AID - A view from the grassroots: Jharkhand

For the record, the present UPA Government has also reached agreements with around 5-6 companies and MOUs have been issued. The vulture-like beady eye of Mittal is set on the minerals and all other natural resources of Jharkhand. Mittal first sought to entrench its hold in the Manoharpur region of Jharkhand. But after public opposition, it has started eyeing the Karra Block region of the then Ranchi District. The Company began visiting Karra region in 2005. It is public knowledge that a few non-aadivaasi people of a special category had expressed their desire to give land to the Company. But the aadivaasi people resisted displacement and opposed the Company. The general public of Karra region also gave a clarion call against possible displacement. This set off a spree of meetings in every village. The people of the region united under the banner of ‘Save the Land’ (Jameen Bachao Sangathan). A massive rally as well as a Public Meeting against displacement was organized at the Karra Block Main Office under the aegis of the Jameen Bacho Sangathan on January 10, 2006. The assembly decided that they would not accept any price and prevent their ancestral heritage from being looted. On the other hand, attempts were initiated to bribe the local people in various ways and break the coalition movement against displacement. In 2006, farmers had just returned from their work in the intense heat and were resting under the shade of a tamarind tree. At that time, Mrs. Sooraj Devi of Rehadgada went to the river for a bath. Sooraj Devi said “I saw people getting off 18 vehicles and extending tapes at various spots. I realized that the people from the Company were taking land measurements. I saw some children bathing near by and dispatched them to call the other villagers. The entire village folk reached there and we challenged the people of the Company and beat them with sticks. When we grabbed their documents and other things, they ran away”. After this opposition by the public, the people from the Company did not want to risk another encounter with the folks of this region. They found another route. This time the people of the Company visited the villages of Torpa region and conducted their surveys. They scouted the Chata and Kaaro rivers and river banks to evaluate the water situation. The Company inspected the villages in Torpa region of Khoonti District and villages in the Kamdara Block extensively in 2007. After obtaining this information, people from the Company met with the officials at the Zonal Office of Karra District. They met 3-4 times with Mr. Pavan Kumar, who is the Zonal Officer at the Torpa Office and also holds the post of Raniya Zonal Officer, to gather information about various matters. The Zonal Officer Mr. Pavan Kumar told that people from the Company had come several times and surveyed the villages. According to him, the Company is proposing to use the waters of the Chata, Kaaro, and Koyal rivers. Mr. Pavan Kumar says that the people from the Company believe that these rivers are excellent sources of water since there are no bridges or dams on these rivers. According to the Zonal Officer Mr. Kumar, people from the Mittal Company are planning to make the Pakara Railway Station their hub. He also revealed that if the Mittal Company sets up a plant here, it will be the largest plant in the world. Discussing the point that a large number of people would be displaced under these circumstances, the CO said that in case that happens, then the people should be compensated with an equal area of land that they lose here. In addition, they should be given monetary compensation. It would be an injustice to give only money in lieu of the land to the displaced people because the aadivaasis cannot survive without farming. Along with that, land should be purchased and given to the ryots for rehabilitation. He also said that the land-related laws in this region do not allow the appropriation of land for industry under the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act. The sad fact is that on one hand, the regional leaders, the merchant class, and the contractors are all preparing the minds of the simple village folk facing displacement to give up their land to the Mittal Company, but, at the same time they are all trying to keep the people in dark about what will happen once they leave the land. They (the leaders) have all started visiting the villages after learning that the Company has surveyed the villages: their aim is to discover what the villagers are thinking about this matter. People from dozens of villages report that a series of village-level anti-displacement meetings has begun after this dialog with the villagers. In the Kamdara Block of Gumla District, several small and large organizations like the Block-level Village Council Committee, the Aadivaasi Womens’ Committee, the 22 Pahada Committee of Pakra, the Village Council Union Society of Kurkura, the Jharkhand Zone People’s Resistance Committee of Basiya, the Munda Sonotao Committee of Raniya Block of DBSS Kamdara Khoonti District, the Youth Resistance Front of Torpa Block, and the Save the Land Association of Karra Block, all met and decided that the movement will be strengthened by uniting under a single banner. All the groups reached a consensus that the movement will be taken forward under the banner of Aadivaasi Astitva Raksh Manch (Forum for Protection of Existence of Indigenous Peoples). The public was united under the banner of Aadivaasi Astitva Raksh Manch. For the record, the Aadivaasi Astitva Raksh Manch was born in 2007 to unite the public against drawing of new regional boundaries. The Forum remained staunchly against the creation of new regions. As a result, the resistance was victorious and under the revised restructuring, of the 81 seats for the Jharkhand State Legislature, 28 seats were reserved for the aadivaasis – the proposed reduction of this number to 21 was ruled out. It was decided that the people did not want to be displaced at any cost: programs of rallies and public meetings were organized in all four Blocks to convey this information to the officials at the Block Offices, and via them, to the representatives of the Districts. Under this scheme, massive rallies and public meetings were organized at the Karra Block Main Office on March 4, 2008, at the Kamdara Block Main Office on March 7, 2008, at the Torpa Block Main Office on March 10, 2008, and in Raniya Block on March 25, 2008. The Forum has issued these slogans: “We will not yield even an inch of our land; Jharkhand is ours and not the property of Mittal Company; Do not snatch the land of our ancestors; Halt the displacement of the aadivaasis and moolvasis; We will give neither our lives nor our land; Let us Sarna now – Factory some other time”. The list of demands was handed over by the representatives to the Block Development officials. The Demand Letter is as follows: We Demand That:

No projects will be undertaken in this region that will lead to displacement.
The proposed displacement of aadivaasis or moolvaasis by the Mittal Company or any another Company will be halted.
We do not wish to be displaced at any cost.
There will be no changes of any kind to the Chota Nagpur Tenency Act.

The Aadivaasi Astitva Raksh Manch printed 10,000 pamphlets raising the following questions. “In the past 60 years of Independence in India, 80 lakh aadivaasis and moolvaasis of Jharkhand have been displaced under the names of various development projects. Of these displaced people, only 5-6 per cent has been rehabilitated in some manner. The other displaced people have been cut away from their land and are wandering door to door in the search of just one meal a day. They have no food in their bellies. They have no roof over their heads. Once living as landowners, the displaced people have now been converted to coolies, casual laborers and bonded laborers. Being uprooted from their farms and fields, the daughters and daughter-in-laws have no option but to wash dirty dishes in metropolitan cities. The population of aadivaasis at one time comprised 70 percent of the State’s population: as per the 2001 Census, it has shrunk to a mere 26 percent. In the displaced population today, 80 percent of the aadivaasi and dalit women suffer from anemia (blood deficiency). 85 percent of the children are victims of malnourishment. In the end, what did the displaced aadivaasis and moolvaasis gain? 80 percent of the youth is unemployed – Why?” “We are not opposed to Development, but the agony of the people displaced in the name of Progress has raised some crucial questions for the State and the Nation. It is a matter of public record that the political leaders, the government machinery, the political system, and the Constitution of the country are all silent when it comes to answers. The aadivaasis and moolvaasis of Jharkhand have contributed to Development by the sacrifice of the lands, forests, and water resources developed by their ancestors, as well as their houses and homes, farms and fields. It is on their land that hundreds of mines and factories such as HEC, Bokaro Thermal Power, Tenughat, Chandrapura, Lalpaaniya Dam, CCL, BCL, ECL, Chandil Dam, Tata Steel plant, UCIL uranium mines, Chidiya Mines, Bauxide Mines etc. have been built. The question is “Who benefited from these?”” “The social, economic, language and cultural existence of we, the aadivaasis and moolvaasis, is anchored in the water-forest-land. As long as we are aadivaasi or moolvaasis farmers, so long are we connected to the water-forest-land of our ancestors. Our social, language, and cultural values cannot be replaced by any compensation and there is also no way in which we can be rehabilitated (elsewhere).” The Mittal Company is engaged in an exercise to establish a factory in Jharkhand by demolishing several villages in the Torpa, Karra, and Raniya Blocks in the Khoonti District, and in the Kamdara Block. The Mittal Company requires 12 thousand acres of land to set up their industries. Their goal is to produce 12 million tons annually, along with the setup of a 1500 megawatt power plant. If this happens, then lakhs of people of this region will be uprooted, and the condition of these people will be the same as that being faced by the people displaced from Chandil, HEC, Bokaro, Hajaribagh Coal Mines, and the Airport. The Mittal Company is using subterfuge to gain a foothold in the villages. Their very first activity was to conduct a Women’s Hockey competition. For the record, the Arcelor Mittal Company claims that they have public support for their proposed plant; it is for this reason that the local MP Mrs Susheela Kerketa showed solidarity for the Women’s Hockey tournament. It is necessary to point out at this juncture that in 1986, the local Ho-Santhal aadivaasis protested the ECIL plan to appropriate the Turamdi and Baduhurang villages situated 18 km from Jamshedpur to establish the uranium mines. At that time too, the Company (ECIL) had resorted to a Hockey Tournament as a medium to attract the local populace towards them. The winners were awarded shields, jerseys, and hockey sticks. The result was that the resistance movement was broken. The Company started open cast and underground mines. 225 families were uprooted from the region. As of today, the displaced have received neither resettlement packages nor fair compensation. Youth from the displaced families are pounding the pavement for jobs even today. Even 25 years of displacement, they have not found a place in the work force. These Ho-Santhal folk of this region were landowners; today they struggle every day to find work as daily laborers. The displaced people of this region were forced to move to small 6 feet by 8 feet rooms in the Nandup Resettlement Area, but these agrarian aadivasi families could not live in these structures. Today these displaced folk are languishing in hutments along a 15 feet strip of road between the Tata Roorkela railway line and the Tata Chaibasa highway. There is no one today who can understand their pain. The list of the villages in Khoonti District and Gumla District that the Mittal Company has marked for the establishment of their Plant is as follows. This was provided by the Torpa Zonal Officer, Mr. Pavan Kumar, and the Kamdara Zonal Officer, Mr. Dilip Tirki. The following villages have been marked by the Mittal Company in the Torpa Block of the Khoonti District:

The aadivasi and moolvaasi communities raise sufficient crop from their lands to support their lives. In addition, the forest and fruit-bearing trees provide flowers and fruits in all seasons. These are used not just as food; they comprise the economic backbone of the rural community, and are also a part of their cash system. All the plants and trees, grass and forage material, shrubs and herbs form the sturdy framework for the social, cultural, economic, and philosophical subsistence of the local communities. The flowing rivers are their life. It is on these resources that their language, culture, and society flourish.

The three main rivers of this region – Chata, Karo, and Koyal – have been flowing naturally at their own pace, irrigating thousands of villages in the Ranchi, Khoonti, and Gumla Districts before streaming on to Orrisa and West Bengal. These rivers do not just keep alive the social, economic, and cultural ethos of Jharkhand, they bring prosperity to the neighboring States as well. The local folk do not use only the water; people from all social classes also use the river sand as a cash asset. In whichever region these rivers flow by, the local public finds employment in fishery. The lives of the oxen and goats of the farmers, the hens and chicks, and that of other animals and birds are entwined with the rivers. These comprise an important part of the environment.

The question that arises now is whether the big companies can adopt whatever means the like to utilize the waters of these rivers for their industries and factories. For this, they will either dam the rivers or capture the waters. For example, a Company has purchased 36 km of the Shivnath river in Chattisgarh. When the Company began the process of appropriating the river, they did not let the farmers know about it. The Company cordoned off the river banks for a width of 3 km on either side with barbed wire. This fence took away the fields and farms of thousands of villagers. They were not given compensation of any kind. After this, the villagers were not allowed to use the water of the river for any purpose. Neither could the farmers utilize the water and nor could the livestock access the water. After a protracted battle, the villagers were able to free this river from the clutches of the Company. After that, the farmers reclaimed their rights to farm their fields and farms.

For the information of the reader, the Mittal Company wants to set up their plant here only after examination of the geological conditions as well as the convenience of railway and highway transportation. The plan is to establish Pakara Railway Station as the main center. Various companies are eyeing the easy availability of water from these three rivers, because of the absence of any kind of dam at any place over the rivers to block the water. Therefore there would be no obstacles in collecting the water. The Mittal Company says that when built, this would be the largest plant in the world. At the same time, it would be the best model plant in the world. The Company has declared that it will spend 30,000 crore dollars in Jharkhand. It will use this money for the social and cultural rehabilitation of the displaced people. The question that arises is exactly how can someone who does not understand the language of the aadivaasis, does not understand their social values or their culture, and does not comprehend their lifestyle, talk about rehabilitation of these people? The tragedy is that the UPA Government, which considers itself a well-wisher of the public, and other Governments – be they the State or the Central Government – talk on one hand about the welfare of aadivaasis and farmers, but on the other hand remain engaged in safeguarding the interests of big industrialists by destroying the civic and constitutional rights of these very communities.

Past experience reveals that wherever industries are established, it not just the land acquired for the factories or dams that displaces farmers or the local people. A number of new colonies and professional installations set up house in the vicinity. From where will the land for these structures come? The people of the same region have to be moved out. The question is – as per the policies of the Government or the Company, compensation will be given, but who will pay compensation to those who are displaced without taking their land for development project, those who are marginalized due to urbanization?

The other matter is this – when some villages are appropriated and the people are displaced, the Company and the Government will shunt the displaced people off to surrounding villages as per their whim in the name of rehabilitation. The question is – will the people of these ‘host’ villages allow the ‘guest’ families placed there for rehabilitation to settle in their village? The point to pay attention is this: even if the local people of a village doe not want folks displaced from other regions to come to their village, the Company and the Government will forcibly place the displaced in these villages. This has been happening in all places, because where is there land which the Government owns?

When the HEC factory was set up, the people from the vacated villages were placed in the neighborhood of other surrounding villages. The term “naya” (new) was added to the name of the existing villages – for example, Naya Saraay, Naya Latma, Naya Sataranji, Naya Hulahundu, etc. In places where there is no land nearby for placement, the displaced families will be left to their fate in some adjacent District or at some remote barren land. This is not a imaginary tale; it is the ground reality of rehabilitation of displaced people from every development project.

Today the Mittal Company wants to gain a foothold in this region under the pretext of making available public amenities. They talk of setting up schools, colleges, hospitals, and vocational training colleges. If it were a selfless mission to bring the aadivaasis into the national mainstream, then this plan would be worthy of welcome. But the Company is talking about providing all these facilities because they want the water-forest-land of the aadivaasis and moolvaasis. This strategy of the Company is exactly akin to fattening the sacrificial goat: initially the goat is fed lavishly and lovingly, later it is sacrificed. The talk of schools, colleges, hospitals, and industrial training colleges is merely a eyewash to appropriate the land; Land where the Company will set up its industrial plant; Land from where lakhs of people will be uprooted from their livelihood, society, language and culture, their very identity and the legacy of their ancestors. Everyone knows that once an aadivaasi or farmer is uprooted from their forest and land, then their existence is automatically finished.

Another question to consider: when Mittal Company sets up their factory here, not only will the people be displaced, but the ecology will be destroyed and the environment polluted. The Government pays lip service to environmental protection. Mittal wants to set up a Plant where there are many jungles such as the Kulada jungle, Sainsera jungle, Regare jungle, Lappa jungle, Kabaspur junble, Nagda jungle, etc., which, besides providing financial support to the local populace, are also a large component of the environmental economy. When a factory is set up here, the jungles here will get cleared anyway, but, along with that, the forests near the villages that escape the footprint of the factory will also be gradually wiped out. Black smoke and gases belched out of the factories will destroy the entire environment. Water sources will dry up. Once the plant is set up, large numbers of people from outside will migrate to this region: some in the search of employment, others to run shops and businesses, and more for repair and odd jobs. After all, land will be needed to house these people as well.

No Company comes with only their own capital. Along with them come other investors with crores of their wealth. They invest their money in various regions. They compete to provide better production and service facilities than the local businesses. How long the small investors can last will be decided by the global money market that operates in the whole world. But the truth is that the big fish always swallow the small fish. Opposition to setting up factories here by Mittal or any other large Company is not a battle to stop the alienation of the aadivaasis, moolvaasis, and farmers from their forests and land. This is a struggle also between large investors and small business for their survival.

Who will be taught in the schools after people are uprooted from their homes and households, livelihood, society, cultural identity, occupations and businesses? Who will be treated in the Company hospitals when there is no food in the belly and clothes on the body? After displacing families, how many children will the Company educate and to how many will they provide industrial training? For how long will they provide? The fact is that the Company has come here for business. Their fundamental aim is to earn profits. It is not to deliver social welfare. This is not a emotional statement; this is the ground truth at every region wherever companies or other organizations set up any industry.

The investors in the world are in a competition in today’s global money market to sell their products. There is no place left for the financiers of the world to expand their business and to invest their assets. This is because the fundamental amenities for the public – water, food, education, and health – all have been transformed into profit-earning instruments by companies by putting in their money. Now they aspire to spread out their business by capturing natural resources. The aim is to earn more profits. They will pump in their money to increase production and enhance the quality of their products. Therefore, only such people who can pass muster on these counts will be employed in these ventures. This means people who understand the corporate market and are well versed in the state-of-the art techniques. It means those who hold in their hand the lexicon of modern methods. In this system, certificates of mere IA, BA, or MA are of no value.

Before land is appropriated for any project, it is declared “We will rehabilitate; we will pay compensation”. But the question is, compensation for what? Will it be for the language and culture of the aadivaasis and moolvaasis, their social values, their history, their cultural traditions, their ancestral heritage, their native knowledge and science? What exactly will they be compensated for? Or will it be for their plants and trees, the environment, or their cultural inheritance? This when the aadivaasi community believes that neither can their social, cultural, economic, religious and traditional existence be recreated (in another place), nor be compensated in any manner.

History is witness to this: wherever the aadivaasis and moolvaasis have been separated from their lands and forests, this community has automatically become lost to their social community, language and culture, social values, their history, traditional values, and native knowledge and science. Not just this, the day the landowners lose their ownership right over land, the judicial system also abandons them. People displaced by the Bokaro Steel Plant received compensation for their land at the rate of mere 25 paise per dismal (0.1 acre); not one person received a job. This despite an agreement between the Steel Company and the landowners of Bokaro that Grade III and Grade IV jobs will be provided to them in every generation for generations to come. The swindled displaced people of Bokaro have been agitating for jobs in the Bokaro Steel Plant for the past 40 years. The displace people filed cases demanding jobs with the High Court. In response, the Steel Company went to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled that once the displaced person has taken compensation for land, he has no right to obtain a job. If one person is accepts a job in lieu of their displacement, then no other member of the family can claim a job in this basis. The Supreme Court has given this ruling after a petition from Bokaro Steel. This ruling was given by the Supreme Court judges Justice A K Mathur and Justice Altamus Kabeer in an appeal against the ruling of the Jharkhand High Court. The High Court had instructed Bokaro Steel to appoint displaced people in a hearing of a case on 7 April 1998. When this order was not followed, a contempt-of-court case had been filed.