Click to play videoNew Delhi: The Tribal Bill introduced in Lok Sabha seems to have been sailing smooth, as it includes most recommendations favoured by the tribal lobby. While the Congress leaders came out in strong defence of the revised bill in the initial stages, the younger band of MPs led by Rahul Gandhi were against the pro-tribal bias in the legislation.
"We will force the government to listen to us. It has to listen it has no other way," says Yashoda Devi, a Bhil tribal from Gujurat who has been protesting to get rights the past four-years. Having lost her land once to a big dam project, she wants to ensure there's no repeat.
The tribals want a bill be passed by Parliament that gives all forest dwelling people land rights. The Bill, a landmark one, was tabled in Parliament in December last year and then forwarded to the Standing Committee, however the tribals were not happy with it.
"The government should rethink on the land ceiling clause of the tribal," Pratibha Shinde Member, Lok Shangharsh Manch says.
But this was only one of their demands. Grassroots activists wanted more changes in the drafts bill:
- Change the cut-off date to give ownership of land should be December 2005 not the proposed 1980.
- No distinction between tribal and non-tribal forest dwellers.
- Land ceiling not be fixed at five hectares.
- Indigenous people living inside national parks and sanctuaries should also be given permanent land rights.
The Cabinet endorsed most of these demands making the conservationist unhappy. The conservationist lobby insists it will cause irreversible damage to wildlife. The conservations are opposing land rights for tribals in national parks and sanctuaries.
“This bill will mean the end of both the tribals and the tigers. Concern to wildlife. It will open up as a free-for-all issue,” said Programme Director of WWF, Sejal Worah.
The bill faced strong resistance from a section of the Congress young MPs but there was active support from the Left. But with the fresh introduction of the bill, it seems the bill is at least going somewhere.
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