Let BJD be called as Pyari Janata Dal, says Dr. Damodar Rout

This interview came in Orissa Diary on 25th December 2011. 

Web Link: http://orissadiary.com/inerview/Damodar-Rout.asp

Let BJD be called as Pyari Janata Dal, says Dr. Damodar Rout

Dr. Damodar Rout is a veteran politician and prominent face in Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the ruling party in Odisha. He was a Panchayati Raj minister during Biju Patnaik’s regime. Under Naveen Patnaik government, he first served as Panchayati Raj minister and then Agriculture minister. But he has been recently dumped by the party owing to internal squabbles among the top leaders. After resigning as a minister, he has launched Biju Bichar Manch to keep himself going. Speaking exclusively to Pradeep Baisakh and Pratichi Hota he laments the deviation of his party from the ideology of Biju Patnaik, comments on his arch rival Pyarai Mohan Patnaik and criticizes the opponents of POSCO project.

 Orissadiary: You have launched Biju Bichar Manch. What is it exactly? Is it just an intellectual forum or anything beyond that?

Damodar Rout: Biju Bichar Manch is basically a forum to discuss and propagate the ideology, life, work and visions of Late Biju Patnaik. He was a true Odia and dedicated himself for the cause of Odisha. Before he came to politics he was a big industrialist. But he was quite aggrieved to see the poverty stricken people of Odisha. Odisha was poor despite being rich in natural resources as there was not enough scope for industrialization, which could reduce poverty. He therefore tried very hard and lay down the plan for development of Odisha for next ten years. He brought about visible development like Paradip port, many engineering and medical colleges, Agriculture University etc to the state during his tenure as Chief Minister. He became a popular person among Odias and called as a ‘Kimbadanti Purush’.

He passed away in 1997 and was succeeded by his son Naveen Patnaik. People accepted him as he was son of a great leader. In the mean time, 14 years have passed. Some people who opposed his ideology are now enjoying power in Biju Janata Dal (BJD). Somehow I feel that the party and the government are not following the path shown by Biju Patnaik. Therefore this manch is for discussing the vision of the legendary Biju babu, sensitize the younger generation about Biju’s real ideology so that the state follows his ideology and prosper.

  Orissadiary: You are saying that BJD is deviating from the ideals of Late Biju Pattnaik? Can you give some examples to substantiate your claim?

Damodar Rout: With help of N Khosla, one of the then prominent engineers of India, Biju Patnaik prepared a blue print called decade of destiny for industrial development of Odisha. Considering the availability of mineral resources, water resources, the forest and sea coast, he cited how many industries of different type could be built while maintaining the sustainability of natural resources. He wanted a second steel plant. He invited Swaraj pal to put up a steel plant at Duburi and then called it Kalinga Nagar. Duburi is very ideally located in terms of communication and availability of iron ore.

But what is happening now? We have signed MoU for more than 48 steel plants, half a dozen of Aluminum plants, about 20 power plants, more than 54 sponge iron factories so on and so forth. If all plants come into being how much ore would be consumed, what would be the quantum of emission to the air, and what is the likely impact on environment? Therefore appropriate discussion on how much mineral resource could be utilized should be done.

When the bill on naming the technical university was discussed, I pushed for it to be named after Biju Patnaik. So now we have Biju Patnaik University of technology (BPUT). But now the government is announcing schemes after schemes in name of Biju Patnaik e.g. Biju setu, Biju KBK yojana, Biju Krishak Yojana etc. As enough care is taken for their proper implementation, they bring bad name to Biju Patnaik. The process the government is adopting is not in line of Biju Patnaik’s ideology. I have no grudge against the government though.

 Orissadiary: Does not sound it contradictory where you are a great supporter of POSCO project and on the other criticizing the ‘indiscriminate’ industrialization process of the state government?

Damodar Rout: As far as POSCO steel plant is concerned, we are going to set up it at the sea shore. There is no question of land acquisition as they are mostly government land. Since it is on the sea shore, there is least possibility of pollution. They are also brining the modern technology where the pollution level will be less. Again, that is an underdeveloped area. The land is of low productivity due to salinity. If the south Asian company comes with 12 billion dollar investment, there will be development in the area. It will generate a lot of employment and create ancillary industries. So I welcome the project. But the state government should provide needed infrastructure like electricity and port along with land, water, and mineral. But the government is not able to provide them. So the project is basically not bad, but the implementation is. And there are many politicians who oppose it as they do not understand the benefits of such industries.

 Orissadiary: Your government is allegedly crushing the democratic voice of the people there who oppose the POSCO project. What you have to say on this?

Damodar Rout:It is not a fact.

 Orissadiary: Television channels showed how your police force attack and intimidate people.

Damodar Rout:: It is unfortunate that my dear media friends, without going deep into the matter, are interested to propagate something that will draw attention of the people. I am a man of that area. I represented that area for 35 years as a Legislator. There are 22,000 people staying in the three Panchayats (Dhinkia, Gada Kujanga and Nuagaon). There is dearth of ground water there. Once this water is exhausted what will be the fate of people there? None has examined this aspect.

Only a handful number of people will be displaced and that too willfully. No one is forcing them.

 Orissadiary: Your Chief Minister had promised to go to the area to speak to the people. But he did not keep his promise. Why?

Damodar Rout: The Chief Minister did not promise to go there. It is some communist party people who are opposing POSCO project, have been forcing the CM to go there. One outsider is helped financially and politically in many ways to oppose POSCO project there.

 Orissadiary: you are hinting at Abhaya Sahoo of Posco Pratirodha Sangram Samiti (PPSS). I also asked him that Damodar Rout alleges that he is an outsider. He said you also do not belong to that area!

Damodar Rout: But I have many relatives there. I represented that constituency earlier.

 Orissadiary: You could have launched the Biju Bichar Manch while you were a minister, but you preferred to launch it only after you resigned. Do you want your political ambitions fulfilled by this platform?

Damodar Rout: When Biju Patnaik was Chief Minister in 1961, he first started the Panchayati Raj (PR) system in Odisha. In 1964, Jawaharlal Nehru remarked in AICC session in Odisha that Biju’s panchayat system is more progressive than others.

In 1991 Biju Patnaik said me to amend the state Panchayati Raj law to introduce 33% reservation for women in it and I did so. This was first of this kind in the country. I was very much appreciated all over the country as the Panchayati Raj Minister. In Naveen Patnaik’s government I was again made the Panchayati Raj minister. Odisha got national award twice for the success in its PR system. Manishankar Iyar, the Panchayati Raj minister at the centre took me abroad as the ambassador for PR system. Then I became the agriculture minister. In 2010-11 Odisha got first prize and two crore rupees cash award for better agriculture production in Odisha. I was following the path of Biju Patnaik so was getting success.

Has anyone blamed me? Then why I was dropped as a Minister? As I am not a minister now, so I started Biju Bichar Manch. I will propagate the ideas of Biju Patnaik and not allow hypocrisy in name of Biju Patnaik. 

 Orissadiary: It is believed in political circle that Damodar Rout is used by party to silence the opposition. That’s the reason¬ why you were brought in as a spokesperson during the election or even after. With BJD coming to power for the third time and opposition being silenced, do you think your utility for the party has diminished and therefore you were dumped?

Damodar Rout: When Naveen Patnaik came to politics, people voted him not for his political ability but as the son of Biju Patnaik. He should therefore try to reciprocate the gesture to the people. For last ten years I tried to protect the leadership of Naveen Patnaik. But now I got this reward. I have been thrown away from the cabinet.

Who are the ministers now? Do they know the ideology of Biju Patnaik? In the hankering for power many people have deviated from Biju’s path. To enjoy opportunity and power and to accumulate wealth they should not use the name of Biju Patnaik.

Let them call the party as Pyarai Janata Dal. I do not mind.

 Orissadiary: Tell us frankly what’s the harm if Pyari Mohan becomes close to Naveen Patnaik and enjoys a lot of power? In every political party that happens. Some group of party cadres close to the party supremo enjoys a lot of power. Why do you object to this?

Damodar Rout: I don’t agree to this. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had some people with him who would help raise fund for party and help him selecting candidates for elections. Indira Gandhi had also some advisors. Now Sonia Gandhi has also advisors to advice her on political matters. They are political people.

But here senior politicians are available to Naveen for advice, which is not taken. Pyari Mohan was a bureaucrat. He was critical of Biju Pattnaik branding him as communist. Now he takes decisions. There is no internal democracy in the party now. 

 Orissadiary: During your stint as the Agricultural Minister, you laid down road maps for increasing agri-production, milk and egg production in the state. That is a welcome step. But on BT cotton seeds, which are proved to be fatal in AP and Maharastra, have made inroads to Balangir and Bargarh like districts during your tenure. How can you allow such killer seed to Odisha? Are the companies like Monsato and others who produce such seeds more important for you than your own farmers?

Damodar Rout: First Kerala government and then me, we opposed BT cotton. I wanted to form a group with the minister of agriculture of Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh and to meet the PM on the issue. Odisha government has refused BT cotton in principle. BT cotton available now has been introduced by the private firms. There is no backing of the government for it.

 Orissadiary: Now Damodar Rout has become a tech savvy person. You have created a facebook account to propagate the ideas of Biju Bichar Manch. Why did you choose to do this?

Damodar Rout:I have taken help of some young friends to operate facebook account of Biju Bichar Manch. As now social media has become useful in reaching out to many people, I felt it important to make use of it.

NAC Opposed Cash Transfer Replacing PDS

The interview came in Counter Currents on 28th November 2011. 

Web Link: http://www.countercurrents.org/baisakh281111.htm

NAC Opposed Cash Transfer Replacing PDS

 By Pradeep Baisakh & Aruna Roy

28 November, 2011

Countercurrents.org

Magsaysay award winner Ms Aruna Roy has been the member of National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by the UPA Chairperson Ms Sonia Gandhi in both of its Avtars and has influenced several social policies of the country. Ms Roy, also the founder member of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), a people's organisation in Rajasthan recently visited to the proposed POSCO area in Jagatsingpur district in Odisha to observe the protest of people against the land acquisition there. Speaking to Pradeep Baisakh , she shares her observation on POSCO issue, on Land Acquisition Bill, on National Food security Bill and on the performance of MGNREGA in Odisha.

You recently visited proposed POSCO area in Jagatsingpur district of Odisha. Please share with us your observation.

Aruna Roy: The villagers in Dhinkia are completely opposed to the project, and are unwilling to give up any of their personal, or community land. Attempts by the state government for land acquisition are being made in a legal vacuum, as the MoU of the government with POSCO has been lapsed. This makes this forcible land acquisition morally and legally unjustified.

People's democratic voices shouldn't be crushed. People's consent is a must for establishing any industrial project. This is even more important in the context of the proposed new Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation legislation.

Thousands of trees are being felled by the district administration when the project does not legally exist (MoU is yet to be renewed). How far is this defensible?

Aruna Roy: Exactly that we have to say that now there is no legal ground. Reportedly, several thousand trees approximately 40-50,000 trees have already been chopped by the administration. The government is planning to cut lakhs trees like Casurina casuarinas, Jackfruit, Cashew nut and Mangroves. This tree cutting activities will leave the area exposed to cyclones and other environmental disasters in an area with a very sensitive ecology. Felling of trees is completely unacceptable.

We also have observed that people there want to work but there is no Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the area. MGNREGA has to function as this is the right of every individual. No matter what for the people of Dhinkia have protested, it's still a part of India and people of the Panchayat are citizen of this country.

The Panchayat premises occupied by the police should be vacated. We also have said that the Sarpanch of Dhinkia panchayat, who has been suspended by the state government, should be reinstated. He cannot be suspended for what law requires him to do i.e. for holding Palli Sabhas (General body of the village). This is not a constitutional violation of any sort and this is not corruption.

National Food Security bill does not say about universal PDS. Even the draft recommended by the NAC does not guarantee universal food security despite the people like you, Jean Dreze (Now is no more a member of NAC) and Harsh Mander being the members of NAC?

Aruna Roy: The NAC draft says about 90% coverage. Actually universal PDS is something we all demanded, but somehow in the process of negotiation with the GoI, it got whittled down. This was one of the most painful processes and it has been very difficult to convince government.

The government actually did not look it as the right to food and health issue of people but from the point of view of problems in storage and procurement and from financial point of views. The government bill is quite disappointing and has taken away some of the vital recommendations of NAC e.g. the grievance redressal mechanism. They are for putting in UID and cash transfer in it, two things that NAC totally opposed because they are very dangerous. Recently Jean Dreze and Reetika Khera did a survey and came out with the fact that PDS is doing very well in Odisha and shown signs of revival in other states too. This shows that the system as it is can function.

What's your position on introduction of fortified food? Does not it lead to corporatisation of PDS?

Aruna Roy: It is totally unacceptable. What may be the fortified food and its new definition; you have enough nutritious food in the villages which will cater to the needs of the malnourished children. What's necessary is cooking is done and hot meal is provided. And that is the most important thing.

How do you react to the Supreme Court observation that the current Land Acquisition Law should rather be thrown away?

Aruna Roy: A new land acquisition law is coming which will replace the existing law. We have suggested that the first test of the land acquisition bill and the discussion should take place in Dhinkia Panchayat, because people have been displaced from there. All that is suggesting should now be tested in action. We suggest that there should be public hearing in Dhinkia itself on the project.

You have favoured a direct negotiation by the private corporate with people and acquire land in the new land acquisition law. Do not you think there is risk of people being intimidated and cheated in the process?

Aruna Roy: Now there are so much of private investments coming, if government acquires land for them, then it will go into that business. By effect something like Singur and Nadigram will be repeated. It should limit itself acquiring land for projects which serve public purpose e.g. for government offices, schools, hospitals.

If the government acquires land for the privates, then there will be creation of land bank like in Tamil Nadu and in Karnataka. And when the land bank is traded off, the person who is dispossessed of the land gets very little money than what profits are made there after. So it becomes a business. At one level it's much more difficult for people to oppose the government than to the private industries. The government should rather play the role of a regulator in such cases. It should regulate that no land is acquired below some market price, that anyone displaced in this process should get all rights covered by the Resettlement & Rehabilitation policies or laws.

You must be aware that CBI inquiry is going on in six districts of Odisha on the allegations of corruption in MGNREGA. So much of money is flushed under MGNREA to the state which is siphoned off and distressed migration in the KBK region and beyond is actually on the rise. Is it not wastage of public money when the state government is apathetic toward its implementation?

Aruna Roy: You cannot extrapolate the Odisha experience to the whole country. I think it's the administrative failure that people are not applying for work, people are not getting jobs in time. And if you do not receive application in time and you do not give wages in time, then people will go out looking for work. I really do think that there is a conspiracy in the government in general against NREGA because you cannot siphon off money as easily as you can do in other welfare works. If you look at other rural development work those have come to us, you cannot know where and how crores of money is being siphoned off. MGNREGA is the first programme that tells that the money is siphoned off. It is because NRGEA has made mandatory that the transparency and accountability is put into system.

Especially in the areas where there are Maoist influences or suspected Maoist influences it is more than necessary that this programme functions properly to bring in basic needs to the people and ensure that there is peace. Right to food and right to 100 days employment are guarantees against starvation and deaths.

What suggestion do you have for the Odisha government to improve the performance of MGNREGA?

Aruna Roy: I met the Chief Minister about three years ago. I made a presentation on the operation of NREGA in Rajsthan. I said if you paint the basic information of NREGA on walls, like how many job cards issued, and how many people have been given how much money –so translating the MIS to what we call it as JIS-Janata Information System. So you put it on wall, people will take care of it.

Secondly, work must be given in fifteen days time and give unemployment allowance in case of default. For making this work you need political will from the Chief Minister and bureaucratic will from the Chief Secretary and the Secretary from Principal Secretary, Rural Development. Unless you have a trigger of a dated acknowledgement receipt, followed by work and payment, things will not happen. It also means improving your MIS system, whether it means improving the system of payment, it must be done.

And I think any government that neglects NREGA that does with its own risk. So much money that comes in and this money it will provide even political benefit. But to neglect it, in my opinion, is not only a tragedy for the people but also it is dangerous for both administrative and political system.

Do you basically tell that political and administrative will in the state is lacking on issues relating to implementation of MGNREGA?

Aruna Roy: Well, It seems so.

You are the member of NAC in both of its avtars . Do you think that Ms Gandhi and the central government are using NAC as a ‘safety valve' to manage the rising discontent of people owing to the kind of public (economic) policies being pursued which has widened the gap between the haves and the have-nots?

Aruna Roy: I do not believe in horoscopes. So I cannot predict nor can I read. As an activist we ask and demand for many things. If in the first NAC there had been no common minimum programme which made the commitment to the people of India and for the first time after 25 years poor and issues of poor surfaced in the political discourse. Now, whatever may be the reason for their putting on this, for people like us its important to grab whatever space we have, catch them on their commitment and make them implement it. The NREGA, the RTI, the forest rights bill and the domestic violence bill all came out of it.

There is some polarity on what the government wants and what social policies demands. It which case, it should be boosted by our public demand. Ultimately if we believe violent revolution, then it's different matter. But if people want peaceful change, then we are also limited in the arenas in which we can get it. We have to make wider push as much as we can in whatever space we get. So those of us who have worked in this space that is provided have tried to push the system.

Pradeep Baisakh is a Freelance Journalist based in Bhubaneswar . He has extensively written on transparency law, right to work and food, environment issues, industrialisation and development, women, tribal rights etc. He can be contacted through e mail: 2006pradeep@gmail.com .

Sustainable agriculture reduces distress migration in Orissa

This piece was carried in Infochange India on 17th November 2011. 


Web Link: http://infochangeindia.org/agriculture/features/sustainable-agriculture-reduces-distress-migration-in-orissa.html

Sustainable agriculture reduces distress migration in Orissa

Pradeep Baisakh

Thanks to intervention from MASS, migration from Orissa’s Bargarh district has reduced considerably as villagers have been encouraged to start their own kitchen gardens, keep goats and chickens, and set up seed and grain banks, thereby adding to their income from agriculture and reducing their dependence on unscrupulous moneylenders

Photo: Family of Tularam Amari 

Tularam Amari and his wife Padma Amari, who live in a remote village in Orissa, want their youngest daughter Meena to become a teacher. Meena is currently studying in Class XIII. “We want to make her a teacher,” the couple say confidently.

Just two years ago, when husband and wife used to migrate to Hyderabad and other places to make bricks and eke out a livelihood, they had decided to put an end to educating their two girl-children, Dileswari and Meena.

Tularam and Padma believed they were destined for a life without dreams, until, one day, they decided firmly to change things. It was at this critical juncture that volunteers from the NGO, MASS (Manav Adhikar Seva Samiti) persuaded them to take up vegetable farming. Today, the couple earns about Rs 1 lakh per annum from agro-based farming and poultry. They live in Temriamal village, Jharbandh gram panchayat, Paikmal block, Bargarh district, Orissa.

Migration woes

The experience of working in the brick kilns of Hyderabad is still alive in the couple’s memory. Padma says: “When we had to come back from Hyderabad after finishing work, towards the end of the season, neither the owner nor the sardar (middleman) squared our payment. And they did not arrange our return tickets. With no money in hand, we started for home. I was not sure how I would manage my two children en route. It took nine days to get to our village in Orissa. We travelled by train some of the way; the rest by foot. I had some broken rice with me to feed ourselves on the journey. My younger daughter kept asking for better food; the elder one would tell her that as their parents had not got their wages there was no money in hand to buy good food.” Padma wiped her tears away as she recalled those dark days.

People from Adibasi Padia, a hamlet in Kechodadar gram panchayat in the same block, also used to migrate to Ayodhya, Hyderabad and Kali Nagar (Andhra Pradesh) to make bricks. There are some pockets in Paikmal block where people have always migrated out of the state to meet their livelihood needs. Mostly, they migrate to the brick kilns of Hyderabad, Chennai and other such places.

This kind of migration is called debt migration, where labourers are given an advance to commit labour for seven to eight months in the brick kilns. Generally, the unit of labour in brick-making constitutes one male, one female, and a child. This unit is called ‘pathuria’. Advance money to the tune of Rs 15,000-Rs 25,000 is given to a pathuria. Because of the advance money, labourers work in semi-bonded conditions in the workplace. They face a lot of exploitation due to weak inter-state labour laws and their vulnerability in the destination states. Indeed, physical and mental harassment in all possible forms is characteristic of such migration. Despite this, people are forced to migrate due to lack of sustainable employment opportunities in their home district.

Revival of agriculture

MASS volunteers showed Tularam Amari how to cultivate the two acres of land they own to make it a viable unit. With a little support from the village self-help group, the couple dug a well on their land for water. They built a new house which is a little away from the village. Because they lived on the land they were able to pay full attention to cultivation. From a mere half-acre of vegetable cultivation, the family made a sustainable earning. Now, they harvest ladies fingers, cauliflower and cucumber and make a good living selling them.

“In fact, we have taken a holistic approach towards reviving various sources of livelihood for people, using local resources,” says Adikand Biswal of MASS. In the beginning, women were asked to form self-help groups (SHGs) at the village level. They were persuaded to save some of their income on a monthly basis. A collective saving by members supplemented by external support from the NGO created a small pool of money to meet people’s immediate cash requirements. People borrowed money at a low rate of interest from the SHG and bought paddy seed for farming. They also invested in goat-keeping, chicken farming and other forms of animal husbandry.

Investment in agriculture gave good returns, while returns from animal husbandry added to people’s incomes, enhancing their sustainability. With MASS’s help, people began to explore various government schemes for agriculture. With seed support from the government, they started kitchen gardens and experimented with vegetable farming. This served to enrich their daily diet. There was a time, recalls an old lady in Adivasi Padia hamlet, “when male members of the family would go out of the village to do daily labour, and the wives waited with the children for them to return with rice so they could prepare food for the day. On most occasions, the women of the family would starve to feed their children and male members”.

Premsila Bhoi was the first to experiment with the kitchen garden model. Today, it yields her a rich harvest and is financially remunerative. Last year, in 2010, she sold vegetables worth Rs 7,000 (with an almost negligible investment) grown on a small patch of land alongside the house. Many people in the area have since developed kitchen gardens.

Goat-keeping too has proved remunerative. Kain Bhoi has six goats, each of which she sold for Rs 6,000. Similarly, Prabha Bariha sold six goats within the last two to three years and made Rs 36,000. Most of the money was spent on food and on other consumption requirements.

Apart from a revival in agriculture, the villagers have also set up grain and seed banks to reduce their dependence on moneylenders, locally called sahukars.

Grain and seed banks

Some villages in the area have started grain banks with the purpose of storing foodgrain to use in the lean season. Earlier, during the monsoon, people would have no foodgrain stocks resulting in dependence on moneylenders who would charge a monthly interest rate of 10%. This dependence on borrowing led to a vicious cycle, as, after the harvest, almost all the villagers’ income would go to the moneylender to repay debts. Effectively, therefore, people were unable to enjoy their own harvest and were forced to seek work nearby or migrate out of the state. After the introduction of grain banks, where people contributed a portion of their harvest to the community-managed bank, stocks were available during the three rainy months of June, July and August. On one occasion, says a villager, the rain continued for eight long days forcing people to remain in the village. The sahukar(moneylenders) came to the village with rice, available at a high rate of interest. But the village had accumulated enough grain to sustain itself. No one took rice from the sahukar.

Likewise, seed banks were set up where a portion of the harvest was kept as seed for the next farming season. Earlier, it was the sahukar who would provide seeds; now people take it from the seed bank. The concept of grain and seed banks has helped restore people’s dignity and self-respect by dispensing with the need to borrow from unscrupulous moneylenders.

Reduced migration

Interventions like these have improved the distress migration scenario in the block, although migration has not been wiped out entirely. According to the available figures from two panchayats -- Jharbandh and Bartunda -- the quantum of distress migration has dropped. Of the total of 1,877 families in these two panchayats, 277 families migrated out of the district to work in 2009-10. In 2010-11, the number came down to 220 families. These are based on data collected by the NGO from the migration registers maintained in villages in these two panchayats.  

Children’s education

Inter-state migration takes a heavy toll on children’s education. Tularam says: “Continuity of children’s education was almost impossible owing to a seven to eight month stay out of the state when we were migrating. We decided to discontinue the children’s education. But now things have improved. Our older daughter appeared for the Class X exam, but did not pass. She is planning to appear again. And our younger daughter is in Class VIII.”

The additional income has not only helped further the education of migrant children, it has also impacted on the education of children from non-migrant families. Now almost all the children of Adibasi Padia hamlet attend school. “The improved self-sufficiency has particularly impinged on the education of the girl-child, which was neglected earlier,” says Lata Sahu, a grassroots activist from MASS. In fact, this comprehensive model of development has brought about a visible change in people’s economic and, consequently, socio-cultural lives.

(Pradeep Baisakh is a freelance journalist based in Bhubaneswar, Orissa)

Dreams die in furnace of deceit and threat

This piece came in Tehelka on 12th November 2011.

Web Link: http://www.tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Ws121111POSCO_PLANT.asp

Dreams die in furnace of deceit and threat

The proposed POSCO plant in Odisha has dealt a severe blow to farmers whose land was acquired in exchange for one-time compensation. With fake promises of jobs and ex gratia payment by the state government, the farmers have lost their sources of livelihood. Attacked by goons and ignored by the administration, anti-POSCO protesters have nowhere to go, says Pradeep Baisakh

Swapan Dhada is one of the several farmers deceived by the POSCO mirage of a better living and a bagging job with the South Korean iron and steel giant. Dhada voluntarily gave his agricultural land to the district administration for the POSCO (Pohang Iron and Steel Company) project after being promised a regular ex gratia, monthly payment of Rs 2,500 until he was employed by the company.

Photo: Villagers protesting the establishment of POSCO project have been attacked by goons

One-and-a-half years later, Dhada feels cheated. The family of six meets its daily expenses from the compensation of Rs 2 lakh it received after selling his betel vine. “In six months, the remaining compensation amount will be exhausted. I don’t have any source of livelihood. With no state government help, as promised, I am not sure how will I survive,” he says. The land had sustained the family for more than twenty years with the annual income from one patch of betel vine totalling up to Rs 1 lakh-1.5 lakh, which included 50 per cent profit.

In May 2005, POSCO signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Odisha government for establishing the steel-cum-captive power plant with an investment of $12 billion--supposed to be the single largest foreign direct investment in India. Nearly, one-and-a-half years after the expiry of the MoU (it was supposed to be renewed on 22 June, 2010) the fate of the project is in limbo due to the delay in renewal of the MoU and stiff public opposition.

A visit to the proposed PSOCO area, which includes three gram panchayats (GPs) Dhinkia, Nuagaon, and Gadakunanga under Kujang Tahsil in Jagatsingpur district of Odisha, shows how a vibrant agrarian economy is being crushed for industrialisation.

While most of Dhinkia is dead against land acquisition, many villagers from Nuagaon and Gadakujanga have already given their land to the district administration, which has handed them over to Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO). Most of the area is forest land where people’s main sources of livelihood are betel vine, fish and paddy. Besides, mango and cashew are other sources of income. Out of the total 4,004 acre required for the project, 2,900 acre is forest land and the rest private. POSCO recently scaled down its requirement to 3,700 acre. In addition to this, land for railways, road expansion and mine development has to be provided. “The project will displace 814 families,” informs district Land Acquisition Officer of the district Nrushinga Swain.

6 lakh trees felled: In last six to seven months, the district administration and IDCO have acquired land on a massive scale after the project got clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest on 2 May, 2011. So far, approximately 1,900 acre has been acquired, of which only 25 acre is private land and the rest forest. Private land acquisition has now been halted due to an interim stay order by the High following a PIL. Land has been acquired from Polang, Nolia Sahi, Bhuyan Pal and Bayamal Kanda in Gadakujanga and from Nuagaon village in Nuagaon. A total amount of Rs 11.5 crore has been paid to families as compensation due to loss in livelihood from the sale of land containing 643 betel vines, trees and prawn ponds.

The acquisition of land has been followed by merciless tree felling by IDCO despite the resistance of the very people who had supported the project. According to Swain, 1.2 lakh non-fruit bearing trees and 4,500 fruit-bearing trees have been felled. However, a labour contractor involved in tree-cutting exercise says on condition of anonymity that 40 labourers are employed in cutting down 5,000 trees daily since the last four months—a total of 6 lakh trees of casuarina, cashew, coconut, mango etc. have been felled.

A writ petition filed in the High Court quotes some government source saying that 5 lakh trees would be cut down for establishing the plant. But locals put the number at more than 10 lakh trees. An angry Litu Mohapatra, of Polang village, says, “As the MoU has not been renewed, what’s the reason for cutting our trees, which we have been protecting for generations? Ours is a cyclone-prone area. We survived the 1999 super cyclone due to the thick forest.”

Destruction of livelihood sources: In Polang village, only about 20 families have been compensated for the sale of their betel vines. Around two years ago, approximately 400 out of total 500 hundred families had betel vines, according to locals. According to villagers, about two years ago, 230 youths, one from each affected family in the three Panchayats, were paid by the state government a monthly amount of Rs 6,000 for spreading awareness on the benefits of the POSCO project. With money coming in easily, people started ignoring their original sources of livelihood--betel vines, paddy cultivation and prawn farms. Eventually, when the government started compensating families against the sale of betel vines after the survey, barely 13 families were compensated. Early 2010, only six more families were compensated. The rest of the betel vines had been abandoned by their owners, who were promised jobs with the POSCO plant.

Paddy cultivation suffered as well due to the hollow promises. Around four months ago, the government promised paddy cultivators regular employment with a construction company called BMC, which was awarded the contract for setting up a rehabilitation colony for the displaced. Consequently, the farmers preferred a regular job to paddy cultivation. But after working for a month, they were paid only Rs 3,000. The employees protested, and the project was shelved.

With the vanishing forest, the betel vines, which border the project area, will also not survive. Villager Nityananda Behera fears the moment when betel vine cultivation will come to end. “Betel grows in a comparatively moderate temperature which the forest ensures. People also depend on the forest for materials required for the vines. With decreasing forest cover, temperature of the area has risen as well. In coming years, betel vine cultivation is likely to end.”

Fish harvest has also been badly affected due to release of toxic waste by Paradip Phosphate Ltd and IFFCO into Jatadhari river.

The loss of livelihood has forced massive exodus of youth from the village. The Sarpanch of Gadakujanga, Nakulananda Sahu, says, “About 200 youths are migrating daily to the nearest town, Paradip, for manual labour earning a meagre Rs 100 per day. The rate of migration has spiked.”

Villagers from Polang village like Kanhu Nayak and Nrusinga Panda allege that leaders of the defunct United Action Committee (UAC), the pro-POSCO outfit that convinced people to support the PSOCO project, have immensely benefited from the company and ditched their supporters. UAC leader Anadi Rout, however, said, “I have not benefited at all from the administration or the company; rather, I have spent on garnering support for the project. But now the administration is ignoring us”.

Common people, who have lost livelihood sources, have formed an outfit called Kunja Bihari Gramya Surakshya Manch demanding ex gratia payments and job. But the administration refuses to acknowledge its existence. Jagatsingpur District Collector Narayan Chandra Jena says “There is no such legal union of people in that area. With whom shall we negotiate? We have sent a list of labourers whose land was acquired to the respective Palli Sabhas for finalisation. We will provide them jobs. In any case, jobs under NREGA [National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme] are available for them.” Jena was non-committal on ex gratia payment though he agreed that the promised monthly amount should ideally be paid till employment was provided.

Few months ago, pro-POSCO people who had turned against the project were beaten up by the police when they obstructed the entry of administration officials to the area. On 31 October, Deputy General Manager of POSCO India S N Singh and some officials of IDCO were roughed up by pro-POSCO people when they entered Nuagaon.

Goons attack anti-POSCO protestors: Attempts are being made to breach the anti-POSCO bastion of Dhinkia. On 26 September, about 400 goons allegedly hired by Paradip Parivahan, the agency that has been assigned to build a road to connect Dhinkia with the seaside, attacked Govindpur village with iron rods, sticks and crude bombs. Thirty protesters, including six women, were injured with two people in critical condition. The leader of POSCO Pratorodha Sangram Samiti, Abhaya Sahoo, was also attacked. Television channels showed the villagers being chased by the goons. After the attack, when villager Anupama Sharma went to the Kujang Police Staion to file a complaint, Inspector-in-charge Gopteswar Bhoi allegedly misbehaved with her. Jena said that the allegation of misbehaviour was being probed.

To suppress the anti-POSCO voice, the administration has registered 184 cases against 1,100 people, informs Sahoo. As many as 52 cases have been registered against him alone!

The government planned to construct the road because the entry to the panchayat from the regular road has been blocked by the villagers for more than six months. The road on the sea coast from Paradip to the boarder area of Dhinkia is called IOCL road. The proposed road, which is being termed as ‘POSCO Road’, is an extension of the IOCL road. This will provide strategic advantage to the police to enter the village.

NHRC visit: National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) special rapporteur Damodar Sarangi visited the area to enquire about the compensation given to Sabita Mandal, wife of Dula Mandal--an anti-POSCO activist who was killed during a clash between and pro and anti-project people last year. But Sarangi wanted concrete proof on the existence of tribals and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers in the area and whether they had been illegally evicted. Besides, Sarangi told the villagers that the NHRC would not go into any policy issue of desirability of starting the project in the area.

(With inputs from Sandeep Patnaik, who is a research scholar)

Pradeep Baisakh is a freelance journalist based in Odisha

2006pradeep@gmail.com

From deprivation to sufficiency – a hamlet shows the way

The story came in Grassroots in October 2011


Web Link: http://www.pressinstitute.in/archgr2011/grassroots-oct-2011.pdf

From deprivation to sufficiency – a hamlet shows the way

A comprehensive, sustainable model of development – investment in agriculture, animal husbandry, kitchen gardens, vegetable farming and a grain bank – has led to a visible change in the lives of the families living in an Adivasi colony in one of Orissa’s backward districts.

- Pradeep Baisakh, Orissa

A woman plucks ripe tomatos. Vegetable farming has proved remunerative for the villagers . Photo: Adikanda Biswal

People in the Adivasi colony, Padia, a small sleepy hamlet in the Kechhodadar Gram Panchayat that comes under the Paikmal Block in Orissa’s Bargarh District, used to go to bed some years ago with only half their stomachs full. That was when their primary source of income was daily labour, and agriculture another source. People had to venture outside the village for work; some even left the State to find work elsewhere as migrant labour, often ending up in brick kilns and similar work. Needles to add, their lives were marked by abject poverty and exploitation by moneylenders. However, a marked change enveloped the village after it adopted a sustainable model of development, including paddy farming, vegetable farming, animal husbandry, and other initiatives such as growing a kitchen garden or developing a seed or grain bank.

Recalls an old woman in the village: “There was a time when the male members of the family would go out of the village for daily labour. The wives would be waiting with the children for them to return with some rice, so that they could cook food. We never had any stock to meet our daily requirement of food. Many a time we have had to starve as our husbands returned empty-handed or with a small amount of grain.” On most occasions, it would be the women who would starve to feed the children and the male members. Things have undergone a vast change in the Adivasi colony, with almost all the families confident and smiling whenever a visitor arrives, and narrating the success stories.

In the beginning, Manav Adhikar Seva Samiti, a local NGO, helped the women form Self Help Groups (SHGs) and persuaded them to save some of their income. Collective savings by the members supplemented by external support the NGO extended to the group at the block level created a small pool of money which met the immediate cash requirement. People borrowed money from the group at a low rate of interest and invested it in purchasing seeds for agriculture. They also invested in rearing goats or breeding chickens. Earlier, the villagers had to depend on moneylenders who would give them the seed loan that carried exorbitant interest. Investing in agriculture provided the villagers a fairly good return; this was in turn supplemented by income from animal husbandry.

With the seed support from the government, people also started kitchen garden in 2005 and conducted vegetable farming. As vegetable price in the country spiralled, the villagers not only has got a good return by selling the vegetable in the market but also enriched their diet. Premsila Bhoi, one of the first in the village to adopt the kitchen garden model, showed how the model has yielded a rich harvest and was financially remunerative. In 2010, she sold vegetables worth 7000 rupees with almost negligible investment in a  small patch of land. Premsila’s success has now led to almost all the 47 families in the village nurturing kitchen gardens.

Rearing goats also has provided returns to the villagers. For example, Kain Bhoi now has 6 goats. She sells each one at the rate of 6000 rupees. Prabha Bariha sold 6 goats over past two or three years and made 36,000 rupees. Most income was spent on food and on other consumption needs.

The village then started a grain bank with purpose of saving food grain for use in the lean season. During rainy days people had no food grains with them, resulting in dependence on the money lenders for rice. The money lenders would charge a monthly interest rate of 10%. This inescapable dependency on borrowing had created a kind of vicious cycle for the villagers, with no signs of getting out of it. After their harvest, almost all their income would go to the money lenders in form of repaying the debt and principal amounts. Effectively the villagers were not able to enjoy their own harvest forcing them to venture outside the state for finding jobs.

After the grain bank was established, villagers contributed a portion of their harvest to the community-managed initiative, the stock enough to feed them during - June, July and August. Once, according to a villager, rain continued for eight days without respite, keeping the villagers indoors. The sahukars (Money Lenders) came with rice wanting to lend as usual against a high interest return. But now, with the village having accumulated enough grain for self-sustenance, the sahukars had to beat a retreat. The grain bank had helped the villagers preserve dignity and self-respect.

Women who are part of Self Help Groups meet regularly to discuss issues. Photo: Pradeep Baisakh

The rising incomes in Adivasi colony have enhanced the confidence of people, positively impacting on the education of children. Today almost all the children attend schools. Some of the children have joined nearby Ashram schools run by the government. “The self sufficiency in living has particularly impinged on the girl child education, which was neglected earlier. There has been an increasing awareness of people through various exposures to training and meetings, accompanied by rise in income levels”, says Lata Sahu, Community organiser in the village. 

The fight against POSCO in Orissa

The piece came in September-October 2011 issue of 'Ethics in Action' a bi-monthly magazine by Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) published from Hong Kong. 

Web link: http://www.ethicsinaction.asia/archive/2011-ethics-in-action/vol.-5-no.-5-october-2011/the-fight-against-posco-in-orissa

The fight against POSCO in Orissa

Pradeep Baisakh

The Orissa High Court’s interim order on 9 September 2011 came as a damper for the inhabitants of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadkujang panchayats of Jagatsingpur district, many of whom are vehemently opposing the POSCO steel-cum-captive power plant in the area. Hearing two public interest petitions filed by Nisakar Kahtua and other affected people from the area, the court dismissed their request to order a stay on the acquisition of forest land by the state. It has however, ordered a stay on the acquisition of private land to be transferred to the company.

Prashant Paikray, spokesperson of POSCO Pratirodha Sangram Samiti (PPSS), a group spearheading the anti-POSCO movement for more than six years now, said, “We are happy that the Court has stayed the private land acquisition. It has however denied the diversion of the forest land acquisition under the Forest Rights Act. But this is only an interim order, the hearing will continue. We are hopeful that the final order will go in favour of the people.”

The district administration is currently involved in a mindless tree felling exercise as part of its forest land acquisition. A writ petition has been filed by some local social activists mentioning that “50,000 trees have been cut by the government. It is ascertained from the government website that more than 500,000 different trees would be cut down in the area for the proposed steel plant.”

While the copy of the interim order is yet to become public, the court ruling is bewildering as environmentalists and forest rights activists say there is no basis for the diversion of forest land and tree felling, which violate India’s Forest Rights Act. Moreover, there is no Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between POSCO and the state government at present. The MoU on the project expired on 22 June 2010 and is yet to be renewed. Prior to discussing the illegalities involved in the POSCO project, we can first throw some light on the project itself and examine the sequence of events regarding the government’s role and the people’s struggle.


The project

On 22 June 2005 Pohang Steel Company (POSCO), a large South Korean corporation, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the government of Orissa. This understanding outlined POSCO’s proposal to invest USD 12 billion (around 54 thousand crore Indian rupees) and build a 12 Million Tonne Per Annum (MTPA) integrated steel plant, captive port and mines in the Erasama block of Jagatsingpur district. This is tipped as the highest FDI to India. The project requires 4004 acres of land, of which about 2900 acres are forest land; the rest is private. In addition to this, land is also to be provided for railways, road expansion and mine development. This MoU was valid for five years, and stands expired now. A renewed MoU is yet to be signed as both parties are at loggerheads on certain issues. Three panchayats will be affected by the steel and power plant project, namely Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadakujang under Kujanga Tahsil.


Clearance for the project

After the signing of the MoU, the state government recommended the central government to consider the POSCO project as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), for Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearances in mid 2006. The project got initial ‘in principle’ forest and environmental clearances with conditions from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in June 2007. The matter was taken to the Supreme Court, which eventually gave clearance for the forest diversion proposal and ordered the state government to refer the matter to the MoEF, which would take a decision according to the law. With Jairam Ramesh taking charge of the MoEF, and his proactive role in appointing expert committees to inquire into alleged violations of forest and other related laws by the state government, people’s hope of obtaining justice was rekindled, only to be dashed later.

On 2 May 2011, the ministry gave final environmental and forest clearance to the project(1),  much to people’s surprise, as both the expert committees appointed by the Minister, the FRA review committee (headed by Dr N C Saxena) and POSCO review Committee (headed by Ms Meena Gupta), recommended the withdrawal of the project from the area. 


Unique people’s struggle

The pertinent land in the Jagatsingpur district is considered to be very fertile for the cultivation of betel, paddy and fish. P Sainath, the Rural Affairs Editor of The Hindu, a popular English daily newspaper told me in an interview that, “On one betel farm, over one-tenth of an acre earns a profit of 1.5-2 lakh (2)  rupees in a year. This is actually a stunning return while comparing with the input cost.” This is one of the reasons why many people and political parties oppose the project’s establishment there.

Since the signing of the MoU, people of the area have been opposing the project. The POSCO Pratirodha Sangam Samiti (PPSS) was conceptualized to lead the anti-project movement. Several rallies, protest marches and demonstrations were held by PPSS in the area and around, including the capital of Orissa, as well as the national capital. In due course a pro-POSCO group was established, the United Action Committee (UAC), which supported the project with some conditions. Some say that this group was strategically formed by ruling party leaders (Biju Janata Dal: BJD) in the area and does not in fact have any mass base. Confrontations between the two groups have occurred at different points of time. One member of the anti-POSCO group was allegedly killed by the project supporters. Police had gone to the area and unleashed repressive action against the protesting people. Some people, mostly from Gadkujang and Nuagaon panchayats supported the project, while people from Dhinkia panchayat stood firm against it. The leader of PPSS, Abhay Sahoo, was arrested by state police in October 2008 and a number of criminal cases filed against him, with charges of murder, kidnapping, assault and so forth. Criminal cases have in fact been filed against many of the PPSS supporters. As a result, they are unable to leave their villages, even today. In a bizarre human rights violation, while Abhay Sahoo was in the hospital during his arrest (he was ailing then), he was secured to the bed with chains like a dreadful criminal. Following such excesses, human rights activists raised an outcry of gross violations in the area. Support poured in from across the nation and beyond, and the anti-POSCO movement took an international shape. In condemnation of the arrest of Abhay Sahoo and other PPSS activists, a rally was organized from Mandi House to Parliament Street in New Delhi in November 2008. A ‘Banar Sena’, a protesting wing of children, was formed where even children resolved to fight against the project.

In order to thwart any entry of police and POSCO officials to the area, people raised a barricade at the strategic Balitutha, the entry point to the three panchayats. But in May 2010, police used tear gas, rubber bullets and lathi charges to drive people away from there. Some houses at the entry point were allegedly burnt by the police. Finally in August 2010, the environment minister ordered the state government to stop the land acquisition until a final decision was taken on the matter.


Recent standoff and protest

Armed with the MoEF’s final clearance on 2 May 2011, the state administration, without any loss of opportunity, resumed acquiring land from May 18 in the villages of Polang, Noliasahi and Bhuyanpal, where most people were persuaded or threatened to hand over their land in lieu of compensation.  Betel vines, the major source of livelihood of the people in the area, were pulled down by the administration. Those opposing the acquisition process were harassed by armed police. Basu Behera, the Panchayat Samiti member of Gadkujang panchayat and vice president of PPSS was injured and bleeding due to the police attack.

The police faced unprecedented resistance when it attempted to enter the Govindpur village in Dhinkia panchayat as its next target at the beginning of June 2011, considered to be the bastion of the PPSS. Twenty platoons of armed police were deployed to tackle the situation, with both the District Magistrate Narayan Jena and Superintendent of Police Debadutta Singh present to supervise. More than 3000 people formed a human chain and lay on the ground at the village entry point. Said one protester, Manjulata Dalai of Govindpur village, “If the land goes to the company, we will die anyway. It is better to die now in pursuit of protecting our land than dying after losing the land.”


Children’s participation

In a novel—and controversial—method, about 600 children formed the frontal barricade and prostrated on the hot sand in the month of June, preventing entry to their villages.  The state administration cried foul over the use of children in the struggle, claiming it to be a violation of child rights. After the brutality of May 2010, when more than 100 people were injured, including several women, the villagers felt they had little option but to take the children’s help in protecting their homeland. Priyanka Dalai, a fifth-grade student taking part in the protest said, “We will not leave our land. We will protect it at any cost.”

The district administration had gone on record saying they could use force to acquire the land. The situation looked very precarious where the people were lying on the ground under the scorching sun, while the police was ready just 500 metres away. Imposition of section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code and repeated warnings by the district Superintendent of Police to leave the land fell on deaf ears; people did not budge. Dr B D Sharma, former Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, told the media during his visit to the area that the determination of the people not to leave their land is unshakable. “People are protesting here for the last six years. Even then if the administration resorts to using force leading to any loss of life, it would amount to genocide, for which the administration will be fully responsible.”

Children’s participation in the struggle was defended by Abhay Sahoo: “Since the armed police are confronting the democratically protesting people, so the children are compelled to participate in the protest dharanas. I will say it is their higher consciousness that they have come forward to the rescue of their parents and to safeguard their livelihood.”

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) visited the area and recommended the state government to vacate the schools occupied by the police and appealed all concerned to create an ambience so that children’s right to education and well being is protected.

Almost all the political parties barring the ruling BJD, thronged to the area extending support to the protesting masses and decried any use of force on the people. CPI, CPI (M), Congress, BJP and other small parties sent their representatives who sat alongside the people and thwarted any possible police action. Well known social activists such as Medha Patkar, Magsaysay award winner Aruna Roy, Swami Agnivesh, Vandana Shiva, trade union leader Gurudas Dasgupta, retired Justice of Bombay High Court Kolse Patil and Magsaysay award winner Sandeep Pande also sat in solidarity with the people. 

The demonstrations continue in Bhubaneswar and New Delhi. The 24-by-7 presence of media, most importantly the electronic media, has allowed for live telecasts and a close watch over the war like situation. Children prostrating under the hot sun caught the attention of people across the globe and sympathy flowed in support of those determined to sacrifice everything for their land. People from 64 countries, in a signed petition, have urged the Chief Minister not to use force and to hold a dialogue with the people. While the government temporarily made a retreat from Govindpur, construction work and tree felling continues unabated in Nuagaon and Gadkujang.


Illegalities of the project

There are several legal issues involved in the proposed POSCO project, which are discussed below. Not only are people’s voices being suppressed, but several laws and procedures have been bent to favour the company.

Palli Sabha resolutions ignored

The first and foremost issue relates to the Palli Sabha (3) resolutions of the Dhinkia (held on 21st February 2011) and Gobindpur (23rd February 2011) villages under Dhinkia village panchayat, which dismissed the diversion of forest land to the project. These resolutions were sent to the MoEF by the PPSS, with 1632 out of 3445 voter signatures in Dhinkia village and 1265 of 1907 in Gobindpur village. The state government however, submitted to the ministry that the resolutions were only signed by 69 and 64 voters respectively, which lacks the quorum needed in accordance with the Forest Rights Act (4).  Said PPSS spokesperson Prashant Paikray,

We had faxed only two pages of the resolution to MoEF but the complete copy was sent to both the MoEF and state government by registered post. The state government has lied on the number of signatures backing the resolutions. Still unfortunate is that Jairam Ramesh also accepted it unquestioned. The facts have now been presented before the High Court in a petition.

Apart from the ground of quorum, the state government also has raised the issue of the power of the Sarpanch, elected head of a Gram Panchayat, to convene a Palli Sabha and the validity of the resolutions passed. According to the government, “Two resolutions purported to have been passed by the Palli Sabha are not available in the book (recorded by the gram panchayat secretary and signed by the Sarpanch) and are therefore fake ones.” The MoEF also purportedly analyzed various provisions of the Orissa Gram Panchayat Act and the Forest Rights Act, and came to the conclusion that the resolutions are not valid documents. Many legal experts do not agree to the conclusion of the state and central governments. In fact, the Orissa Chief Secretary’s order of 4 February 2009 states that when the Forest Rights Committee in a village wishes to present its findings, there is no need to wait for any government decision to convene any Palli Sabha; only the ward member and Sarpanch have to be impressed upon the need to hold the Palli Sabha. In the records relating to the aforesaid resolutions, the Panchayat secretary writes that he could have not attended the meeting as there is no government order for him to attend, although in reality he has violated provisions regarding attendance. To suit its agenda, the state government has suspended Sarpanch Sisir Mohapatra for having ‘over-stepped his jurisdiction’. Legal expert Prasant Jena opines, “Suspension of a democratically elected Sarpanch in such instance amounts to misuse of power by the state government.” Social activist Aruna Roy demanded his immediate reinstatement as “he has not violated any provisions of the Constitution.”

It is clearly visible that the substantive aspects of the FRA have been relegated by the procedural aspects. What is of substance here is that the majority of people in the area oppose the diversion of forest land for the POSCO project. In fact, the current acquisition of forest land by the state government for the purpose of diversion has also not been backed by any Palli Sabha resolution, which is mandatory under section 4(5) of the law and the MoEF guidelines of 30 July 2009. This legal violation is now being contested in the High Court. The state government however, is of the opinion that since there are no tribals and other traditional forest dwellers (OTFDs; non-tribals dependent on forests) in the area, no such resolutions are needed.

Earlier in February 2010, Palli Sabhas in Dhinkia, Govindpur and Nuagaon villages were convened on the direction of the District Collector and passed resolutions rejecting the forest diversion proposals for the project. All these resolutions were overlooked however, while final clearance was granted to the project by the MoEF.

Claims under FRA not settled

The state government’s claim that there are no tribals and other traditional forest dwellers (OTFDs) in the area is incorrect. The 2001 census itself shows there are 23 tribals in Polang village under Kujang Tehsil, which is one of the villages covered under the proposed project.Under the definition, people living in the area and dependent on the forest for three generations or 75 years prior to 13 December 2005 will be considered to be OTFDs. However, the state government claims that people living there could not have been dependent for 75 years on the ‘forest’ as only in October 1961 was it declared as forest under the Indian Forest Act. In other words, with the forest only legally existing for 49-50 years, there is no possibility of anyone falling under the category of OTFDs. Contrary to the government’s claim however, the Survey of India map shows that as early as 1928-29 the area was forest land under Cuttack district (Jagatsingpur district was part of former undivided Cuttack district). Furthermore, Madhu Sarin, a renowned expert on forest issues, disparages the linkage of period of notification of forest to claims under the FRA. “Under the FRA, the definition of forest includes all kinds of forest, such as unclassified forests, reserved forests, existing or deemed forest, wild sanctuaries, national parks and so on. It does not say that it should be notified in such and such a year. If that was the case then large parts of Orissa are not forest land as large chunks of land in scheduled areas were notified as reserved and protected areas after independence.” 

Records show existence of traditional forest dwellers

In fact in August 2010, Dr N C Saxena, Chairperson of the FRA monitoring committee constituted by the MoEF and MoTA (Ministry of Tribal Affairs), wrote to Jairam Ramesh and mentioned some ten documents providing the proof of existence of OTFDs in the area. One such document is the record of rights of a Mr Giridhari Bardhan of Govindpur village from 1927, collected from the survey and settlement manual:

 

Saxena wrote in no uncertain terms that there were violations of the Forest Rights Act in the proposed POSCO area by the state government. Similarly, the majority of the POSCO review committee members held that there were gross violations of environmental laws, fabrication of evidence, perpetuation of forest rights abuses and suppressing facts relating to the Costal Regulation Zone. They even recommended prosecution of the authorities who had violated the provisions of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and other environmental laws.

Ignoring all evidence of such violations, the Environment Minister approved the project. Not surprisingly, four days later, the Minister said on record that he is forced to regularize illegalities many a time!

Prime Minister’s pet project

Implementation of the POSCO project is being directly monitored by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s office (PMO), as it constitutes the highest Foreign Direct Investment in the country. In an April 2007 meeting with Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Manmohan Singh asked the state government to expedite the process of land acquisition for the project. In August 2010, Patnaik met Manmohan Singh and Jairam Ramesh to seek their support for the POSCO project, where Singh assured the Chief Minister ‘to hasten the project’. This was despite the MoEF expert committee’s adverse report on the project. On many other occasions the PMO has played a key role in facilitating speedy implementation of the project. Environmentalist Ashish Kothari, also a member of the Dr Saxena committee, said “The PMO is directly interested in this project. There is an inside kind of news that India is probably interested in entering into a nuclear deal with South Korea. Taking advantage of this, the South Korean government is backing its own corporate.” It is therefore not surprising that the project got forest and environmental clearance despite adverse reports by both expert committees.

According to journalist and food policy analyst Devinder Sharma, “It seems that Jairam Ramesh’s heart was for stopping POSCO given the kind of committees he set up to study violations of the law in the proposed area. But he was under pressure from the PMO, which is bent on selling out our national resources to companies in the name of development.”

Conclusion

While the September 9 court order has come in handy for the government to continue acquiring land and felling trees in areas where it is facing less resistance, the stay on private land acquisition has given it a jolt. Even though the project has obtained the final clearance from the MoEF, the matter relating to the source of mining is not settled. The High Court has previously set aside the state government’s recommendation to provide a licence to POSCO for the Khandahar iron ore mines in Sundergarh district. Moreover, the MoU is yet to be renewed after it expired on 22 June 2010.

In the meantime, Paikray of PPSS says, “Already a petition is lying in the National Green Tribunal challenging the violation of environment norms in our area.” Abhay Sahoo asserts “We will fight till the project is shifted out of our area”. With both the central and state governments putting their weight behind the project and giving clearances left and right, how far the people can resist is to be witnessed. One can only hope that the violence unleashed by the state in Kalinga Nagar, the steel hub of Orissa, in January 2006 where 14 people were shot dead by the police, is not repeated here.

Reference:

Das, Prafulla (2010), “Bulldozer Regime”, Frontline, 5-18 June

Pattnaik, Sandeep (2010), Chronology of anti-POSCO movement

Baisakh, Pradeep (2011), “The Orissa government wants to bring Bt Cotton to Kalahandi”, Tehelka, 18 July (Link: http://www.tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Ws180711The_Orissa.asp)

Baisakh, Pradeep (2011), “Clearing Forests and People in Orissa”, Counter Punch, 15 July (Link: http://counterpunch.org/pradeep07152011.html)

Baisakh, Pradeep (2011), “War Zone in Proposed POSCO Project Area”, Counter Currents, 14 July (Link: http://www.countercurrents.org/baisakh140711.htm)

Baisakh, Pradeep (2011), “Children’s participation in protest is due to their higher consciousness: Abhay Sahoo”, Orissa Diary, 24 June (Link:http://orissadiary.com/inerview/abhaysahoo.asp)

Baisakh, Pradeep (2011), “Prevent possible genocide in proposed POSCO area of Orissa: Dr B D Sharma”, Orissa Diary, 15 June (Link:http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=27257 )

Baisakh, Pradeep (2011), “ Vedanta and POSCO: A tale of two projects”, Infochange India, April (Link:http://infochangeindia.org/201104158758/Environment/Features/Vedanta-and-Posco-A-tale-of-two-projects.html )

Website of Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) (Link: http://moef.nic.in/index.php)

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Footnote: Pradeep Baisakh is a freelance journalist based in Orissa, India. He has written extensively on transparency law, right to work and food, environment issues, industrialisation and development, women, and tribal rights. His writing can be found at: http://pradeepbaisakh.blogspot.com/ . He can be contacted through email: 2006pradeep@gmail.com.

(NB: Much of the matter used in this article is reproduced from the author’s earlier articles written on the topic.)

1. http://www.environmentportal.in/files/Posco-final-orders-02052011.pdf

2. One lakh is equal to one tenth of a million.

3. Palli Sabha is the assembly of adults of a revenue village, synonymous to the generic term Gram Sabha or village panchayat, which is the lowest elected body in India.

4. The quorum under the Forest Rights Act requires the presence of two third of the total voters in the village in the Palli Sabha meeting.