Sunday, July 31, 2011

Letter to CM: Establishing Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution in Odisha

Dear Honorable Chief Minister Mr. Patnaik,
Odisha is witnessing many internal conflicts currently. In most of the cases there is lack of appropriate communication between two adamant involved groups or parties and no initiative is being made to have a rational and scholarly study to overcome it.

When mega industries are encouraged by local population in Gujarat, local people are totally reluctant in Odisha. In past 6 years many large projects and investments in Odisha are suffering due to lack of appropriate understanding of the whole matter in all aspects. Depending on their respective positions in the cycle of development, one may say, Odisha needs more time than Gujarat or, Gujarat needs more time than Odisha. Even individually some people who are opposing such developmental projects now may support and some others who are supporting presently may oppose such investments when they approach their respective different points in the development cycle. The contradiction between environment and economy has been there since 10,000 years ago when human learned agriculture and this has been part of “developing syndrome”.

The problem associated with industrialization and establishment of hydroelectricity projects in Odisha is mainly due to lack of trust among locals and tribal population on the Government and industrialists. The past experience of rehabilitated people while constructing Hirakud dam and Rourkela Steel plant has made people disinclined; it has not met the desire of affected people. Similarly, there are problems due to lack of proper implementation or human emotion in the ground that can be resolved in creative aspect. For example, the villagers and tribal population in those villages which got surrounded with water after construction of Indravati dam are completely reluctant to leave these villages despite Government efforts to rehabilitate in other locations and these people are time to time suffering heavy human loss in boat accidents in Indravati dam and their daily life has become tougher in terms of economic and social need. In one side state Government’s approach to construct such dam was rational in terms of greater need of the country, state and the other local population, but on the other hand tribal lives with their emotions, land and surroundings.  In this case with the natural beauty the location posses, developing these villages as tourist islands focusing local tribal arts, crafts, culture, dance, cottage etc for tourism and providing motor boating as well as house boating facility in the dam would bring social and economic change of these villagers and their respective villages.

Naxallites have become another serious threat to Odisha. Local tribal, poor and ideologists have become vulnerable to join this force. Each year more number of districts in Odisha is getting affected by naxal problems since 2000, mainly from neighboring states. Such problem needs a careful understanding and involvement of economists, policy makers, social and political scientist to have a close look while implementing governmental policies.

The regional imbalance and regionalism is other important issue breeding in Odisha every year. Though state Government had initiated a committee, a organization and few policies to overcome it, it has not produced any results and regional mistrust among people is exceptionally nurturing. Project like Sindhol is further catalyzing regional suspect.

Therefore, establishment of an Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution (ICAR) to study and analyze various on going problems in the state by involving academicians, environmental scientists, economists, political scientists and social scientists is helpful and urgently wanted. Such institute may conduct timely policy-relevant analysis particularly in terms of rehabilitation, affected people, environment, economy and development and do research identifying best practices, develop new tools anticipating, analyzing and preventing violent conflict and taking general interest of the state and country as well as support related training and education efforts.

I like to request you to take necessary step to establish an Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution in Odisha initially on its own and later on Central Govt. could be approached for complete take over like happened for the Institute of Physics and Institute of Life Science in the past.

Thank you and best regards
Digambara Patra

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