When beloved ones become your blood-hounds

Photo of Sashi Mansi Singh

A truncated version of this piece came in the 'Grassroots', August 2009 issue

When beloved ones become your blood-hounds

Pradeep Baisakh

Twenty year old Shashi Mansi Singh had been serving the people of Gunjivadi village of Kandhamal district of Orissa for about three years in several ways. She formed and gave direction to the functioning of Self Help Groups (SHGs), sent about twenty children to the school by persuading their parents, spread awareness on several issues and so on. She is a Christian girl from Daringvadi block of the district. Her selfless service had won confidence of villagers of different religious communities on her who affectionately address her as Madhu.

On 23rd August 2008 Swami Laxmananada Saraswati of Jaleshpata ashram in Kandhamal district was shot dead by some miscreants. This led insurmountable communal flare up among Hindus and Christians through out the state. Gunjivadi also did not escape from the communal hatredness. Just during the procession carrying the body of deceased Swamiji passed Gunjivadi, a message (rumour or fact is for the investigating agency to find out) was spread that a particular NGO of K Nuagaon-the nearest township was involved in the killing of Swamiji. Following the procession, some villagers of a particular community got together and decided to search Mansi and another person-Brahmanand to finish them altogether. What was their crime? They were working for the aforesaid NGO! The younger generation in the mob discussed “we had so much trust on them, they have played with our faith…” Mansi was eavesdropping from her rented house. She was unable believe her ears; are these the same people planning to kill her who till the other moment loved her so much!

Indecisive, she ran to the other hamlet where Christian people were staying. (She had taken rent in a hindu house.) It was a dark night and was raining. She banged herself against a wall and fell unconscious just as she arrived there. People rushed in and sprinkled water brining her back to consciousness. As she narrated her apprehension on the possibility of attack on her, the people there hid her in one house. The mob had by that time reached that hamlet and searched her thoroughly. Not getting her, they left the place.

The mob indiscriminately started burning and destroying the houses and property of a particular community. People fearing consequences hurriedly started running in that dark night to the nearest jungle leaving their belongings behind. Mansi and Brahmanand also joined the crowd. Unable to match the ‘life saving race’ some pregnant women were falling down, but somehow were managing to wake up and then run!

Mansi was not conversant with the route unlike the villagers. In the ‘run’ she got her dress torn while brushed against the thorns and lost her shoes too. The villagers spent four days and four nights in the nearest jungle. The search of Mansi and Brahmanand by the mob continued for these days in the jungle. ‘Cat and mouse’ game went on between one set of villagers who had turned mob and the other set of people who were trying to save themselves and these two outsiders. Mansi was given a towel to wear herself as her dress was already torn. None took any food or water in all these days; neither did they feel the need-so overwhelming was the fear of death!

At the end of four days Mansi and Brahamanad thought the villagers are unnecessarily suffering for them, they should go back to their village. So deciding, they left for Simanvadi GP of Daringvadi block in the night eluding the vigil of the mob. A boy-‘Nilkon’ was sent with both of them to guide. Uncertain about their future, the villagers bade them a tearful farewell. They had to criss-cross about thirty kilometres in the thick jungle to arrive at their destination.

Mansi had worn back the same torn dress. Bare foot and half torn saluaar punjabi, Mansi started her second innings of the ‘race to save life’ unsure about where destiny is taking her. Only Nilkon knew the route. Traversing through the thick forest housed by wild animals like tiger, bear and poisonous snakes was not like suiting a horror film for them as the threat to their life at every step was very real. Thorns were piercing Mansi’s bare foot leading to continuous bleeding-thus passed that night, but the journey did not stop. As they were passing through a bare and stiff mountain, Mansi slipped over a stone and lost control. Barely saved as she caught hold of a small single branch tree; otherwise she would have fallen down by about hundred feet. Brahamanand and Hilkon pulled her up. Walking on, they arrived in Dandavadi and Jiduvadi villages where they took water after five days. They passed about four to five villages on their way. But as and when they were passing any village, just after some time they would hear the mob shouting barely half a kilometre behind! It seemed the mob was able to know their whereabouts-so feels Mansi.

Sun was setting; they had to cross a narrow but overflowing river. There was no bridge. There were two parallel strings tied across two trees on the both sides of the river. Without lifting the steps they cautiously slip their feet over the lower string and simultaneously holding the upper one. Mansi could feel that bloods from her feet were dropping on the river. Mentally and physically exhausted and traumatised, Mansi started laughing like a mad girl-just not able to know what is happening to her. They crossed the river, but that’s not over. As they passed a few yards ahead, suddenly she stopped and shouted. She was about to step over a long black snake sleeping on their way…again saved! They also encountered with a bear, though it did not harm them but quietly left.

In that night they arrived on Nilkon’s house and ate some biscuits. This is something they ate after seven days!

Eventually she managed to reach her home in Daringvadi where her family members had thought that she was already dead. After the eight days of nightmare, Mansi was behaving erratically. “I could know that I was behaving abnormally, but I was unable to help it out” says Mansi. Then she had to go through a series of counselling to be back to normalcy.

Mansi still cannot understand-why her beloved one ran amok after her? Neither could she nor the villagers could understand that taking advantage of their low level of awareness, how skilfully religion is used by the influential category in the society to divide people and take mileage-both political and religious.

Looking at Checkered lives

This Piece came in July 2009 issue of Grassroots (A Press Institute of India publication)
Web Link: http://pressinstitute.org/scripts/grassroots_english_popup.asp?id=373
Checkered lives

By : Pradeep Baisakh
Orissa

Life is grim for the tribals living in the reserve forest areas of the country, who face pressure from corrupt officials on one hand, and the environment lobby on the other.

Samaru Durua was rushed to Ramgiri PHC by his relatives after he was beaten up by a bear. His life was saved, but his livelihood was lost. In four days of hospitalization, pharmacist Maheswar Behera had already extorted Rs. 3000 from him for medicines worth just about a thousand and five hundred rupees. “He will continue to be in hospital for some more days now. The total cost of his treatment would be in the range of ten thousand rupees,” said the pharmacist. When this reporter questioned him on why he had overcharged the poor tribal fellow, the pharmacist had no convincing answer, but certainly had something to offer (read bribe) to the reporter, to refrain from reporting the incident!

Samaru is from Haldikund Panchayat under Ramgiri reserve forest (RF) area in Koraput district of Orissa. To meet his hospitalization expenses, he mortgaged his two acres of agricultural land - the only landed property he had, to a money lender and took some money. How would he recover his land from local money lenders who are infamous for charging exorbitant interests and manipulating the verbal deals made with innocent tribals? Samaru and his wife had no answer. This turn of life leaves Samaru and his family in a vicious cycle of poverty and exploitation. About thirty thousand people from three nearby Panchayats who depend on that one PHC, are similarly exploited.

Thousand such incidents occur everyday among the people living in reserved forest areas characterized by low connectivity and poor infrastructure along with very low levels of awareness, leading to exploitation by traders, money lenders, police, forest officials, revenue officials and who not!

No education for children

Maliguda hamlet in Ramgiri area has about 45 households. People displaced from the Kolab dam area had settled there around three decades back, as the government did not rehabilitate them properly. None of the children (numbering about fifty) in the village can read as there is no school in the hamlet. There is a school in Pujariguda revenue village which is about two and half kilometres from Maliguda. But children of Maliguda do not go there as there is no proper road link between the two forest villages and besides, the fear of bears attacking kids venturing out of the village is very real. Villagers say that a plan for a school was sanctioned by the Panchayat, but that forest officials were opposed to providing any land for the purpose. Despite tall promises made under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the attempt of the central government to enact a law guarantying ‘right to education’, the ill fated children of this hamlet will have to live a life of ignorance throughout.

Malnutrition deaths

Similipal sanctuary area (Tiger Reserve Project) in Mayurbhanj district is infamous for malnutrition deaths. Sumati Dehuri, a four-year-old child, died of fever in April 2007. The death was termed ‘malnutrition related’. During the same period, about 27 deaths were reported due to malnutrition, malaria and some other diseases from Gudgudia and Barehipani Panchayats in the area. In 2006, nearly 23 people including 13 infants succumbed to death caused by malnutrition. Similar incidences occurred in 2008 and two infants reportedly died of malnutrition in January and March 2009.

Studies suggest that malnutrition is endemic among women and children inside Similipal sanctuary. The regular food taken by the people in the area is rice and salt which is grossly insufficient to address the nutritional requirement of an infant, a pregnant woman or a lactating mother. Strict sanctuary law does not allow the operation of big machines inside the sanctuary area. So tube wells and bore wells cannot be built here. The people have no other option but to drink polluted water.

According to official sources, 95.6% of the total (1015) families there have an average monthly income less than Rs. 500 (2002 BPL survey). People are heavily dependent on NTFP collections for their livelihood. But the Supreme Court ban (2000) on the collection of NTFP in sanctuary areas has adversely affected the income levels of people. Food and work related schemes like NREGS, PDS, NFBS, etc and institutions like hospitals or anganwadi centres do not function well. Many of the interior villages remain cut off from the panchayat head quarters during rainy days due to lack of proper road connectivity. Therefore, there is a huge food and income insecurity among these people, which leaves them at the doors of premature death.

High handedness of forest officials

In July 2008, a goon hired by forest officials allegedly burnt the house of Sada Golari of Benyamaliguda of Ramgiri RF and mercilessly beat Krishna Golari of the village and his three-year-old daughter Lanching Golari. Due to the non-recognition of land, habitation and rights over forest resources in the reserve areas, the people are left at the mercy of the forest officials who exploit them to the fullest. Sada Golari says “The gadu (forest guard) has always been threatening to evict us from our land, as it belongs to the government. In order to avert such a possibility, we villagers have been giving him and the revenue inspector hens, vegetables, etc., to appease them. Recently, they started forcible plantation on our land which we opposed. This led to their aggression on us.”

The government has plantation plans under several schemes like JBIC, RLTAP and KBK plan etc. Policies suggest that the areas for plantations have to be decided in consultation with the local people. But in reality, it gives a free hand to the forest officials to decide upon any area in the forest, many of which are in use by the villagers. Moreover, Encroachment related cases on the inhabitants are quite common in these areas. Singru Golari from Patkamunda village in Sarangpali RF area was jailed in charge of encroachment and had to fight court cases for 10 years. The case was finally disposed off in 2005.

One hopes that the recently enacted Forest Rights Act will bring in some changes in the lives of this section of people.

Dangerous tastes

This is a film review of 'Poison on Platter' -a documentary showing the negative impacts of GM food and crop, directed by Ajay Kanchan and presented by Mahesh Bhatt. It is carried in InfochangeIndia (http://www.infochangeindia.org/) in June 2009

Link: http://infochangeindia.org/200906237800/Film-Forum/Documentary/Dangerous-tastes.html

Dangerous tastes

By Pradeep Baisakh

With the first genetically modified food poised to enter the Indian market, a timely documentary entitled Poison on the Platter shows how little the Indian public knows about what it is consuming

If you think that the worst man-made and natural disasters are the nuclear attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, the attack on the World Trade Centre towers in the US in 2001, or hurricanes, earthquakes and floods, you’re wrong. Noted filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt says there’s a worse one waiting to happen. The propagation of Genetically Modified (GM) food has the potential to affect nearly every single individual on the planet, warns Bhatt in the 30-minute documentary film titled Poison on the Platter.

The film shows the proved impact and the possible future impact of the use of GM food on living creatures. It claims, based on “incontrovertible scientific evidence” that the consumption of GM food has the potential to stunt growth, impair the immune system, and even lead to severe damage to the brain, kidney and other vital organs. It may increase the incidence of life-threatening diseases like cancer and a number of other ailments.

Defining GM food Devinder Sharma, food policy analyst, explains that nature allows crossing among the same species, but in the case of genetic engineering -- the technique used in GM food – inter-species crossing is done. In other words, the character of one species is transferred to another by this technique, which is quite dangerous. For example, the gene from a pig is transferred to rice, from fish to tomato, from the milk of the human female to rice etc.

As the documentary shows, there is little understanding of these facts among ordinary people. Modern, urban and aware young people interviewed in the film found it hard to believe that food can have undesirable consequences beyond the commonsensical assumption that “it may prove so only if it is not cooked properly”!

The film depicts many instances of the harmful effects of GM food: soy allergies skyrocketed in the UK with the use of GM soy; 12 cows died in Germany after Bt corn is fed to them; Bt corn caused skin and respiratory infection in people in a Philippines village; Star Link, a variety of Bt corn caused irritation and other disorders in the US. A January 1, 2002 article in the Washington Post reported the vices of genetically engineered varieties of crops and food in a piece ‘Monsanto hid decades of pollution’.

In European countries, the initial euphoria about the prospect of GM food solving the world food crisis was dashed when increasing instances of prostate cancer were linked to a genetically modified substance called Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH). Use of this hormone caused mad cow disease and foot and mouth disease which led to massive destruction of cattle. Consumers, farmers and civil society groups in Europe vociferously protested against the use of any GM food and many countries banned the use of the same or put a moratorium on their use till it is proved to be safe.

In the US, however, the lobby of GM giants like Monsanto and Syngenta has succeeded in getting approvals for GM foods from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It was revealed later that the person who was in charge of taking policy decisions in the FDA was from Monsanto’s law firm and later became the vice-president of the company!

Such instances of regulators meant to protect the interests of the people working for unethical companies, is not uncommon. As Kavitha Kuruganti of the Coalition for GM-Free India says in the film: “It’s a classic case of vested interests wreaking havoc on people’s health because the institutions that have been created to protect our health are actually hand in glove…”

Dr Pushpa Bhargava of the Centre of Cellular and Molecular Biology debunks the claims of the GM lobby that the gene revolution is a great revolution like the green revolution and will solve the food crisis in India, and that the use of genetically modified seeds will increase food production by improving crop variety and lowering input costs. Dr Bhargava says that based on the facts available as of now, these claims are absolute lies as there is no scientific evidence to back them.

The film is relevant to India because GM food is expected to expand hugely in this country. The film points out that the combination of an ignorant public and a “corrupt and incompetent” regulatory system is lethal. Biotech multinationals are conducting experimentations on GM crops and as many as 56 such varieties are in different stages of trial in the country. The GM variety of rice and common vegetables like brinjal, tomato, cauliflower, potato, okra, ginger etc are being experimented with and will gradually be released into the market.

The film shows the impact of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) cotton, the only genetically engineered variety of crop allowed in India so far. Thousands of poor farmers in Andhra Pradesh committed suicide when the benefits of using the modified cotton did not materialise. People working in the fields developed skin diseases and about 2,000 goats and sheep that grazed in the Bt cotton fields died, forcing the administration to issue a warning in 2006 against sending cattle to graze in these fields.

Bt brinjal is in a very advanced stage of approval for commercial use by the nodal regulatory body, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC). Experts like Dr Pushpa Bhargava, Dr Jeffery M Smith, founder of the Institute of Responsible Technology, and Devinder Sharma claim that proper tests have not been done on the safety aspect, that examinations done on the so-called safety data by our regulators are full of flaws; it contains the type of genes which may cause superdiseases untreatable by antibiotics; it can kill useful bacteria inside our intestines, and so on.

Though Bt brinjal may become the first GM food to be consumed in India, this does not mean we are not already eating GM food, the film points out. “We are already eating food having GM content and it has been conclusively proved,” claims Rajesh Krishnan of Greenpeace India. Doritos corn chips made by PepsiCo International are illegally imported into India and sold here. The film says these were tested in laboratories in Germany and were found to contain GM corn which has the potential to cause liver and kidney damage. It has been banned in many European countries. The film shows several other such food items available in supermarkets here whose import is illegal since they contain GM strains.

One way to make the GEAC more accountable, Devinder Sharma suggests in the film, is to introduce a clause that says that “for anything going wrong with GM food, the chairman of GEAC is put behind bars; you will see everything will stop!”

More effective would be a strong civil society response. The film depicts some ongoing protests such as actor Milind Soman taking part in the ‘I am no lab rat’ campaign, and the formation of the Coalition for GM-Free India. Sri Sri Ravishankar, founder of the Art of Living says “…propagation of something which you are not sure of and which may cause enormous damage to life on the planet is simply not acceptable by any means; it’s not science, it’s terrorism…”

The film exhorts consumers to say ‘no’ to GM food. As Mahesh Bhatt says, “There is one definite outcome of genetic engineering of food, that is, the end of choice.” Bhatt doesn’t mince his words: “We have to ensure that our bodies are not enslaved by these corrupt and criminal multinationals and we will have to force our governments to put a complete ban on production and distribution till its safety is assured through extensive and impartial trials. What is, after all, at stake, is our health and very survival.”

The film is a CAC production and is directed by Ajay Kanchan. While the documentary does an excellent job of highlighting the argument against GM foods, it has not included a single voice from the pro-GM group, though it does mention that efforts to get such opinions did not materialise due to the latter’s unwillingness to participate in the documentary. Also, while it rightly concentrates on the impact on the health of consumers, the fact that genetic modification of foods will gradually lead to the extinction of indigenous crop varieties, is not mentioned.

That much more public information, discussion and debate must occur on this important issue is indisputable, and this documentary is an important part of that effort.

(Pradeep Baisakh is a freelance journalist based in Orissa)
Infochange News & Features, June 2009

Supporting underprivileged women

This piece came in 'GRASSROOTS' in May 2009 issue
http://pressinstitute.org/scripts/grassroots_index_popup.asp?id=361

Supporting underprivileged women

By : Pradeep Baisakh
Orissa
The proposal of Nano car may not have gone well with the people in Singur, but the concept of nano finance has definitely caught the imagination of the needy in the Sambalpur district of Orissa.

Contrary to the traditional social practice, where a mother stays with her son’s family, Lata Bagh of Sambalpur district stays with her daughter and son-in-law, as she has no son. But she is not a burden to them, she is rather an asset. She sells vegetables in the local market and makes a substantial contribution to the family. Of late, her business has been profitable due to the small monetary help she got through nano finance from “Amara Biswas”- an institution that provides small financial aids to the poorest women in times of need. Previously, she used to take loans from the local money lenders to invest in her small business. The high interest loan had virtually put her in a vicious cycle.

Nano finance – It is all about giving small monetary help from 100 to 1000 rupees without interest to people in need for meeting their emergency consumer expenditures or to undertake small entrepreneurial ventures. “The whole idea of nano finance came to my mind when I saw our domestic help in Sambalpur paying Rs 50 every month to a money lender against a small loan of Rs 500 taken for her son’s illness. As per the condition, she either had to repay the complete amount at a time or has to pay Rs 50 every month. And she would never have 500 rupees at a time to repay! This is the scale of exploitation by the local money lenders, but the poor lady had no other choice,” says Ms Jayashree (Ranu) Mahanti, a non-resident Indian (NRI) who coined the terminology ‘nano finance’ and is practising the concept in Sambalpur.

Amara Biswas has kept a sum of four lakhs for circulation among the needy and five lakhs as security money. Ms.Susama, is officially appointed to carry out the transactions. The women in need come through references of women who have already benefited. No security deposit is taken from anyone for handing out the loan nor is any interest charged. It is totally based on mutual trust. When you ask her what is the certainty that the loan receiver would return the loan since no security deposits are taken, Ranu Mahanti has this to say, “Trust is the hallmark of the functioning of nano finance in Amara Biswas (Our Trust). We do judge the returning capacity of the women at the time of disbursing loan by asking three questions: Why do you want; what will you do and how will you repay.” In last one year of transaction, the return rate has been about 80 percent and the rest have bought some more time to repay. As many as 1700 people have benefited in one year. The beneficiaries are treated as the stake holders of the money. For example, when there are ten needy women coming to take money at a time and the availability of money in Amara Biswas is for seven. Then the ten women themselves decide who needs the money most and money is given to them. It is therefore a practice of ‘women helping women’. To sum up the various beliefs of nano, they are: no greed, personal touch, community responsibility, sympathy and sacrifice.

Nano has proved to be quite useful to the poorest whose monthly income is less than 2000 or 3000 rupees. This small help makes a very big contribution to them. For example, Tapaswini Hota did not have enough money to purchase necessary material to send her newly wedded daughter back to her in-laws house. Nano helped her by giving 400 rupees. People have even taken loan for purchasing wood for the funeral of a dead family member. Similarly, its role in nano entrepreneurship is no less. Binodini has a small business of badi and papad, which she prepares and her mother sells in the market. She has recently expanded her business by taking loan from nano finance. Nano has brought about a sense of security in the women as another beneficiary Lata Bagh puts it, “Previously, whenever we needed money, we had only one difficult choice - the money lenders, but now we are confident that whenever we need money, we can safely go for nano finance.”

The nano finance in Sambalpur is flourishing even as the micro finance is gradually losing its appeal, not withstanding the big claims being made toward the success of micro finance institutions (MFIs). In certain cases, the MFIs have been exploitative to the extent of using coercion on the helpless women, who had to turn to money lenders again to repay their weekly instalments! These realities defeat the objective of MFIs to free women from exploitation of money lenders by making them self sufficient through entrepreneurship.

“Nano is implicit in micro finance,” says an employee of a MFI and continues, “In reality, most MFIs are basically banking business in the guise of women’s empowerment. In most cases, the interest rate is as high as 30 percent. And in other cases, though the declared rate is less but there are hidden charges. On the other hand, nano seems to be working well due to its truly non-profit motive and hassle free transaction.” Due to its success in Sambalpur, it has expanded to other districts of Orissa like Bhadrak, Jagatsingpur, Nuapada, Bargarh and Anugul.

Whether the rather forgotten concepts of trust, interpersonal relationship and sacrifice imbibed in nano will sell in this era is a moot point. Yet another area of concern is its expandability. The institution has to be kept small in order to keep the aspect of personal touch intact. It cannot be a huge institution like other MFIs. So nano finance may be supplementary to micro finance. Only time will tell if it can be a substitution to the latter

Of forest dwellers, voters and elections

This Piece came in 'Meri News' on 24th April 2009
http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=15766595

and in Orissa Diary on 20th April 2009
http://www.orissadiary.com/ShowOriyaColumn.asp?id=12215


Of forest dwellers, voters and elections
By Pradeep Baisakh

This time around the forest dwelling communities are keenly watching the performance of ruling and the opposition parties on the Forest Right Act, which aims to recognise tribals' and other forest dwellers' right over forest land and resources..

IN THE midst of the general and Assembly elections, various political parties are busy making tall claims on what they have done and would do in future for the poor. This time around the forest dwelling communities are keenly watching the performance of the ruling and the opposition parties on the Forest Right Act (FRA), the law that aims to recognise tribals’ and other forest dwellers’ right over forest land and resources.

Orissa is among the forerunners along with some other states like Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal in reaching the full potential of receiving the claims under Forest Rights Law, claims the recent status report provided by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, government of India. Till the period ending February 28, 2009, a total number of claims filed in the state at the Gram Sabha level is 2, 91,524 out of which 2, 71,352 are of individual claims and 20,172 are community claims, states the report on the achievements of BJD government in Orissa led by ‘the most popular CM’ Naveen Patnaik (Courtesy: India Today). Till only recently it was a BJD and BJP coalition government. (BJP withdrew its support from the coalition government on March 7, 2009)

A research angle to the issue suggests that the state government’s score on FRA is not very high. According to the Planning Commission’s statistics, the number of people who are critically dependent on forest in the state is above one crore. Accepting the census standard of the size of a family (five people constitute a family), the number of potential families to reap individual benefits from the law is 20 lakhs. These include both the tribals and the other traditional forest dwellers. So, the submission of 2.71 lakh individual claims against the potential 20 lakh families does not leave much room for celebration, though comparatively Orissa has done better than many other states. Moreover, out of these many claims filed, only about 22,000 individual claims have been finally approved by DLC till the reported period.

Ground realities suggest that the rejection rate of the claims is very high. For example, in Sagada GP under Bhawanipatna block of Kalahandi district, out of 26 villages the verification in nine villages was complete by the Sub Divisional Committee (SDLC) by end of December 2008. Out of 196 claims received, the SDLC has rejected 144 claims. “Basing on the status of the implementation of the law in 2700 villages from 10 districts of the state that we are tracking, the percentage of rejection is as high as 60 percent” informs Tushar Dash, a researcher. If this data is extrapolated to the whole state, the households to be benefited after completion of the process are 1.08 lakh, which is a meagre 5.4 per cent of the total potential beneficiaries!

First big problem with the implementation of the law in the state is non recognition of the rights of the Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD) during joint verification done by SDLC. Three generation issue has come up as a major bottleneck at the SDLC and DLC level. So the claims of this category are rejected. In Sagada GP all such claims filed by the OTFD, which were verified by the SDLC, have been rejected.

In some cases, the people have ignorantly filed claims over revenue land assuming them as forest lands, which are being rejected by SDLC as they would not be acceptable under this law. But the officials are responsible for this ignorance of people. Dash says “In 1980s, during ‘hal’ settlement many of the forest areas were transferred to different kisam of revenue and other (non-forest) land. However, revenue and forest officials kept the people ignorant about this and continued to extort them.” The case of Ramesh Maji of Sagada GP is an instance to cite.

According to Forest Survey of India report 1999, out of total 46,989 villages in the state, about 29,300 villages are located adjacent to the recorded forest areas, which include the villages inside the forest. If it is assumed that at least one community claim should comes from these villages, the performance of the government seems to be quite good as such claims filed at Gram Sabha level is more than 20,000. But, the concern remains about the minuscule number of such claims approved by the District Level Committee (DLC) which is only 27 till the reported period.

The government deserves a pat on its back on some of the progressive steps taken by it eg it identified the ‘village’ as the ideal unit for formation of FRCs and holding Gram Sabhas as against the Gram Panchayat approach in many states like Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat; it has empowered the Gram Sabha to issue caste certificates; it has directed the collectors to take special effort to sensitise people to file more community rights claims; and it has specially directed not to neglect the un-surveyed forest villages in the process.

But problem still lies which the government cannot wash away. Most of the forest land in the State is un-surveyed and detailed maps/records are not available.

The claims preferred by the communities living inside the protected areas are not verified by the technical committees appointed by the SDLC. The problem is more acute in tiger reserves of the state like Satkosia, Sunabeda and Simlipal. The government is also criticised by the activists for its lackadaisical approach in the High Court in fighting the case filed by the retired forest officials against FRA, for which the disbursement of the entitlements has been withheld.

The main opposition party in the state, Congress has not done enough toward the cause of the forest dwellers. In the current Assembly, it has not raised this issue with any seriousness inside the Assembly and failed to pressurise the ruling dispensation to deliver on FRA outside the Assembly also.

The election results will show on how far people were satisfied with the performance of these parties toward FRA, namely, BJD, Congress and BJP who are the major three players in the state.

Orissa government: Has it done enough for the poor?

This piece came in "merinews" on 18th April 2009

http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=15766246

Orissa government: Has it done enough for the poor?

By Pradeep Baisakh

The Orissa government has not delivered on NREGS and therefore the ruling party lacks the moral right to ask for votes from rural labourers. It has faltered in terms of providing work and wages to the workers in time.

HAS THE Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government of Orissa led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is now the most popular Chief Minister of the country according to an ‘India Today’ survey, done enough for the poor labourers in the rural patches of the state by way of delivering on NREGS to plead for their votes in the ensuing general and assembly elections?

If you roam around several villages in Lamtaput, Nandpur and Machhkund blocks of Koraput district, you will find people just loitering around and wasting their time. When asked “why are you wasting your time? Do not you have any work available in your village?” The answer you get is a big ‘No’. In several villages like Enugu, Logum, Litiput among others no work under NREGS is available during this lean agricultural season forcing people to migrate or simply stay in the village and do nothing. Recently, thirteen 13 Logum village migrated to do work on railway tracks in Secunderabad.

Collector Gadadhar Parida (recently transferred elsewhere) says “As many as five out of 14 blocks of Koraput have no regular BDO. In Lamtaput post office, there are no additional staffs to open passbooks of people for making NREGS related payments.”

After repeatedly asking, Parida with reluctance admits that the block and panchayat level officials are not showing much interest to take up NREGS work after introduction of the bank payment system. It may be noted that the bank payment system under NREGS has almost checked the prevailing PC (percentage cuts) culture (where a fixed percentage of the welfare expenditure is siphoned of by the officials involved in the implementation) existing in the panchayat and block levels. Therefore it obvious that the officials at these levels are demotivated! During the survey on NREGS conducted in Orissa in October 2007 by G B Pant Institute, Allahabad, it was revealed that as much as 22 percent of the money goes as percentage cuts to the JE, BDO, Sarpanch, VLW, computer operator at the block level and others apart from the percentage that the contractor keeps for himself. The Collector laments “currently we are in a state of under utilisation of funds under NREGS”

Very poor performance in comparison to other states:

In several such districts of the state like Bolangir, Nuapada, Malkanagiri, Nawrangpur, Sundergarh, Ganjam etc where migration is rampant, NREGS has effectively failed check this trend. According to official figures, in the last financial year (2008-09) the total number of house hold provided jobs are meagre 9.4 lakhs as against about 51 lakhs job card holders in the state. Admittedly, all these card holders did not apply for work so not qualified to get job, the plea the government officials generally take- but people not applying for work does not qualify the perception that they are not needy but they are unaware about the demand driven character of NREGS. And the onus to generate awareness lies on the state. A inter state comparison till 5th March 2009, reveals that Orissa has been able to spend only 48.7 per cent to the total allocated fund whereas states like Bihar has done 63 per cent, Chhatisgarh 76 per cent and Jharkhand 63 per cent. Total percentage of work completed by this date is: Bihar-47 per cent, Chhatisgarh-51 per cent and Jharkhand-32 per cent and Orissa-a meagre 6.49 per cent!

Political and administrative will is lacking:

There have also been continuous complaints from different parts of the state about not providing work despite applications. In January, 2008 about 110 job card holders from Hanumal and Hantalput villages of Koraput district reportedly staged a dharana in front of the block office to demand payment of unemployment allowances as they were not provided work in time even after application for the same.

Complaints have also come about non payment and about in surmountable delay in payment of wages under NREGS to the workers. According to reports by the grass root activists, labourers of Hatipokna and other villages under Tentulikhunti block of Navrangpur district did not receive wages for more than five months till February 2009. Provision of compulsory payment of wages through banks and post offices has aggravated the already worsening condition of irregular payment. Though the bank payment system works well in Andhra Pradesh, in Orissa due to involvement of lengthy and cumbersome procedure and due to lack of any serious attempt by the government to streamline the transaction system, the statutory provision of wage payment within 15 days has been being unceremoniously flouted.

The grievance redressal system in the state is in complete disarray. Complaints of the workers lie unattended by the responsible officials at the block, district and state level for months together. A visiting delegation of Central Employment Guarantee Council (CEGC) in November 2007 submitted 20 complaints to the Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Panchayati Raj department of the state. They are yet to be heard.

If this is the situation at the state level, it can well be imagined what the situation would be at the block and district levels. All these have accumulated to create a situation where people have started losing faith on the efficacy of NREGA to address their work need and poverty by consequence. Though distress migration is characterised by inhuman working condition and various forms of exploitation-physical, mental and sexual, with the political and administrative class taking no interest on delivery of NREGA, the people of the state have no option but to go for it.

With this dismal show on providing guaranteed employment to the rural mass, does the government command any moral right to ask for votes from the rural labourers? The government may not actually need to bother much as Umi Daniel of Action Aid puts it “About two lakh migrant workers from western Orissa and more than four lakh from Ganjam district will be completely away from the election in the state!” Yahan honge tabhi to hamare khilap vote de payenge!

Disabled or differently abled?

This piece came in the 'grassroots'-the old and famous development journal in April 2009 issue
http://pressinstitute.org/scripts/grassroots_index_popup.asp?id=352
Disabled or differently-abled?

By : Pradeep Baisakh
Orissa
Twenty six-year-old Buddhadev Nayak from Rangamatia village in Mayurbjanj district of Orissa suffers from muscular dystrophy. Muscular dystrophy is a muscular disease by which the body muscles get weaker with each passing day, making the person unable to move his body parts. By implication, he gradually enters into a state of physical handicap. It started at the age of ten when he found that he was not fit enough to go out with his school friends to run and play. Belonging to a poor family, Buddhadev could not do much for the treatment of the disease. (Muscular dystrophy has no such effective treatment in medical science). Despite the disease he somehow managed passing matriculation. But as he was growing weaker and weaker, his movements were shrinking and he was ostracized from his family and society, who treated him as a liability. He started using a tricycle for movement as his legs stopped functioning. The sense of helplessness also grew in him and he treated himself as really ‘disabled.”

One day, he came in touch with the social workers of Sadhana, a local NGO who works for differently-abled people. With the inspiration and support from them, Buddhadev took the initiative to contact differently-abled people from the area with the objective to form a self help group (SHG). Eventually a group of twelve people of different forms of disability was formed in the name of “Sampark Bhinnakshama Swamshayak Sangha” (Sampark differently-abled self help group) in March 2006. A senior lady Nishamani Nayak was made the president of the group and Buddhadev the secretary. Each member started contributing a sum of ten rupees a month to the group bank account and decided to meet at least once a month in the group. Their individual level of helplessness, the agony of being disabled and being a liability to the family, added by the experience of being ‘looked down upon’ by the society was overcome by the group solidarity and group bondage. Emboldened by the group strength and some savings in hand, the group members decided to start some small business and inch towards financial self sustainability. At the group level they started with Mahula business, and at individual level, the members stitched ‘sal leaves’, made brooms of ‘Sabai grass’ and sale.

Starting from here, there is no looking back for them. Now, with the recommendation of the block, Buddhadev has got a personal loan of Rs. 25,000 to start a grocery shop. Elated with the change in his life, Buddhadev says “I was quite depressed without seeing a purpose in my life. The idea of forming a group gave me hope and confidence and now I own a shop for supporting myself and my family.”

Forum for emotion sharing

The members of Sampark SHG started with sitting once in a month for the group meeting. But gradually, the frequency of meetings increased, and it became a practice for all the members to sit every evening in the house of President Nishamani. What is the purpose of having daily meetings? Nishmani answers, “We speak about our problems; we share our agonies and happiness amongst ourselves. Who else is there near whom we can share our emotions? The belongingness and fellow feelings has brought us closer to each other.” Another member of the group adds, “We just like to sit with each other.” They just do not waste time in gossips in every evening. They do their regular work like stitching leaves etc and discuss about their problems and same of their villages and plan their future course of action. They are now regularly participating in the Palli Sabha and Gram Sabha meetings.

Example Setters

Buddhadev and his fellow members in Sampark SHG are no longer the persons to be looked down with pity; rather they are example setters for others. They started tracing similar differently abled people in other villages and persuaded them to form groups. With their effort, three such groups have been formed in Biridi, Badsole and another village of Badjod GP. And all these four SHGs have federated themselves at the GP level in name of Pragati, Badjod, Their success encouraged similar people from other GPs of the block to form and federate SHGs. A larger federation of these SHGs have been clinched in Baripada block. Such federations conduct regular interface with the administration to demand their entitlements as a matter of right, not just as charity. They also have connected themselves with the state level network of differently-abled people.

They have immensely contributed to the lives of people in the village. They persuaded the family members of Sivani Behera, a speech and hearing impaired female child to send the child to school. Similarly, they negotiated with the local school teachers and got many such children admitted into schools. They helped many potential beneficiaries to take advantage of the ‘Single Window Provision’, known as ‘Windows of Hope; for differently-abled people started in the district for providing disability certificates, bus passes, I cards, aids and alliances, etc. The single window system was initiated by the then Collector Karitikeyan Pandian for which he received several at the state and national levels.
Satisfied with their efforts and performance, the villagers wrote to the BDO to provide Sampark the PDS dealership of the Panchayat.

The attitude of the administration
Despite strenuous efforts, all is not turning well, particularly the attitude of the administration and the society in general to them. Narrating the difficulties faced by such groups of people, Ranjit Mahapatra of Sadhana says “Though the Orissa government has provisions for formation of SHGs of differently-abled people under ‘Mission Kshamata’ in reality, they do not recognise the groups so formed. As result of which such SHGs are not getting any loans from banks for undertaking entrepreneurial activities.” While we are considering the differently-abled people as the criteria for defining ‘homogeneity’, they still apply the gender definition to it. In the case of this category of people, forming groups in line of gender is neither desirable nor feasible,” he adds. The PDS dealership application by Sampark SHG was rejected on ground of non-homogeneity as both male and female members are present in it. These people are also not provided work under NREGS in the area despite the provisions of the law to give them work according to their ability. Unfortunately, there disability is viewed first by the implementing authorities before their ability is judged.