There is strong apprehension that the Odisha land Grabbing (Prohibition) Ordinance, 2015 will have far reaching implication on the Adivasis, Dalits, women, landless people and slum dwellers who have occupied Government land for their habitat and livelihood purposes. The ordinance has not differentiated the persons who have acquired the Government land for their mere sustenance and the persons who have grabbed huge patch of Government land to meet their greed.
This ordinance has no specification about the protection of landless people who are earning their livelihood on the acquired Government land. As such, there is every possibility that the ordinance will be (mis)used to evict them from their land and criminalise these vulnerable communities. People living in urban slums like those living in Salia Sahi of Bhubaneswar are also likely to be affected by the ordinance.
Adivasis, Dalits and other vulnerable groups living on Government land are yet to receive legal entitlement over land in many areas they have been cultivating for decades. They face the constant threat of eviction and dispossession. The lands are not just crucial for the livelihoods of people in the region, but for many their lands are also intimately linked to their culture, identity and way of life. An enumeration by the Government of Odisha placed a figure of 2, 36,000 landless in the State.
According to the ordinance the Special Court shall presume that the person who is alleged to have grabbed the land is a land grabber and the burden of proving that the land has not been grabbed by him shall be on such person. The burden of proof on the alleged person in case of Adivasis, Dalits, and women will bring harassment and economic burden.
The State Government has announced a number of programmes periodically to provide land to the landless and recognise their record of rights.
In 2005-2006, the Government introduced a land allocation scheme called Vasundhara, which aimed at allotting up to 10 decimals of land (one-tenth of an acre) to the homesteadless. Notwithstanding the existence of different programmes like Mo Jami Mo Diha, Vasundhara, and special provisions under law, these vulnerable communities are yet to get any benefit.
The development authorities and special planning authorities already have ample scope to acquire vast amount of Government land occupied by the vulnerable communities in the periphery of the city/ town. An example of this is the inclusion of Rourkela municipality to Rourkela Municipal Corporation by the Rourkela Development Authority under the Odisha Development Authorities Act,1982. Adivasis are protesting and resisting this inclusion which will result in the area losing the schedule area status thereby affecting their cultural identity, practices and traditions.
The ordinance is giving scope to the Government authorities to evict the villagers who are living adjacent to the National and State Highways. There is no specification of the limit on adjacent area.
The State highway is running through the area where most of the Adivasis and other vulnerable communities are depending on the Government land for their livelihoods since generations. Their land has not yet been recognised. Now this ordinance will provide opportunities for the authorities to evict these communities in the name of grabbing. Afterwards these lands will be handed over to the corporates and industrialists in the name of development.
Moreover with regard to National Highways, there is already an Act, National Highway Act 1956, under which lands are acquired by the Government without people’s consent. The question then arises about the necessity of adding provisions in the ordinance to acquire Government land adjacent to National Highways.
In Odisha, in most of the area belonging to the Notified Area Council (NAC), rural people are eking out their livelihoods from the Government land. They will be direct victims of this ordinance. In addition, the ordinance has a provision that the Government will acquire the land through the other local authorities, by putting notifications time to time. This provision gives indiscriminate power to the bureaucracies to acquire and control Government land on which many landless people are depending.
Most importantly, the ordinance is at odds with provisions of the Fifth Schedule and 73rd and 74th Amendment of the Indian Constitution, PESA 1996 and FRA 2006. There is no role of Palli Sabha, Gram Sabha, Panchayat and Urban local Bodies in land acquisition.
Bypassing the PRIs, the ordinance has given the responsibility to the Revenue Department of reclaiming Government land. Ironically, this department has been slow in recognising the land rights of the people and has been involved in unnecessary harassment, bribery, purposeful delay in the settlement process of their land.
The ordinance is also disrespecting the provisions of the Fifth schedule of the Indian constitution. Odisha has nearly 44 per cent of the area belong to Schedule area. However, the ordinance has no special provisions to safeguard the land rights of those living in the schedule areas as enshrined in the fifth schedule of the constitution.
The 2006-07 data of the Revenue Department shows that about 84 per cent of the land under forest and revenue belongs to the Government. It is a known fact that many tribals and Dalits depend on these land for their existence. However, the ordinance will facilitate the Government to grab the land of these marginalised communities and push them to further impoverishment.
Suggested changes/ recommendations
• Based on the above apprehension, it is recommended that the definition of land grabber should exclude the land less and the marginalised communities who are staying or dependent on Government land
• The Government should expedite the process of officially recognising the pattas of the marginalised communities on their land within a stated time period.
• The PRI institutions should be taken into consideration during the land grabbing process.
• The Government should make appropriate amendment in the outdated laws, like OGlS Act, OPlE Act by the Assembly and Regulation 2 of 1956 by the Governor, and amend the ordinance in the line of Constitution and PESA Act.
(The writer is from National Centre for Advocacy Studies, Bhubaneswar. M-08763210608)