CUTTACK (UCAN): Christian leaders in eastern Odisha state [formerly Orissa] lauded the postponement on November 17 of a decision to allow the sale of land owned by members of the tribal community to non-tribal people.
An amendment to the Orissa Scheduled Areas Transfer of Immovable Property (by Scheduled Tribes) Regulation, 1956, could have allowed tribal-owned lands to be sold to non-tribal people.
“We welcome the steps taken by the state,” Father Dibakar Parichha, of the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar in Odisha, said,
“Tribal people in Odisha face a piquant situation. If they do not sell land, there are chances it may become a hurdle to their development and if they sell their land they will become landless,” Father Parichha noted.
He demanded that the government come up with a better way to address the issue amicably.
“Indeed, it is a great relief to the tribal people in the state because they heavily depended on the land to survive,” said Father Nicholas Barla, secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India’s office for tribal people on November 21.
Tribal people in Odisha face a piquant situation. If they do not sell land, there are chances it may become a hurdle to their development and if they sell their land they will become landless
Father Parichha
If the land is taken away the tribal people will face hunger, disease, and even death, Father Barla who himself comes from a tribal group, said.
India’s largest mining companies like NALCO and Hindalco, and firms attached to billionaire tycoon, Gautam Adani, and transnational firm, Vedanta, have a strong presence in the mineral-rich state.
Earlier, the South Korea-based POSCO had made efforts to establish a mining unit in Odisha’s tribal areas. However, the steel-making and materials conglomerate abandoned the move in 2017 following protests by indigenous people.
“Most of the time these kinds of ordinances come from the government to clear the way for acquiring tribal land for the corporate world,” Father Barla said.
Once rendered landless, the indigenous people have to migrate to other places to find a livelihood and eventually will have to sell their labour cheaply, he added.
Most of the tribal population in Odisha is concentrated in the high-altitude zone of the Eastern Ghat. Their occupations vary from area to area depending on topography, availability of forests, land, and water.
Most of the time these kinds of ordinances come from the government to clear the way for acquiring tribal land for the corporate world
Father Barla
The main tribal communities include Khonds [Kandho], Gond, Santal, Soara, Kolha, Shabar, and Munda.
They constitute 22.85 per cent of Odisha’s 41 million population and account for 9.17 per cent of the total tribal population of the country.
The opposition parties have made the tribal land transfer to non-tribal people a major issue in the Odisha assembly which commenced its winter session on November 21. They say that the Odisha Scheduled Areas Transfer of Immovable Property Amendment Regulation is “anti-tribal” and “a conspiracy to transfer tribal lands to businessmen.”
The opposition has asked the government to roll back the order permanently.
In 2002, the government of Odisha passed legislation that prohibited the transfer of tribal land to non-tribal people.
In 2006, the federal government enacted the Forest Rights Act to give land rights to tribal people. The law added amendments to the Indian Forest Act 1927, introduced by colonial Britain to establish legal control over the country’s forests that make up 23 per cent of India’s landmass.
