The relocation norms and that of the Forest Rights Act while relocating families of particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) from Ramjodi, a village situated in the buffer area of the Similipal Tiger Reserve, to Sialinai, a village on the fringe area of the sanctuary, have been thrown to the wind.
To the inhabitants of Sialinai, the worst happened on late Wednesday night when fire broke out from a house leaving at least 16 families homeless and injuring 16 people, one of them critically. Houses of 16 families have been reduced to ashes, while all injured persons are undergoing treatment at a hospital in Karanjia. Injured Radharani (26) is struggling for life with 70 per cent burn at the SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack.
Fire erupted from the house of Jadumani Dehury, an elderly villager, and engulfed the village within minutes. According to Jadumani, his son Surendra and daughter-in-law Radharani along with their kids were sleeping in a room, when Radharani’s saree caught fire from the chulah, traditional stove used for cooking food. Radharani sustained severe burn injuries. “We don’t have separate kitchens in the temporary shelter provided to us by the administration. We have to cook there, eat there and sleep there,” lamented Jadumani, who is uncertain about the survival of his daughter-in-law.
According to Pitambar Nayak, another elderly person of the village, “We were forced by the Forest Department to leave the place as they said our native place, Ramjodi, will get submerged by Deo dam on Deo river, which was false. The Forest Department constantly asked us to evict, else, lose compensation and all other benefits. We had no option but to leave the place and settle in temporary shanties erected for us.”
Sukrumuni Dehury, a village woman, said, “We lost everything, our livelihood, our place of worship, our source of food to live in very low-height houses with tin walls and thatched roofs. These huts can neither protect us from the cold, heat or rains. The thatched roofs are so low that we live under constant fear that our houses may catch fire any time and the worst happened yesterday night. As the tin walls can’t protect us from the prevailing extreme cold, we have to sleep around hearth and we are under constant fear of fire mishap.”
According to land rights activist Aurobindo Rout, though it is a mishap, but it could have been avoided had the Forest Department followed the relocation norms and provided permanent houses to the villagers at the new place before relocating them. The department finished its responsibilities by providing the financial compensation. Rout further added that the Forest Department’s claim that the villagers had approached them for a voluntary relocation was false and baseless.
Tanuja Mishra, a community development practitioner in the area, alleged that the Forest Department terrorised the villagers mentioning that their village (Ramjodi) will get submerged under Deo dam, which is under construction. But, in reality, the dam project will have no impact on the village. The village predominated by Khadia community members, who used to sell a quintal of honey every year and get a good profit by selling siali fibres and leaf-plates, have been reduced to daily wagers.
Chitta Ranjan Pani, a forest rights activist, said the forest officials have been vacating the tribals from the sanctuary on the ground that their presence will impact the free movement of tigers and wild animals and that there can be risks to lives of the forested communities. Such mindset of the officials is baseless and it violates the rights of primitive tribal groups as provided under Section 4(2) of the FRA that has the provision of coexistence with the wild and also states any kind of modification and resettlements can happen if there is no scope for coexistence.
Activist Hemant Kumar Sahoo, said, “By relocating the original inhabitants from their native place, the Forest Department has increased their economic vulnerability and left them homeless.
Community members of Ramjodi were entitled to community forest resources (CFR) rights and they have received titles for it. However, the community is yet to get compensation against their CFR rights.”
Criticising the role of the Forest Department and the district administration, National Green Tribunal lawyer Shankar Pani said, “The Forest Department created a panic situation and the villagers were forced to succumb to the pressure.”
“It is an obligation on the part of the officials to inform the forest dwellers about their rights before taking initiatives to relocate them. Further, it is the duty of the district administration to ensure that these people get a descent place to live in and pursue a dignified life. As they are being relocated for a purpose, they lives must be better than the existing one,” the lawyer added.
He rued that the temporary habitation is prone to fire and any kind of mishap. It is a clear-cut case of violation of law. “We can hold the district administration and the Forest Department accountable for the tragedy,” he maintained.
Manohar Chouhan, member, Campaign for Survival with Dignity, Odisha chapter, demanded that each affected family should be given Rs 2 lakh compensation and the Government should bear the treatment cost of all the fire victims. Besides, the permanent house should be constructed immediately, he added.
Madhusmita Mahapatra, the Special Officer of the Khadia/Mankidia Development Agency, admits that the relocation norms have been violated in the case. She also blamed the Forest Department that has not consulted the nodal agency before relocating the community members.
However, the agency is now taking measures to ensure that construction of permanent houses is completed with immediate effect, after which, the residents would be provided with better livelihood opportunities.