land for non-forest use.
lok Sakti Abhijan president Prafulla Samantra and MNP members Mrugan Mauli Pattnaik and Chittananjan Bairisa spoke.