There seems to be a well-calculated move to deprive the Dangoria Kandh tribals of their rights over the Niyamgiri Hills. This is despite the Supreme Court’s categorical order that the local tribals will decide the fate of the proposed bauxite mining atop the Niyamgiri Hills. The tribals were happy that their views would be the final words.
But considering politics at the high level, there seems that there would be no Gram Sabha for the Niyamgiri Hills in near future. Though the apex court has categorically said that the Gram Sabhas would be completed within three months from April 18, no one is now sure when the exercise would be completed.
This is because of the dispute between the Odisha Government and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA). While the State Government has decided to hold Gram Sabhas in 12 hill slope villages, the MoTA has suggested conducting of Gram Sabhas in all the villages in the area.
The MoTA in its latest letter to the State’s Chief Secretary has said Gram Sabhas should be held in all villages, whose numbers were calculated to be 4,500, instead of only 12 hill slope villages.
"The list of villages where rights of forest-dwellers are guaranteed under the FRA (Forest Rights Act) or where cultural and religious rights are likely to be affected cannot be arbitrarily decided by the State Government.
It is to be decided by the people (Palli Sabhas) where claims would be filed through a transparent manner so that no genuine Gram Sabha which has a legitimate claim is left out of the process. This is in line with Para 59 of the apex court judgement.” MoTA Secretary Vibha Puri Das has written to Chief Secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik.
The Para 59 of the apex court's judgement reads, “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 would be filed before the Gram Sabha within six weeks from the date of this judgement. The State Government as well as MoTA, Government of India, would assist the Gram Sabha for settling of individual as community claims.”
The MoTA said that it is in receipt of copies of several claims under FRA for various rights including religious and cultural rights claimed over the Niyamgiri forests and sacred areas from villages over and above the 12 villages selected by the State Government.
It further shows that the Niyamgiri forests are shared by not just 12 villages while a number of other villages in Kalahandi and Rayagada too share religious and cultural rights over Niyamgiri, the Ministry held.
Referring to the Para 53 and 54 of the Supreme Court judgement, the MoTA’s letter said, “Such observations cannot be interpreted to assess the number of villages that need to be considered for recognition and vesting of claims under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Right) Act-2006.”
Earlier, the Chief Secretary in his letter to the MoTA Secretary had stated that a reading of the Supreme Court's observation would make it clear that the reference is to the 12 hill slope villages for which an affidavit was filed by the State Government.
Again, referring to Section 3 (1) (e) of FRA, the letter from the MoTA said, “The section addresses the rights of particularly vulnerable tribal groups (Dongria Kandhs and Kutia Kandhs in this case) over their customary habitats or territories which, in local context, comprise the entire Niyamgiri forests and sacred areas, which, as we have learnt, are shared by various clan groups of the local tribal communities.”
It may be noted here that Rule 12 (B) (1) of the Amendment Rules 2012 specifically deals with the recognition of habitat rights and ensure that all PTGs (primitive tribal groups) receive habitat rights, in consultation with the concerned traditional institutions of PTGs and their claims are filed before the concerned Gram Sabhas.
Since the rights to be addressed include habitat rights, it must be ensured that the process of claims covers all the villages and settlements which share these rights, the MoTA letter said.
As the State and Centre differ over the number of villages to hold Gram Sabhas, it appears that no Gram Sabhas can be held within the time stipulated by the Supreme Court.