In the petition, Tarika Tarangini Larka alleged that authorities in Tamnar of Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh have forcefully grabbed a large area of tribal land and handed it to outsiders and are now trying to oust Adivasis from the area.
New Delhi: On March 1, a fresh petition was filed in the apex court seeking direction to the authorities not to evict any forest-dweller and setting up of SIT to look into illegal acquisition of tribal land in the country.
The plea, filed by Chhattisgarh-based Adivasi woman Tarika Tarangini Larka, also sought a direction to the Centre not to allow possession of any forest land belonging to tribals to anyone other than ‘Adivasis’ residing in that particular area. Advocate ML Sharma, appearing for Tarika Tarangini Larka, mentioned the petition on Friday for urgent listing before a bench comprising Justices AK Sikri and SK Kaul.
In the petition, Tarika Tarangini Larka alleged that authorities in Tamnar of Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh have forcefully grabbed a large area of tribal land and handed it to outsiders and are now trying to oust Adivasis from the area.
“For this, they adopted simple strategy declaring forest-dwellers as non-Adivasis to grab their land in the forest and village by rejecting their claim upon the land,” the plea said. The plea has also sought restoration of land acquired by the government from tribals in Chhattisgarh for mining and other purposes and to provide them with a value of mined minerals.
The petition has also sought setting up of a special investigation team (SIT) comprising retired judges of the apex court to look into the illegal acquisition of land belonging to tribals throughout the country.
It has also sought a direction to the CBI to register an FIR under the provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Act to investigate the matters brought to light by the SIT and to file their report before the top court.
The petition asserts, “The injustice done to the tribal people of India is a dark chapter in our country’s history. The tribal were slaughtered by the invaders, powerful political leaders, Industrialist in large numbers, and the survivors and their descendants were degraded, humiliated, and all kinds of atrocities inflicted on them for centuries. They were deprived of their lands and pushed into forests and hills where they eke out a miserable existence of poverty, illiteracy, disease, etc. And now efforts are being made by some people to deprive them even of their forest and hill land where they are living, and the forest produce on which they survive.”
It then poses the following questions for the court to decide:
- Whether all indigenous people belonging to forest/tribal areas are Aadivasi or not within Schedule V and VI of the Constitution of India?
- Whether Adivasis can be evicted contrary to their Constitutional rights protected under Schedule V and VI?
- Whether grabbing and transfer of the Adivasi land is allowed under any law?
- Whether Adivasis/ tribals are not entitled to get costs/value of the mined mineral belonging to their land?
- Whether Adivasis are not entitled to get back their land after being mined in a repaired manner?
The petitioner goes on to demand the following reliefs:
- Declaration of indigenous residents of forests/villages in tribal/ forest and schedule areas as Adivasi within Schedule V and VI of the Constitution of India.
- Direction to the authorities to protect and not to evict any such Aadivasi. Forbid the authorities from transferring possession of any forest land belonging to a tribal/forest area to anyone other than an Adivasi/Tribal belonging to that Tribal area.
- Direction to the authorities to restore all land that has been acquired by the State for mining and other purposes after the mining work is over, to the Adivasis/Tribals in India.
- Directing provision of cost/value of the minerals extracted to Adivasis/Tribals from the land which originally belonged to them. Setting up of SIT consisting of retired Supreme Court judges to probe cases of land grabbing from the Adivasis.
- Direction to the CBI to register an FIR under Section 3 and 4 of the SC/ST Act to investigate such cases and file a report before the court for further action.
- Payment of costs to the petitioner.
The apex court had Thursday stayed its February 13 order directing 21 states to evict 11.8 lakh illegal forest dwellers whose claims over the forest land have been rejected by the authorities.
Inputs from agencies.