*CHHATTISGARHS HEART OF DARKNESS * The government is taking away farmers land citing public interest,but it is private power companies that profit
*Supriya Sharma | TNN * Korba: Two years ago,Brijlal Kanwar,a farmer in Jhora,a tribal hamlet in Korba district,received a terse official notice.Please come and collect your compensation cheque, it said,specifying date,time and venue.It ended ominously: Or else,the money would be transferred to the state treasury. As the distressed villager made enquiries,it emerged that,by an order dated August 28,2008,Korbas district collector had acquired Kanwars land,and that of 387 farmers,under Section 17 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894. The most radical provision in the actSection 17gives the government the right to take possession of land against the wishes of its owner for a public purpose.It can do so within 15 days in an urgent situation.The act does not define public purpose or urgency but cites any dramatic instance,such as a sudden change in the channel of any navigable river. In the case of five villages,including Kanwars,the district collector recorded the compelling circumstances requiring land acquisition in the following way: The need for electricity generation and employment. The irony of the situation is that Chhattisgarh has no shortage of electricity and the land that is ostensibly being taken for a public purpose is actually for a private company. According to sources,a private company,Vandana Vidyut Limited,had decided to set up a 540 MW thermal plant.It needed 195 acres as per the terms of its environmental clearance.The government gave it more264 acreseven before it got the clearance.But this was at the expense of farmers in five villagesChurikala,Jhora,Darrabhanta,Salora and Gangpur.They were rendered landless overnight. Vinod Pandey,who lives in Churikala,is bewildered and angry.How can our land be forcibly snatched under the false pretext of public purpose,when in reality,a private company will use it to make electricity and sell it for mega profits he asks. Pandey and four others filed a petition in the high court,challenging the collectors order and describing it as the misuse of the enormous powers of eminent domain of the state for the benefit of a private party. Sadly though,this misuse of power is said to be nothing new.In the last decade,Chhattisgarh has emerged as Indias power hub,attracting a horde of private companies,who are drawn to its ample coal reserves and the lure of profit. Take for instance,Jindal Power and Steel,which is one of the first private companies to build a power plant in the state.In the first year of its operation,it had a quantum leap in profits,earning almost Rs 1500 crore half of it by selling power. Today,nearly 60 companies are in various stages of setting up thermal power plants in Raigarh,Korba and Janjgir Champathree districts in north Chhattisgarh.While the companies stand to make massive profits,people in scores of villages fear they stand to lose both land and livelihood.All we gain is pollution, says Rajvardhan Singh,a resident of Churikala. An old industrial cluster,Korba is already the fifth most polluted place in the country.It is also a tribal majority district,governed by the special provisions of the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act,1996 (PESA). Recognising the need to protect tribal lands,the act makes it mandatory for gram sabhas to be consulted prior to any land transfer.In Kanwars village,Jhora,no gram sabha was held.In Churikala,the gram sabha expressed unanimous disapproval.This was recorded in writing by the tehsil revenue official.And yet the collector transferred the land, fumes Pandey.This is neither constitutional nor democratic.Dinesh Srivastava,the states industry secretary,says land acquisition is done by district collectors and that his office did not instruct them to acquire land for industry under the emergency provisions of Section 17.He suggests any such case was an aberration. And yet,the practice continues.Recently,in Dhanras village near Churikala,another patch of farmland was transferred to a private companyagain under Section 17. Meanwhile,as a high cement wall encloses their land,and a skeletal industrial frame rises inside,some of Churikalas farmers have begun to accept defeatand the compensation money.All we want is that the compensation be increased as per revised rates, says Prabhu Yadav. But 119 adivasi farmers in Jhora,Kanwars village,are still holding out.Perhaps this dogged resistance stems from experience : 40 years ago,these families lost their land to an irrigation project.Ram Prasad,an old man,says,We cant survive another round of displacement. Incidentally,Korba has been free of the Maoist presence.But they have now begun cropping up in conversationoften,as a rather disturbing reference point.What else would you expect, says Ashok Agarwal,a rice mill owner,if the government continues to exercise power arbitrarily for the benefit of the powerful Its a question that those in power might do well to ponder. But all may not be lost.Vinod Pandey intervenes in an eminently reasonable fashion : Ours is a peaceful struggle.We have a petition in the high court... if it could (only) be heard.For some reason,each time the hearing gets postponed.* SETTING TRIBAL AGAINST TRIBAL * In the six months starting December 2007,Winsent Minj went on a buying spree.He purchased 3.424 hectares from 12 fellow adivasis in Churikala village for Rs 8.5 lakh Just a few months later,the same land was acquired for Rs 51 lakh by the district administration for Vandana Vidyut Limited.It was six times what Minj had spent.He made a neat profit Rs 42 lakh But Minj is no smart land dealer.He is simply Vandana Vidyuts security officer.How could Minj,a person of ordinary means,buy land worth lakhs,asks the petition in the high court.Was he simply a front for the company The petition also points out Minjs other contribution to the companys project.In October 2009,when villagers protested against the project,Minj filed an FIR against 84 villagers,under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,alleging that they had verbally abused him.How can 84 people abuse one man at one go asks Pandey.This was done to break (down) our resistance http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/getpage.aspx?pageid=16&pagesize=&edid=&edlabel=TOIM&mydateHid=07-02-2011&pubname=&edname=&publabel=TOI -- Adv Kamayani Bali Mahabal +919820749204 skype-lawyercumactivist * * *"Nobody is giving up violence. Neither the state nor the Maoists are giving up violence. I am interested in furthering my cause, which is the cause of peace with justice.- DR BINAYAK SEN * *www.binayaksen.net* *PL SIGN ONLINE PETITION: * http://www.petitiononline.com/sen2010/petition.html *JOIN THE FACEBOOK EVENT: ONE MILLION FACES http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=179177728772740* *FREE BINAYAK SEN CAMPAIGN VIDEOS* *http://www.youtube.com/user/Kamayaninumerouno#grid/user/B4A70E211712242B* * * * * * * -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement?hl=en.
