Member of the National Land Reforms Council P.V. Rajagopal has appealed to Tamil Nadu Government to implement the Forest Rights Act in a bid to help adivasis (tribals) who are totally dependent on forests for their livelihood.
Mr. Rajagopal, who is on a one-year Jansatyagraha yatra in a bid to mobilise Dalits, adivasis and landless people, has already covered Kerala and completed the Tamil Nadu leg of his tour on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference here, he said that according to the Forest Rights Act, tribal families who have been living in forest areas before 2005 should be given five to 10 acres of land by the Government. While some of the States had implemented the Act, Tamil Nadu had failed to do so citing the stay obtained by a retired forest officer.
He lamented that the adivasis, who formed one per cent of the total population of Tamil Nadu, were in a “pathetic” state. While their lands had been occupied by plantations, Forest Department had also taken away substantial portion through its National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries. “Now these tribals live on just one or two cents of land.”
This “historic injustice” done to them had not been attended to at all. Though they were said to be living in forests, they had been forced to move out of forest area. “Thus they can't collect roots and fruits. They suffer from total unemployment resulting in abject poverty.”
These adivasis “who are extremely dignified and highly cultured communities” had been living in highly “dehumanised conditions” due to the utter lack of sensitivity of the low level bureaucracy which kept on demanding money from them and which subjected them to untold torture.
Mr. Rajagopal alleged that even social workers were not permitted to enter the forest areas and help them by organising a movement or any such thing. “Anyone who enters the forests is looked upon with suspicion.” And tribals themselves had become informers.
For instance, 150 tribal villages in Tamil Nadu had been adopted by the Tamil Nadu police and Special Task Force were camping there. “The police should try to help these people by solving their land problems.”
Referring to the Panchami land, which was estimated to be about 12 lakh acres notified by the Britishers for the Dalits, he said 96 per cent of these lands were now with non-Dalits. “Return these lands to the Dalits by identifying such lands,” he demanded. He said he would submit his recommendations at the meeting of the National Land Reforms Council in Delhi.
