The Adivasi Darbar held a workshop on “Governance of Schedule 5th Area” on Monday.
More than 300 tribals representing 62 tribes from 119 ITDA blocks, 46 Modified Areas Development Approach (MADA) and 21 Clustered Villages across the State participated.
The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) (PESA), Act 1996, the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition) of Forest Rights Act 2006, the Tribal Sub Plan (TSP), The land Acquisition and Fair Compensation, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (lARR) Act, 2013 and the human rights laws were key points of the workshop.
Birmitapur MlA George Tirkey said, “We regret that the implementation of the constitutional provisions meant for tribes and tribal areas have been neglected. We have been consistently excluded from our constitutional safeguards and basic human rights as citizens of the country by the State Government.”
The tribals at the workshop identified that by not extending the Panchayatiraj system in the scheduled 5th area, the Government has committed a serious crime against the tribes and has ruined the tribal areas. There is no recognition of their villages, nor do they have rights to hold gram sabha as and when they want, they lamented, adding that they do not have the rights to fix the agenda of the gram sabha meeting, record their resolution and keep the gram sabha register.
Timing is crucial because entire tribal people are on the edge of extinction. If we have no forest, we cannot feed our children and we will die. The BJD Government has failed to implement Central PESA Act for last 20 years. The State is treating us like a step mother, Indigenous People’s Forum convenor Thophil Gamango said.