Tag: Tribal rights

  • Madhya Pradesh CM gives tribals the right to manage community forest

    By Express News Service

    BHOPAL: A week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a series of tribal centric initiatives at the start of Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas (Tribal Pride Day) in Bhopal on November 15, the Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan travelled to tribal-dominated Mandla district of the state on Monday, November 22, for the completion of Janjatiya Gaurav Saptah week celebrations.

    The week-long celebrations are being seen as a conscious effort by the BJP government in the state to reach out to tribals, who form around 22% of the state’s population and are politically crucial on 100 plus assembly seats, including 84 scheduled tribes reserved seats.

    Attending the closing ceremony of Janjatiya Gourav Saptah at Ramnagar Mandla, he also dedicated and performed bhoomi-poojan of development works worth over Rs 600 crore.

    He announced that tribals would be given the right to manage community forest, they would plant a forest and they would have the right over its wood and fruits. Under the Mukhyamantri Awasiya Bhu-Adhikar Yojna, residential land rights letters will be provided to them.

    Chouhan also informed that the government is formulating a new excise policy, in which the tribal community will be able to make liquor traditionally from Mahua. The right to sell this heritage liquor will also be given to the tribals.

    The CM further said that minor and false cases filed against tribals would be withdrawn. Sand will be provided free of cost to the tribal community for making houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. “It is being considered to give the right to sell tendu leaves to the tribes from next year. This work will be done through forest committees.”

    He also said that the loans given by private moneylenders by August 20, 2020, to the tribal community at higher interest rates would end. Four rural engineers will be appointed in every village, who will be from the tribal society. Tribal youths will be provided training for the recruitment in police and army. Water will be supplied to every household through taps.

    “Water will be supplied through pipeline to 446 villages of Mandla district under Halon group water supply scheme worth Rs 613.30 crore. Water will be supplied to 182 villages through Narayanganj Bijadondi Group Water Supply Scheme. The Computer Skill Centre-cum-Library at Mandla will be named Raja Shankar Shah, Raghunath Shah Library. Women’s Polytechnic College Mandla will be named as Rani Phool Kunwar Polytechnic College. In Mandla district, one lakh bamboo saplings will be provided to the tribals to increase their income.”

    He also announced the opening of a medical college in Mandla district, which would be named Raja Hriday Shah Medical College.

    Host of facilities to be renamed after tribal hero Tantya Bheel

    Chouhan announced that the Primary Health Centre, Manpur in Indore will be named as Tantya Bhil Health Centre. The Tantya Bhil temple located at Patalpani (Indore) will be renovated. The Patalpani Railway Station will be renamed as Tantya Bhil Railway Station, Bhanwarkuan road crossing in Indore would be named as Tantya Bhil Chauraha. Similarly, MR-10 Bus Stand, also in Indore will be named as Tantya Bhil Bus Stand.

    As part of the saffron party’s tribal outreach efforts only, the Habibganj railway station (country’s first world-class railway station) in Bhopal was renamed after Bhopal’s last tribal queen Rani Kamlapati recently.

    The CM also digitally launched Baiga Yojana from the platform. Under the scheme, door-to-door surveys of all the people of the most backward tribal Baiga community will be done and they will be given the benefit of all the related schemes of the government. He also released the book “Main Baiga Hoon” published on Baiga culture.

    The CM also laid the foundation of the statues of tribal immortal martyrs Raja Shankar Shah and Raghunath Shah at Qila Ward Mandla on the concluding day of Janjatiya Gourav Saptah. He remembered and paid obeisance to Raja Shankar Shah and Raghunath Shah. The work of building the statue will be done at a cost of Rs 50 lakh.

  • Clash over IIT campus project: Security beefed up in Goa town

    By PTI
    PANAJI: The situation in Goa’s Valpoi town remained tense on Thursday, a day after locals clashed with police to protest against the proposed Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus at the nearby Shel-Melauli village.

    A police official said security has been stepped up and they have requisitioned additional force, as villagers remained stern on not allowing the demarcation of land for the construction of the IIT campus.

    The land demarcation work was suspended temporarily on Thursday as per the government’s orders, the official said.

    “The demarcation work can resume any time,” he added. The IIT Goa campus is proposed on a 10 lakh square metre area in Shel-Malauli and Guleli villages, located around 50 km from the state capital Panaji.

    The villagers are opposing the project, claiming that it would rob away their precious lands.

    The protest took a violent turn at a forested area outside the Shel-Melaulim village on Wednesday when the protesters hurled stones at police personnel, who responded with lathicharge.

    At least 12 police personnel were injured in the attack, an official earlier said.

    The villagers, who had blocked the road in Valpoi town, located around 10 km from the Shel-Malauli village, went back on Wednesday night.

    Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said the state government will go ahead with the project, notwithstanding the opposition.

    On Thursday, security was stepped up in the Valpoi town, a senior police official said, adding that a process was underway to register offences against those who threw stones on the policemen.

    “We are in the process of filing cases against the protesters, specially those who instigated the crowd,” the official said.