Odisha denying tribals their rights: Centre

Times of India, July 1, 2012
NEW DELHI: The Centre has told Odisha that transit and sale of bamboo by tribals was being denied in the state in violation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), a complaint which is at odds with CM Naveen Patnaik's bid to position himself as champion of tribal rights by pushing for P A Sangma for President.

Union tribal affairs minister Kishore Chandra Deo on Thursday wrote a letter to Patnaik, complaining that forest authorities were not allowing transit permit to a gram sabha in Kalahandi district to sell harvested bamboo, despite FRA giving them a claim over minor forest produce. The letter said, "Kindly issue necessary instructions to authorities concerned to allow unfettered right of transit for sale of bamboo by gram panchayats to buyers which is a right given to them under the FRA."

The lament that Odisha was not implementing the landmark FRA, which seeks to rescue forest dwellers like tribals from oppressive forest bureaucracy, does not augur well for the ruling Biju Janata Dal which has sought to flag its pro-tribal credentials by making it an issue in the July 19 Presidential poll.

CM Patnaik was the first person to back NCP dissident Sangma for the President's post by arguing that it was time for a tribal to move to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Observers said Patnaik's surprise move was aimed at embarrassing Congress while consolidating his hold over 23% of the state's tribal population. Else, the bid to back Sangma makes little political sense for Patnaik since the opposition has fewer votes to harbour any realistic hope of victory.

In the backdrop of Presidential poll, the tribal minister's plaint about forest communities" rights in Odisha contrasts starkly with Patnaik's objective. Observers wondered if the timing of the letter — a day after Sangma filed his nomination to cross swords with UPA's Pranab Mukherjee — was not well thought out.

The issue pertains to a remote tribal village in Jamguda. The villagers complained they were in danger of losing bamboo produce worth Rs 30 lakh. The forest authorities turned down gram sabha's request for transit permit to enable buyers to pick the bamboo, saying the state government had not issued any such circular.