Whose Land Is It Anyway?

The Bhupesh Baghel government in Chhattisgarh is taking the battle against the Maoists right into the heart of rebel territory. Not better guns or intelligence gathering, the weapon of choice this time is a clause in the forest rights law that authorities hope will help win over the tribal people of the region.The initiative is being put to test in Abujhmarh, in the Orchha tehsil of Narayanpur district. The 3,905 sq. km hilly terrain of teak and sal forests is predominantly inhabited by the Abujhmarias. Dandami Maria and Gond are among the other tribes. The only way to get about in these parts is to walk. Abujhmarh is a Maoist den, its inaccessibility serving as a safe haven for the rebels. Unlike the plains, the habitations- clusters of a few huts- are spread out thin. Abujhmarh is a typical strife-torn area. While the government claims it has no access to the villages deep inside, on paper, welfare programmes, such as the PM's housing and sanitation schemes, are running.Using section 3(1)(e) of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, or FRA, the government intends to grant people habitation rights. Such rights can be extended only to the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). Chhattisgarh has five of them-Pahari Korwa, Abujhmaria, Baiga, Kamar and Birhor.Habitation rights protect not only the land and livelihoods of PVTGs but their culture and way of life as well. So far, the Baigas of Madhya Pradesh are the only tribe to secure habitation rights (in 2015)-over a 2,300 acre area. "One of the planks on which Chhattisgarh Maoists have sought and secured support from local communities is the threat that the state may uproot them from their lands," says Shubhranshu Choudhary, founder of CGnet Swara, a citizen journalism initiative in the state's rural belts. "By giving the tribal people habitation rights, the government will send out a message that its intention is not to parcel out land for mining or other development projects.".preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;} Choudhary has been working with the Narayanpur administration to explain to the Abujhmarias what habitation rights are all about. Villagers were invited to a meeting in Narayanpur on June 23 to discuss the plan. About a hundred attended, but many were worried they would be targeted by the Maoists for showing interest in the programme. "The Maoists are not comfortable with tribal people taking anything from the government, except education and health amenities and food supplies," says Choudhary. To get a higher attendance in the next meeting, the organisers roped in pargana majhis, heads of the eight parganas in Abujhmarh. "Many majhis don't want to attend because they have been instructed by the Maoists not to cosy up to the government," said a majhi who defied the diktat and came for the meeting."Habitation right claims are different from individual rights as information on religious practices, traditional medicines, gotra and social customs are an important part of the claims," says forest rights activist Naresh Biswas, who helped the Baigas secure habitation rights. Biswas is in Narayanpur these days to help file claims.Abujhmarh consists of 237 villages under 36 gram panchayats. A government survey three years ago found the number of Abujhmarias to be 23,076; the total population, including settlers, being over 40,000.The Baghel government's 'soft' approach to wean locals away from Maoism is at cross-purposes with the Centre's 'forward push' policy of putting more boots on the ground. Plans are afoot to relocate the central paramilitary and state police camps from the periphery of Abujhmarh to deep inside the region. This, authorities say, is part of a 'domination' exercise to block the escape routes of the Maoists and shrink their 'safe zone'. In a meeting recently convened by the Centre with top officials of the Maoist-affected states, it was decided that Chhattisgarh will get more central paramilitary battalions to set up these camps in Abujhmarh. Forty central battalions are currently deployed in the state's Maoist strongholds.Chief Minister Baghel, a votary of using a mixed bag of tricks against the Maoists, cautions that an approach "focused purely on aggression through security forces" has not paid off in the past. "This is evident from the fact that Maoism has spread from four blocks to 14 districts in the state. We favour engaging with civil society groups, security personnel who served in Maoist areas and other stakeholders to strive for peace," Baghel told india today. Nature's way: Members of the Abujhmaria tribe trek through their forests. (Photo: Chandradeep Kumar) Granting habitation rights is not going to be an easy task anyway in the absence of a land survey in Abujhmarh. "Land settlement was done in 1928-29 and again in 1954-55, but Abujhmarh was left out, probably because of the difficult topography," says Narayanpur collector Padum Singh Alma. "Now, many areas have been rendered inaccessible or unsafe because of the presence of the Maoists."In 2015, IIT-Roorkee was roped in to survey Abujhmarh with satellite imagery. The team could cover only 10 villages and faced opposition from the Abujhmarias. Officials suspect the Maoists encouraged, perhaps even forced, the villagers. The lack of a survey means individual rights cannot be granted under FRA. While no such claims have come from Abujhmarh yet, 4,835 individual claims and 234 community claims have been settled elsewhere in Narayanpur district. "Village boundaries need to be defined while issuing habitation rights. Unless we know which department the land belongs to, how can we extend rights to the people?" asks Chhattisgarh chief secretary Sunil Kumar Kujur.If the Abujhmarias secure habitation rights, how will things change on the ground, especially since the community has been practising shifting cultivation for ages and the practice has never been challenged by the state? "My father and grandfather lived off the land. They practised subsistence agriculture and collected forest produce. No one asked us then and no one asks us now whether the land we use is ours. All the land here belongs to us," asserts Sudhram in Kurushnar village.Collector Alma puts it all in perspective: "The state has never questioned the use of Abujhmarh's land by its tribal communities. So issuing a certificate that says we will let you use what you have been using anyway for years can be symbolic but not grounded in law. I think we should go a step ahead. Land should be surveyed and ownership rights given to the tribal people so that the Maoist bogey can be exposed." In the abrasive battle against Maoism, it might well be a decisive step, he says.Published By: Kritika BansalPublished On: Jul 12, 2019--- ENDS ---

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Whose Land Is It Anyway?

Chhattisgarh plans to win over Abujhmarh's tribal population with habitation rights over land and break the Maoist stranglehold in the region.

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