There are no commonly
accepted definitions of which indigenous people are. In its most literal sense the term
“indigenous” only implies long-term residence in a given area. The World Bank
identifies as indigenous peoples “social groups with a social and cultural
identity distinct from the dominant society that makes them vulnerable to being
disadvantaged by the development process (World Bank, 1990). Many ethnically
distinct and marginal peoples are increasingly adopting the term ‘indigenous’
to describe themselves because of the rights that they believe are associated
with such a term-rights to their lands and territories: to maintain their
cultural traditions, religions, languages and practices: to exercise their
customary law; to govern themselves through their own institutions: to
represent themselves through their own organizations; to control their own
natural resources; to self-determination; and the recognition of their right to
be different.
The 1993 draft of the
Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is also forthright
about indigenous people’s rights to land. Article 26 states: indigenous
peoples have the right to own, develop, control and use the lands and
territories, including the total environment of the lands, air, water, coastal
seas, flora, fauna and other resources which they have traditionally owned or
otherwise occupied or used. This includes the right to the full recognition of
their laws, traditions and customs, land-tenure systems and institutions for
the development and management of resources, and the right to effective
measures by States to prevent any interference with alienation of or
encroachment upon these rights (United Nations, 1993).
The environment too
often suffers as a result of forced relocations. Traditional balances between
humans and their environments are disrupted. People are confined to small and
inappropriate land areas; traditional social institutions and patterns of land
management and tenure, which previously regulated access to resources, are
undermined. Short-term problem solving behaviors replace long term planning.
The net result is environmental degradation.
A study on southern
All of
The protected areas have already displaced some 600,000 tribal people and forest-dwellers and affected many more. According to the some social activists in India, the Ministry of Environment and Forest plans to establish a further 650 Wildlife Sanctuaries and 150 National Parks in the next few years, displacing many people again (PRIA, 1993).
The basic premises of
the Provisions of the Panchyats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996
(Central Act No 40) was to facilitate participative democracy in tribal areas
by empowering Gram Sabhas, restore the power to community to manage natural
resources including land, water, forest and minerals and evolve an effective
delivery system for development in the Scheduled Areas. But during the course
of action several states diluted the intent of the Act by assigning more powers
to gram panchyat over the gram Sabha. Even in some matters they (the State)
completely overlooked the authority of the gram Sabha. The state governments
also do not appear to have clear idea about the term ‘local self-government’.
To what extent the panchyats in the scheduled areas are to be given
administrative and financial autonomy need to be clarified to the states.
|
District |
Tribal |
Issues |
|
Bilaspur |
20.5 Gond, Kanwar |
-
44 forest villages not yet transferred in
to Revenue village -
Total 76518.930 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
74 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative
societies not yet transferred to the members -
Total 39581 tribal families registered as
Encroachers in their own possessed land -
65 villages not yet resettled in
Achnakmar Wild Life Sanctury -
1375 JFM committees not rewarded sharing
of total income |
|
Surguja |
56.7 Gond,Kanwar, Oraon |
-
9 forest villages not yet transferred in
to Revenue village -
Total 220143.367 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
9 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative
societies not yet transferred to the members -
1447 JFM committees not rewarded sharing
of total income -
60308 cases pending for resettlement |
|
Jashpur |
65.4 Gond, Kanwar,
Oraon |
-
24 villages displaced falls under
Badalkhol Wild Life Sanctury |
|
Raigarh |
36.8 Gond, Kanwar,
Oraon, Sawar |
-
21 forest villages not yet transferred in
to Revenue village -
Total 113757.096 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
23 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative
societies not yet transferred to the members -
Total 2369 tribal families registered as
Encroachers in their own possessed land -
65 villages not yet resettled in after
displaced from Tamnar Coal Mines -
About 566 hectares of reserved forest
land transferred for Industrial
purposes |
|
Kavardha |
20.2 Gond, Baiga,
Oraon |
-
29 forest villages not yet transferred in
to Revenue village -
Total 4588.05 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
21 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative
societies not yet transferred to the members -
Total 3847 tribal families registered as
Encroachers in their own possessed land -
15 villages not yet resettled in
Bhoramdev Wild Life Sanctury -
More than 3426 families registered cases
against them by Forest Department |
|
Rajnandgaon |
26.9 Gond, Kanwar,
Halba |
-
12 forest villages not yet transferred in
to Revenue village -
Total 25167.975 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
19 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative
societies not yet transferred to the members -
Total 1186 tribal families registered as
Encroachers in their own possessed land -
8 villages may comes under displacement
in Mongra Dam -
7034 cases are still pending for re
settlement |
|
|
13.1 Kamar, Halba,
Gond, Kanwar |
-
173 forest villages not yet transferred
in to Revenue village -
Total 62863.828 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
22 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative
societies not yet transferred to the members -
Total 1473 tribal families registered as
Encroachers in their own possessed land -
726 JFM committees not rewarded sharing
of total income |
|
Mahasamund |
28.1 Kamar, Halba,
Gond |
-
17 villages not yet settled in Sita Nadi
Wild Life Sanctury -
Kamar Development agency not yet spent
the allocated amount |
|
Kanker |
55.7 Gond, Bhatra,
Halba |
-
150 forest villages not yet transferred
in to Revenue village -
Total 32268.832 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
16 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative societies
not yet transferred to the members -
Total 2576 tribal families registered as
Encroachers in their own possessed land -
424 JFM committees not rewarded sharing
of total income |
|
Bastar |
66.5 Gond, Bhatra,
Halba |
-
41 forest villages not yet transferred in
to Revenue village -
Total 22429.329 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
17 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative
societies not yet transferred to the members -
Total 2463 tribal families registered as
Encroachers in their own possessed land -
182 JFM committees not rewarded sharing
of total income -
Total 35743 cases pending for re
settlement |
|
Dantewara |
78.8 Muria, Gond,
Halba |
-
38 villages comes under Kanger Vally
Biosphere Zone not yet resettled -
More than 618 families registered cases
against them by Forest Department -
Total 25840 cases pending for re
settlement |
|
Durg |
12.4 Gond, Halba |
-
16 forest villages not yet transferred in
to Revenue village -
Total 11519.086 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
36 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative
societies not yet transferred to the members -
Total 338 tribal families registered as
Encroachers in their own possessed land -
395 JFM committees not rewarded sharing
of total income |
|
Korba |
43.1 Baiga, Oraon,
Gond, Birhore |
-
Birhore Development Agency not yet spent
the allocated amount -
More than 1552 families registered Cases
against them by Forest Department -
241 JFM committees not sharing the
profits with community |
|
Janjgir |
12.2 Gond, Halba,
Birhore |
-
Birhore Development Agency not yet spent
the allocated amount |
|
Koriya |
44.0 Baiga,Pando
Birhore, , Dhanuar |
- Birhore Development Agency not yet
spent the allocated amount |
|
Dhamtari |
27.3 Kamar, Halba |
- Kamar Development Agency not yet spent
the allocated amount |
|
Sheopurkalan |
11.3 Saharia |
-
Total 3586.655 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
Saharia Development Agency not yet spent
the allocated amount |
|
Morena |
5.6 Saharia |
-
1227 saharia families not yet resettled
in their possessed land |
|
Bhind |
0.3 Saharia |
-
365 sahariya families not yet resettled
in their possessed land |
|
Datia |
1.7 Saharia |
-
541 sahariya families not yet resettled
in their possessed land -
975 cases pending for re settlement |
|
Damoh |
12.4 Gond |
-
Total 163413.275 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
12 forest villages not yet transferred in
to Revenue village |
|
Chatterpur |
3.8 Gond |
-
565 Gond families not yet resettled in
their possessed land -
2124 cases pending for re settlement |
|
Sedhi |
30.4 Gond, Baiga |
-
12 forest villages not yet transferred in
to Revenue village -
Total 250288.837 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
27 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative
societies not yet transferred to the members -
Total 2583 tribal families registered as
Encroachers in their own possessed land -
Total 17033 cases pending for re settlement |
|
Sahadol |
46.3 Gond, Baiga |
-
Total 227080.989 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
25 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative
societies not yet transferred to the members -
377 JFM committees not rewarded sharing
of total income -
Total 16488 cases pending for re
settlement |
|
Umariya |
46.3 Gond, Baiga |
-
47 villages not yet resettled displaced
from -
881 families registered cases against
them by Forest Department |
|
Katni |
17.9 Gonda, Bharia |
-
659 tribal families not yet resettled in
their possessed land -
they are facing land alienation by
powerful few |
|
Narsinghpur |
12.9 Gond |
-
618 tribal families not yet resettled in
their possessed land |
|
Chindwara |
34.5 Gond |
-
48 forest villages not yet transferred in
to Revenue village -
Total 40257.484 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
5 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative
societies not yet transferred to the members -
Total 1386 tribal families registered as
Encroachers in their own possessed land -
Total 2664 cases pending for re
settlement -
1375 JFM committees not rewarded sharing
of total income |
|
Hoshangabad |
17.4 Gond |
-
769 tribal families not yet resettled in
their possessed land -
93 forest villages not yet transferred in
to Revenue village -
Total 8712.708 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
33 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative
societies not yet transferred to the members -
Total 1268 tribal families registered as
Encroachers in their own possessed land -
Total 5848 cases pending for re
settlement -
387 JFM committees not rewarded sharing
of total income |
|
Betul |
37.5 Gond |
-
92 forest villages not yet transferred in
to Revenue village -
Total 22348.274 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
157 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative
societies not yet transferred to the members -
Total 2583 tribal families registered as
Encroachers in their own possessed land -
283 JFM committees not rewarded sharing
of total income |
|
Harda |
35.2 Gond, Kol |
-
945 tribal families not yet resettled in
their possessed land |
|
Mandla |
60.3 Baiga, Gond |
-
170 forest villages not yet transferred
in to Revenue village -
Total 29658.254 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
5 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative
societies not yet transferred to the members -
Total 11828 tribal families registered as
Encroachers in their own possessed land -
247 JFM committees not rewarded sharing
of total income -
Baiga Development Agency not yet spent
the allocated amount -
Total 20105 cases pending for re
settlement -
112 villages demarcated under |
|
Dindori |
60.3 Baiga, Gond |
-
7 forest villages not yet transferred in
to Revenue village -
Total 11374.254 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
42 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative
societies not yet transferred to the members -
Total 2147 tribal families registered as
Encroachers in their own possessed land -
374 JFM committees not rewarded sharing
of total income -
Baiga Development Agency not yet spent
the allocated amount |
|
Balaghat |
21.9 Baiga, Gond |
-
55 forest villages not yet transferred in
to Revenue village -
Total 27865.248 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
72 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative
societies not yet transferred to the members -
Total 2555 tribal families registered as
Encroachers in their own possessed land -
176 JFM committees not rewarded sharing
of total income -
Total 6254 cases pending for re
settlement |
|
Seoni |
37.0 Gond, Bharia |
-
28 forest villages not yet transferred in
to Revenue village -
Total 14578.259 hectares of land
transferred but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest
department -
15 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative
societies not yet transferred to the members -
Total 2896 tribal families registered as
Encroachers in their own possessed land -
140 JFM committees not rewarded sharing
of total income |
|
Dhar |
53.5 Bhil, Bhilala |
-
13 forest villages not yet transferred in
to Revenue village -
Total 289.32 hectares of land transferred
but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest department -
16 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative
societies not yet transferred to the members -
Total 2617 tribal families registered as
Encroachers in their own possessed land -
Total 9585 cases pending for re
settlement |
|
Jhabua |
85.7 Bhil, Bhilala |
-
11 forest villages not yet transferred in
to Revenue village -
Total 1019.25hectares of land transferred
but not yet recorded in revenue records so that evicted by forest department -
9 Tribal Agricultural Cooperative
societies not yet transferred to the members -
Total 895 tribal families registered as
Encroachers in their own possessed land |
Gray areas of Livelihood Rights in Tribal Zone