Adivasi Rights: 2018

Friday 14 December 2018

Right to Food?

Adivasi areas, Right to food? Corruption; Gujarat

Wednesday 31 January 2018

Bhilistan State

Adivasi means original inhabitant,Tribal

Seprate Sate Demand Name of BHILISTHAN

Bhil means Adivasi (Tribal),Indian content

Bhilisthan Movement started, post independence in India.

The Adivasi population living in western India in the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra and the districts on the borders of Dadra Nagar Haveli is called as the Bhil belt. These are the most backward Adivasi population.
Bhilsthan; Leader; CHHOTU VASAVA (MLA,GUJARAT)

This area is called as the Bhil region. The Adivasis in this area are still deprived of development even after 68 years of independence. For this reason, there has been a long time demand of an Independent Adivasi State in the name of “Bhil State”.

This Adivasi area is rich with minerals, hills, rivers and forests and Adivasis are the dwellers and owners of this area since thousand years. Adivasis are displaced in the name of construction of dams, highways and sanctuaries. The land of this area is being transferred to the industrialists in the name of development.

In spite of the provision of self-rule and self-development provided in the 5^th schedule of constitution, the governments of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra have still not implemented these provisions. The torture of Adivasis in the cases related to police and forest department is happening since the 1947 even after the independence period. The constitutional right of reservation is being provided to Adivasis for their social share in the power. But the implementation of the reservation in these four states is not being done in proper ways. (Adivasi Sena 2010)

The establishment of Bhilistan (Hindi: भीलिस्तान) has been a demand for over 30 years.^1] The 1999 book Untouchable Dalit’s in Modern India by S. M. Michael reported the demand for Bhilistan^2] In 2012, The Times of India reported that the Bhilistan movement has been gaining ground in the tribal regions of Bharuch.^[3] The Daily News and Analysis reported in 2013 that the formation of Telangana state has reignited hopes for the demand of statehood to this region, comprising the tribal dominated parts of Gujarat and neighbouring states Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.^[4]

Sunday 28 January 2018

Statue of Unity

Sardar Sarovar dam

Case study of Gujarat in Narmada district in the Sardar Sarovar dam known as “Narmada dam” is located at Nava gam. The Sardar sarovar project has considered as the lifeline of Gujarat. This is a multipurpose river valley project on the west flowing river Narmada. In addition, 1961, the Bharuch irrigation project had approved. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone for this scheme in April 1961.

No.	State	Villages Affected		Total	Families Affected
No.	State	Fully	Partial	Total	Families Affected
1	Madhya Pradesh	34	148	182	7500
2	Maharashtra	-	036	036	1350
3	Gujarat	03	016	019	1900
4		37	200	337	10750

In the following Table list of the displaced villages are mentioned Pachmuli, Vadgam, Limadi , Kathedi , Boridra , Gadhir , Makhenkhada ,Surpan , Antras , Makhenkhada ,Kuppahe, Makhadi, Nava gam, Vagodiya , Gora, kavadiya kathi, Gomna, Davadiya-Dadva, Kadhder . The government has displaced 19 villages. Most villages are affected by Narmada dam project like Turkheda, Sharbara, Bundra, kunda. Narmada dam project has made more than 1900 families homeless and landless. The affected people have lost their land as well as their livelihood. The tribal of those areas are the severe victim of the Narmada Dam Project. They lost their right over natural resources and faced the cultural crisis. Loss of employment and home the displaced people have migrated to the urban areas. In the name development the Government has violated the fundamental Rights of the tribal people as well as ruined natural resources.(Ashvin Vasava:2016)

Statue of Unity

The Statue of Unity is an under construction monument dedicated to Indian independence movement leader Vallabhbhai Patel located in the Indian state of Gujarat. 182 meters (597 feet) in height, it is to be located facing the Narmada Dam, 3.2 km away on the river island called Sadhu Bet near Vadodara in Gujarat. This statue is planned to be spread over 20,000 square meters of project area and will be surrounded by an artificial lake spread across 12 km of area. It would be the world's tallest statue when completed.Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust (SVPRET), a special purpose vehicle was established by the Gujarat government and the outreach programme across India was carried out starting December 2013. Initially the total cost of the project was estimated to be about ₹2,063 crore (US$320 million) by the government. Later Larsen & Toubrow on the contract in October 2014 for its lowest bid of ₹2,989 crore (US$470 million) for the design, construction and maintenance. The construction was started on 31 October 2014.

The project was first announced on 7 October 2010. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust (SVPRET), a special purpose vehicle was established by the Gujarat government for construction of the statue. The iron needed for the statue and other structures was to be collected from farmers of villages all around India in a form of donation of their used farming instruments. SVPRET set up 36 offices across India to collect these iron instruments. wherein over 500,000 Indian farmers are expected to donate. The drive was named the 'Statue of Unity movement'. There was to be three-month-long nationwide campaign to collect iron pieces from six lakh villages to build the statue. During this period, over 5000 metric tonnes of iron were collected. Although it was initially announced that the iron collected will be used for the main statue, it later emerged that the collected iron will not be used in construction of the actual statue and will instead be used for some other part of the project.

The Statue of Unity Movement was organized a Suraaj (good governance in Hindi) petition wherein people wrote about their ideas for the good governance. The Suraaj Petition was signed by an estimated 20 million people, which was the world's largest petition signed. A marathon entitled Run for Unity was held on 15 December 2013 in several places throughout India. The marathon had a large turnout and sign-ups before the event reported thousands of registrations.

Project

The monument statue of Vallabhbhai Patel is being constructed facing the Narmada Dam, 3.2 km away on the river island called Sadhu Bet. The total height of the statue from its base will be 240 metre consisting base level of 58 meter and statue of 182 meter. It is being constructed with steel framing, reinforced cement concrete and bronze coating. The statue will need 75000 cubic meters of concrete, 5700 metric tonne steel structure, 18500 tonne reinforced steel rods, 22500 tonne bronze sheets for construction. In the first phase, a bridge connecting the memorial to the main land, a memorial, visitor center buildings, a memorial garden, a hotel, a convention center, an amusement park, research centers and institutes is being constructed.

The Statue of Unity is being designed as a naturalistic and historically accurate representation of Sardar Patel, wearing characteristic garments, in a walking stance. Some highlights of this project:

· Bronze cladding on the Statue.

· Fast elevators to reduce transit time for visitors.

· The three-level base of the Statue - exhibit floor, mezzanine and roof - will contain a Memorial Garden and a large continuous museum/exhibition hall, comprising exhibits that focus on the life and contributions of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

· The observation deck, situated at a height of around 500 ft from riverbed, will accommodate up to 200 people at a time. It will provide visitors a panoramic view, enabling them to see the beautiful Satpura and Vindhyachal mountain ranges, the 212 km long Sardar Sarovar Reservoir, and the 12 km long Garudeshwar Reservoir.

· Access to the Statue via a 5 km boat ride.

· A large modern canopied public plaza, overlooking the Narmada River and the Statue, comprising food stalls, ornate gift shops, retail kiosks and other amenities, that will provide visitors a well-rounded tourist experience.

· Finance

· The monument is being built on a PPP model, with most of the money raised by Gujarat Government. The Government of Gujarat has allotted Rs 100 crore for the project in the budget for 2012-13 and Rs 500 crore in 2014-15. In the 2014-15 Union Budget announced on 10 July 2014, ₹2 billion (US$31 million) have been allocated for the construction of the statue.

· Construction

· A consortium of Turner Construction (project manager of Burj Khalifa), Michael Graves and Associates and Meinhardt Group, is supervising the project. It will take 56 months to complete the project; 15 months for planning, 40 months for construction and two months for handing over by the consortium. The total cost of the project was estimated to be about ₹2,063 crore (US$320 million) by the government. The tender bids for the first phase were invited in October 2013 and were closed in November 2013.

· The then Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi, (currently Prime Minister of India) laid the foundation stone of statue on 31 October 2013, the 138th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He along with L. K. Advani announced to the public that after completion of the project, it would be the tallest statue of the world.

· Indian infrastructure company Larsen & Toubro won the contract on 27 October 2014 for its lowest bid of ₹2,989 crore (US$470 million) for the design, construction and maintenance. They commenced the construction on 31 October 2014 and are expected to complete it by 2018. In the first phase of ₹2,989 crore (US$470 million) project, Rs 1347 crore are for the main statue, Rs 235 crore for exhibition hall and convention center, Rs 83 crore for the bridge connecting the memorial to the main land and Rs 657 crore for the maintenance of the structure for 15 years after its completion. Accenture provides digital media outreach programe.

· The monument is designed by Ram V. Sutar. The statue has so far been erected up to the knees — 59 meters tall, at 117 m above sea level — out of a planned 182 m, to match the number of assembly constituencies in Gujarat. Close to 2,400 workers are at work on day and night shifts. The core wall, the RCC spine of the statue — on which steel frames will be affixed to hold the bronze cladding together - is being constructed.

· Issues

· Most local people have opposed land acquisition for tourism infrastructure development around the statue. They also proved that, Sadhu bet was originally called Varata Bawa Tekri, named after a local deity and so it was a site of religious importance

· Environmental activists wrote a letter to central government that this project started implementation without environmental clearance from the ministry.

· People of Kevadia, Kothi, Waghodia, Limbdi, Navagam and Gora villages opposed the construction of the statue demanding back land rights of formerly acquired 927 acres of land for dam and the formation of Garudeshwar taluka. They also opposed formation of Kevadia Area Development Authority (KADA) and the construction of Garudeshwar weir-cum-causeway project. Government of Gujarat accepted their demands.

· When ₹2 billion (US$31 million) was allocated for the statue in the 2014-15 Union budget, several people and the political parties criticized the expenditure for the statue over other priorities like women's safety, education and agricultural schemes. L&T has contracted with TQ Art Foundry; subsidiary of the Jiangxi Toqine Company based in Nanchang, China; for the bronze cladding of the statue. It was criticized by Indian National Congress,Bhartiya Tribal Party the opposition party's in Gujarat Legislative Assembly ^[1].

In Narmada district; two dames 1. Sardar Sarovar dam (Narmada Dam) 2. Karjan Dam and now Vehar Dam work is going on,Statue of Unity project; effected and displacement 72 villages Vehar Dam project effected 142 villages displacement. all are tribal. why? development?

Friday 26 January 2018

Indian constitution and violation of tribal Rights

Introduction

For the legal term, see Scheduled Tribes .Adivasi is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups claimed to be the aboriginal population of India. They comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India. Adivasi societies are particularly present in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and some north-eastern states, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Many smaller tribal groups are quite sensitive to ecological degradation caused by modernization. Both commercial forestry and intensive agriculture have proved destructive to the forests that had endured wideness agriculture for many centuries. And The Constitution of India, Article 366 (25) defines Scheduled Tribes as "such tribes or tribal communities or part of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under Article 342 to the scheduled Tribes (STs) for the purposes of this Constitution". In Article 342, the procedure to be followed for specification of a scheduled tribe is prescribed. However, it does not contain the criterion for the specification of any community as scheduled tribe. The terms "aborigines" or "tribes", the word "adivasi" has developed a connotation of past autonomy which was disrupted during the British colonial period in India and has not been restored. WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a 1[SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC] and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the 2[unity and integrity of the Nation];IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT,ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION. Indian constitution is very very important but the constitution of India not implement. So Adivasi are social, economic, political, education, Religion not develop in India because forest, water, land control the ruling government of India. And the 5th and 6th schedule of the Indian constitution provides some special rights to the tribal population for preservation of their culture and their overall development. According to the 73rd and 74th amendment of Indian constitution, Municipal Corporation and Panchayti Raj system cannot function in the Scheduled area of 9 Indian states. Also the PPESA ACT 1996 is not being implemented in scheduled areas. So again the constitution of India and violation of tribal Rights.

Wednesday 24 January 2018

Jay Adivasi Maha sangh Gujarat.

Jay Adivasi Maha Sangh

Micro study done by me shows that the ‘Jay Adivasi Maha Sangh’, Adivasi organisation working in the 8 districts of Adivasi areas of Gujarat. They are fighting for the natural resources of the local Adivasi peoples. Also, they are continuing the movement for the protection of the cultural identity of the Adivasi peoples. The Adivasi related laws and regulations are implemented in the Adivasi areas. Rajpipala Social Service Society (RSSS) of Narmada district is leading these activities by uniting young, women, and farmers of the Adivasis areas.