Monday, November 16, 2009

Systematic exploitation of tribals

Prime Minister Dr. Man Mohan Singh had announced that the empowerment of tribal is essential for equitable growth of the country. He agreed that “The systematic exploitation and social and economic abuse of our tribal communities can no longer be tolerated”. But actually Man Mohan sing government is trying to set up more projects which leads to destroying the natural resources and exploiting the tribal.
TATA and ESSAR are plans to invest Rs.20, 000 crores in a steel plants in Chhattisgarh in 6,500 acres of land, eventually ten villages and 350,000 tribal have to be evacuated and use a large quantity of water from the river Sabari and will pollute the Indravati.Tribal people make up only 9 per cent of the country’s population, but more than 40 per cent of the land used to build development projects has been theirs, according to government estimates.Most tribal don’t want to sell their ancestral land they feel it’s a crime in tribal culture, the State government is forcibly acquiring the land which was not totally voluntary. Some of the tribal are not satisfied with the compensation packages like Land for Land package, Land exchange for Money and Job offer for family.
Facts:
* Government is telling these projects are necessary for attracting investors and GDP growth.
* Tribals are demanding their first right on forest, forest resources and against to “Illegal diversion” of forest land for corporate projects.
* Iron Companies are in upset that all Iron ore bearing blocks in our country are covered with forests. The environment authorities will not give permission so easily to fell trees to clear the land for mining.

A short film on Dongria Kondh tribe is to live in the Niyamgiri Hills in Orissa state, they are suffering due to a bauxite refinery, built and operated by a British mining company Vedanta Resources.