Taking strong exception to the Supreme Court directive pertaining to the eviction of more than 10 lakh tribal people whose claims for land rights under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (FRA) were rejected, the members of Human Rights Forum (HRF) have demanded that the Centre must bring in an ordinance to protect the ‘hapless population’.
Dubbing the apex court directive issued on February 13 as a serious blow on the rights of adivasis, they claimed that it would lead to mass-scale eviction of 20 lakh tribal people and other forest dwellers.
A three-judge Bench ordered the Chief Secretaries of States to evict those whose claims as forest dwellers have been finally rejected under the law.
‘Livelihood at stake’
The court also directed that the eviction should be carried out on or before July 24, with a rider that if it was not done within the stipulated time, the matter would be viewed seriously.
“The FRA was enacted in 2006 as a remedial measure to the ‘historic injustice’ meted out to the adivasis in the past as they were treated as the ‘encroachers’ on their own land. The apex court should have pulled up the Central and State governments over poor implementation of the Act. Instead, it has issued directive, trampling upon the livelihood of adivasis,” HRF Coordination Committee members of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, V.S Krishna and S Jeevan Kumar said.
If the order is implemented, it will lead to loot of precious natural resources, destruction of forests and biodiversity, they added.
Accusing the Centre of having done nothing substantial to defend the law, they alleged that government lawyers were not even present in the court February 13 when the order was passed .
‘Valid claims rejected’
“It is no secret that land rights claims in many States were rejected owing to erroneous processes, in clear violation of the FRA. Deficiencies in implementation have had many valid claims rejected. The Tribal Affairs Ministry has even admitted that many rejections were flawed and needed review. However, these facts were not brought to the notice of the court,” Mr. Krishna pointed out.
The HRF members called upon all democratic forces in the country to oppose the directive tooth and nail.
“We demand that the Centre bring an ordinance to protect the forest dwellers with immediate effect,” they said.
