Hundreds of Maoist-violence hit tribal people from Bastar region of Chhattisgarh who fled and settled in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in 2005-06 are facing grave threat of ‘double displacement’ now. The two state governments have allegedly accelerated attempts to evict the cross-border settlers through afforestation drives on the land occupied by them.
The cause of these displaced people has been taken up by The New Peace Process—an initiative working to restore peace in Maoist-violence parts of central India. Convener of the initiative, Shubhranshu Choudhary told THE WEEK that during the past few days, such afforestation drives that also included razing of houses of settlers in some cases, were reported from at least 51 settlements, most of them in Bhadradri Kothagudem district of Telangana.
Some such affected settlements are Tekalagudem of Thoggudem panchayat in Pinapaka mandala, village Angur (panchayat- Kanaiyagudem, Block Karkagudem), Jaggaram (Sadragoda panchayat, mandal Suhpalhi), Kranti Nagar (Gattumal Panchayat, Lakshmi Devi Palli mandal) Engappanagara (Mukmamed panchayat, Mulkanpalli mandal)—all in Bhadradri Kothagudem district of Telangana, and Kothuru village of Lachchhigudem panchayat in the Chinturu mandal of East Godavari district (Andhra Pradesh), Choudhary told THE WEEK.
The afforestation process on the lands cultivated by the settlers but not owned by them was going on in phases for the past two years and informally the tribals were being asked to go back to Chhattisgarh. About half of the land cultivated by the settlers has already been brought under afforestation now, Choudhary said.
Last year, Chhattisgarh home minister had given a written reply in the Assembly that no one has been displaced from the state due to Naxalite violence, so there is no question of their resettlement.
The displaced people are thus caught in a serious bind and are now looking forward to the Union government to resolve this inter-state issue on the lines of the one chalked out for Bru Tribals of North-East.
Bru Tribals in Mizoram were compelled to leave their homes and go to Tripura due to internal violence. In 2019-20, the Union Home Ministry prepared a Bru rehabilitation plan and rehabilitated them in Tripura and Mizoram. The Tribals settled in AP and Telangana are seeking a similar rehabilitation plan, Choudhary said.
He added that Section 3.1.m (In Situ Rehabilitation or Exchange Act) of the Forest Rights Act 2006 could be used for the purpose as the section mentions that if a person is displaced from his forest land, the government will give them the land in return. Applications to this effect were made by the affected people, but no progress has been made, Choudhary said.
Motorcycle rally, SC petition planned
A ‘Dandakaranya to Delhi’ motorcycle rally is being planned from March 23 to highlight the issue and to seek a resolution. The rally is likely to start from Telangana and pass through Bastar in Chhattisgarh on its way to Delhi, Choudhary said. Violence victims living in Chhattisgarh and other common people are also likely to participate in this peace rally.
The displaced people are also trying to file a petition in the Supreme Court. Also, efforts are on to get the members of parliament from the region concerned to write to Home Minister Amit Shah in the matter.
What is the issue?
In 2005, when violence suddenly increased in Chhattisgarh in the backdrop of the Salwa Judum initiative of the state government, about 55,000 people were reportedly forced to leave their homes and villages in Bastar region and flee to the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh (now divided into Telangana). These people cut forests on the borders of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh and started making a living there. The New Peace Process has compiled a list of 6,721 families involving about 35,000 people in 260 of such settlements.
Most of the displaced people belong to the Muria tribe who are part of the Gonds. They are however called Gutti Koya in Andhra Pradesh, but due to a spelling mistake, they were registered as ‘Gutta Koya’ in these two states and have not been given even the status of a tribe, thus depriving them of any benefits. However, the displaced people continued to remain settled in these two states to avoid facing violence back home in Chhattisgarh.
However, with the AP and Telangana governments now trying to evict them from the settlements, these displaced tribals have turned into ‘nowhere people’, Choudhary said.
