Chhattisgarh: Adivasi rights activists condemn large scale tree-felling in Hasdeo, question the state’s first Adivasi CM

RAIPUR/DELHI: Protesting the large scale tree-cutting in Hasdeo Aranya forests for coal mining amid heavy police protection in the central Indian, Adivasi (tribal) dominated state of Chhatosgarh, activists of the  Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan (CBA) supported by experts and academics, highlighted the multi-dimensional destruction of environment, tribal (Adivasi) indigenous culture and the eco-system as a whole. Speakers also criticised both the previous Congress and BJP governments for failing to protect forests and Adivasi rights.

Meanwhile, in response to the protests, former deputy chief minister and Ambikapur MLA T.S. Singh Deo, a political strongman from the Sarguja region where Hasdeo is located, met protesters and said that he had spoken with the chief minister about the ongoing protests in Hasdeo Arand.

Addressing the media in the national capital of New Delhi, CBA convener Alok Shukla also highlighted the fact that “fake gram sabhas” were being organised in the state for seven coal blocks allocated to corporate houses, “Hasdeo forests are being cut for corporate profit and not to meet demand for coal.”

Others from Hasdeo Aranya Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, Sudiep Shrivastava, advocate, Chhattisgarh High Court, highlighted how irrespective of the party in power, Congress of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Adivasi community has always suffered at the hands of corporates. This has been reported in The Times of India, The Wire and Mooknayak..

Adivasis and forest dwellers from across India, Rajasthan, Gujarat to Chhattisgarh and Odisha, have been excluded from all benefits of progress while have paid the greatest cost for the development schemes, speakers alleged. Umeshawar Singh Armo, a leader of the movement and a member of the Hasdeo Aranya Bachao Sangharsh Samiti highlighted the “brutal treatment of Adivasi’s protesting the destruction of Hasdeo forests.

Seven persons active in the movement have been charged under fake cases in the FIRs filed against them. If these forests are not saved, people will lose all confidence in the government,” he said. Advocate Sudiep said, “Hasdeo forests are being cut for the benefit of one corporate that is Adani Group.”  He stressed how, ever since 2014, Hasdeo forests had been declared a no-go zone but time and again this has been overlooked.  To pursue a skewed “development” agenda, the Adivasi community is not only being displaced but their protests are being criminalised, the organisation said.

Activists and tribals have been protesting against massive tree felling in Hasdeo forest which is home to many tribal communities, wild animals and birds and are now facing a direct impact on their lives due to the deforestation and mining activities. The site of PEKB coal mine has been allotted to Rajasthan State Power Generation Corporation Limited by the ministry of coal. The ministry of environment and forests has granted the power company permission for excavation of coal in the last phase. Of the 134.7 hectare forest land allotted for the coal mine, over 91.1 hectare land has to be handed over to the Rajasthan Company for mining. Both the forest department and Surguja district administration jointly decided to begin tree felling for extension of the coal mine.

A section of activists also spoke of the futility of having an Adivasi chief minister if he continues to overlook the community’s priorities to facilitate corporate interests in Chhattisgarh. The question whether Vishnu Deo Sai, the state’s first tribal chief minister, will intervene in the matter has immediately become a dominant concern, and perhaps, the first big challenge for the newly appointed chief minister.

“Yes, Chhattisgarh has got its first tribal chief minister and the Adivasi community felt that maybe he will act in their interests. But the manner in which Adivasis are being oppressed and corporate interests are being upheld in Hasdeo, it has become clear that the tribal chief minister is [wearing] a mere mask, and what corporates will decide, only that will happen,” Alok Shukla, convenor of the Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan, told The Wire.

On December 22, the felling of trees in the biodiversity rich forest started despite protests from locals and activists. Hasdeo Arand is one of the last unfragmented forest landscapes in central India. This area, spread across over 1,500 kilometres through central India, the area is home to India’s tribal communities, with an estimated five billion tonnes of coal buried under the dense forests. Mining has become a huge business in the area, leading to protests by the locals.

According to an investigation by Scroll.in in April last year, the Adani Group has been excavating coal from the PEKB mine since 2013 on behalf of Rajasthan’s state electricity generation company, Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited, to whom it was originally allocated.

Activists have alleged that those who were travelling to the area to protest against the felling of trees were detained by the police on the morning of December 22.

Activists, including Ramlal Kariam, Jayandan Porte, and Thakur Ram, were picked up from their homes and detained. Shukla himself was stopped by some persons who were not in police uniform, while on his way to Hasdeo on December 22 morning. They were taken to Bilaspur and released late at night said CBA.

“I had left from Raipur and was on my way to Hasdeo to meet other activists, and I was picked up on the way and taken to Bilaspur. Ajay T.G., who is a documentary filmmaker, was also with me. After Ajay contacted some lawyers around 4 pm in the evening, word of our detention got out,” he said.

However, the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has denied that the police detained anyone, reported Press Trust of India.

On Wednesday, Sai, while speaking to reporters, blamed the previous Congress government.

“They should see that the permission for deforestation is from a time when it was their (Congress) government in power… Whatever has happened, even if it is deforestation, is happening with their permission,” he was quoted by the news agency as saying.

Earlier, after meeting with the protesters, Singh Deo told reporters that as a tribal himself, Sai was expected to protect their interests.

“The chief minister of Chhattisgarh himself comes from the tribal community of Surguja division – it is expected from him that he will listen to the protesters. At least protect the interests of the community from which he has come forward and got the opportunity to lead the state,” he said.

‘Congress and the BJP taking each other’s work forward’

Ironically –making a pertinent point on the issue on the eve of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections — activists also said that both the BJP and the Congress have deprived Adivasi’s of their rights and Sai’s elevation as the first tribal chief minister has been rendered symbolic by the deforestation drive in Hasdeo Arand.

Shukla said that the second phase of mining for PEKB affects the Ghatbarra village, which will be “displaced entirely”.

“Even today, the Ghatbarra gram sabha has not given its consent for mining in the area. [It is] right next to that Parsa coal block; [it] will affect three villages, which have been agitating [against mining] for five years.”

Shukla’s organisation has also previous studied the issue and said that, according to the Forest Rights Act of 2006, completion of the forest rights claims process and obtaining written consent from the concerned Gram Sabhas (village councils) are mandatory before granting forest clearance for any project. They have also alleged that fake consent was obtained from the gram sabhas in the Hasdeo Arand area.

Over two years ago, in October 2021, hundreds of villagers from the Hasdeo Arand area had walked 300 kms to Raipur to protest against mining in the area. They had met then chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and Governor Anasuya Uikey.

“On October 23, 2021, the governor wrote to the chief secretary to probe these fake consents, however, no enquiry has been done. So, in the last five years, nothing has been done to give justice to the Adivasis in the area,” said Shukla.

“On July 26, 2022, the Chhattisgarh assembly passed a unanimous resolution that mining activities will not be carried out in Hasdeo. But unfortunately, deforestation activities have now started,” he added.

Detailing the affidavit submitted by the Chhattisgarh government to the Supreme Court in July, Shukla also pointed out that the government had admitted that, aside from the PEKB project, there is no necessity to allocate or use any new mining reserve areas for mining in Hasdeo.

“Whether it is a resolution passed unanimously by both the Congress and the BJP in the assembly, or the Supreme Court affidavit, or overlooking the Gram Sabhas’ opposition, all efforts have become null and void in the face of corporate interests,” he said.

“In several villages that are not part of Hasdeo but are part of Raipur, Bilaspur, Kanker, Durg zilas, villagers are ready to take out protest marches apart from the organisations working to protect Hasdeo. These protests will likely intensify as the Congress and the BJP continue to shift the blame to each other,” he said.

At the January 3, press meet in Delhi, the focus was on mining activities in Hasdeo Aranya forest that have recently raised many concerns. Villagers allege that their consent was not obtained, and the deployment of police force to suppress protestors cannot be overlooked. In light of these issues, a press conference was organized at the Press Club of India on December 2nd by ‘Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan’ (CBA), a joint forum comprising various people’s movements in Chhattisgarh.

The event focussed on the extensive tree felling in Hasdeo-Aranya forests, accompanied by substantial police protection, and the suppression of Adivasi protestors during December in the Sarguja district of Chhattisgarh. Additionally, a significant police presence has been reported in the Sijimali region of Odisha since December, allegedly with the intention of forcibly obtaining consent from villagers for Vedanta’s bauxite mining project. Mountains in Odisha’s Kalahandi and Rayagada districts have been allocated to various corporations, including Vedanta and Adani, for bauxite mining.

Umeshawar Singh Armo, also a well-known figure in the movement and a member of the Hasdeo Aranya Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, brought attention to the harsh treatment of Adivasis who are protesting against the Hasdeo forests takeover. In a concerning development, seven individuals actively involved in the movement now face charges in FIRs with the suspicion that these cases are fabricated.

Sudiep Shrivastava, an advocate from the Chhattisgarh High Court, discussed the targeted deforestation of the Hasdeo forests for the exclusive benefit of Adani. He stated that despite the declaration of Hasdeo forests as a no-go zone since 2014, this directive has been consistently violated.

Prafulla Samantara, senior Adivasi rights activist from Odisha and winner of the Goldman prize, highlighted the 2013 Supreme Court judgment on Adivasi consent for mining projects. He stressed the current violation of the Samata judgment and changes in laws favouring corporations. Samantara, also a renowned environmentalist – who had been abducted in August 2023 from Behrampur in Orissa while about to address a press conference on illegal bauxite mining in South Odisha– emphasized the ongoing fight for people’s rights against corporate interests, citing instances from Hasdeo to Odisha. He specifically mentioned recent protests in Sijimali, noting Gram Sabhas‘ manipulation for Vedanta’s bauxite mining, leading to charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against protestors.

Nandini Sundar, a Professor at the University of Delhi, stressed that the challenges faced by the Adivasi community in regions like Chhattisgarh and Odisha are not isolated concerns but fundamental issues tied to climate change, affecting everyone.

She outlined the various protests in Bastar, including the Silger movement that took place two and a half years ago. This movement has consistently raised its voice against the violations of PESA (Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas) and other constitutional guarantees for the Adivasi community. Sundar highlighted the escalating militarization in Bastar, emphasizing that it primarily serves to protect mining operations rather than ensuring the well-being of the Adivasi community.

Adivasi anger fuelled BJP’s victory

In the recently concluded November 2023 state elections, the BJP unseated the Congress government by winning 54 of the 90 assembly seats, while the Congress only managed to win only 35 seats. With approximately 30% of the population being tribals, the state witnessed the appointment of its first tribal chief minister, Sai.

The Congress, which won 25 of the 29 reserved seats for Scheduled Tribes (ST) in the 2018 assembly polls, secured only 11 this time. The BJP improved its tally from three in 2018 to 17 seats dominated by tribals this time.

The Wire  reports that veteran tribal leader and former Union minister Arvind Netam, who quit the ‘grand old party’, the Copngress to start his own political party, the Hamar Raj Party, said that the reason behind Congress’s loss in these elections was its neglect of the tribal community and dilution of the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act.

The PESA law, passed in 1996, seeks to provide a sense of autonomy to the local Adivasis by making the consent of the Gram Sabhas in Adivasi areas mandatory for projects in the region. When the Congress government notified and implemented the PESA rules in 2022 (almost 25 years after the law was passed), the “consent” of Gram Sabhas was changed to “consultation”.

Shukla said that along with the dilution of the PESA law, which angered Adivasi’s who had voted for the Congress “with a lot of hope” in 2018, it also failed to act decisively against Hindutva forces. Bastar’s Narayanpur emerged as the epicentre of the BJP’s claims of “forced conversions” by Christian missionaries in the tribal regions of the state.

A staggering  20 instances of anti-Christian violence were also reported from the Narayanpur district in December 2022 alone with even a church in Narayanpur being vandalised in January 2023. “In Narayanpur, the Congress was following soft Hindutva and did not act to protect those who had converted to Christianity. Riots were reported, apart from attacks on church, and not allowing burials of those who had converted to Christianity. While the Hindutva supporters in the region were to vote for the BJP anyway, the Adivasi Christians were also disappointed because no action was taken to protect them,” said Shukla.

According to Bastar-based lawyer and activist Bela Bhatia, in terms of policies, the BJP and the Congress haven’t acted differently for the tribal community.

“The Adivasi community expected an adequate shift when the Congress came to power. It is not that attacks on Christians were new, but they increased during the Congress years, and the government did not handle it boldly,” she said.

Related:

Chhattisgarh gov’t halts three Hasdeo Arand mining projects

Scrap mining projects in Hasdeo forests: Friends of Hasdeo Aranya

Operation Samadhan-Prahar & the Changing Nature of Indian State