[Reader-list] Resolutions and Declaration of Adivasi Sangama 2008 (fwd)

[Anivar Aravind]

http://adivasisangama.wordpress.com/2008/11/01/resolutions-and-declaration/

ADIVASI SANGAMA 2008
October 30th -31st 2008, Kushalnagar, Kodagu, Karnatak, India.

Resolutions and Declaration
====================

RESOLUTION 1 On Forest Rights Act 2006
The Scheduled Tribes & Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition
of Rights) Act 2006 and its Rules have come into force on 1 January
2008 requires that Gram Sabhas of  Scheduled Tribes & Other
Traditional Forest Dweller villages assemble to constitute their
Forest Rights Committee under Section 6(1), call for claims, verify
them and determine their forest rights as under Section 3 and declare
'Community Forest Reserve' as defined in Section 2(a).

We, the delegates to the Adivasi Sangamma 2008 resolve that -

All hamlets of  Scheduled Tribes & Other Traditional Forest Dwellers
hold a meeting of the Gram Sabha, constitute their Forest Rights
Committee, define the boundary of their community forest resource,
call for individual and community claims to forest rights under The
Scheduled Tribes & Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of
Rights) Act 2006 and pass a resolution defining the nature and extent
of the rights claimed for and intimate the same to the Gram Panchayat,
Sub Divisional Committee, and State Level Monitoring Committee of The
Scheduled Tribes & Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of
Rights) Act 2006.

We, the delegates to the Adivasi Sangamma 2008 further resolve that -

In the interim the hamlet level Gram Sabhas in all such hamlets shall
commence and complete the process of determining and declaring the
'Community Forest Reserve' and resolve to conserve, protect and
sustainably utilize the resources for livelihood purpose.

RESOLUTION 2 On Notification of Critical Tiger Habitats

We, the delegates to the Adivasi Sangamma 2008 further resolve –

To declare to all concerned that the Notification dated 20.12.2007
(No.FEE 2999 FWL 2007) declaring Nagarhole National Park (643.45 sq
kms) and Bandipur National Park (872.24 sq kms) in Mysore and Kodagu
districts, Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary (475.018 sq kms) and Anshi
National Park (339.866 sq kms) in Uttara Kannada District and Bhadra
Tiger Reserve (492.46 sq kms) in Chikmaglur and Shimoga district – a
total of 2,822.934 sq kms by the Forest, Ecology and Environment
Department of the Government of Karnataka under Section 38V(i) of The
Wildlife Protection Act 1972 as amended in 2006 is illegal as they are
violative of both the letter and spirit of the (a) The Wildlife
Protection Act 1972 as amended in 2006 (WLPA) and (b) The Scheduled
Tribes & Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act
2006 as under:
1.	The Expert Committee under 38V(4) i of the WLPA 2006 is to
determine the boundaries of the critical tiger habitat, areas that are
required to be kept as inviolate for the purposes of tiger
conservation, without affecting the rights of the Scheduled Tribes or
such other forest dwellers and consult the local inhabitants including
public hearings. No such consultation has been made.
2.	38V(5) (i) of WLPA 2006 stipulates that the process of recognition
and determination of rights and acquisition of land or forest rights
of the Scheduled Tribes and other forest dwellers should have been
completed in the said areas prior to declaration of the area as CTH.
This has not even been initiated and therefore violating  both WLPA
2006 and FRA 2006.
3.	38V(5) (ii) and (iii) of WLPA 2006 stipulates that the consent of
the Scheduled Tribes and other forest dwellers in the area along with
consultation with an ecological and social scientist is required to
decide that the activities of the STs and other forest dwellers or the
impact of their presence upon wild animals is sufficient to cause
irreversible damage and threaten the existence of tigers and their
habitat and that other reasonable options of co-existence are not
available. This too has not been observed.
4.	Resolution of the Gram Sabhas concerned that recognition and
vesting of rights in the affected area is complete is mandated in
4(vi) and 2(a) of the "Guidelines to notify critical wildlife
habitats" of MoEF . No such consent has been obtained.
5.	No resettlement or alternative package including the facilities and
land allocation at the resettlement location, for providing for
livelihood for the affected individuals and communities fulfilling the
requirements given in the National Relief and Rehabilitation Policy
and the head wise budget allocation, the time line for the completion
of the resettlement or alternative package nor the informed consent of
the Gram Sabhas concerned, and of the persons affected, to the
resettlement programme has been obtained as required under 38V(5)
(iv), (v) and (vi) of WLPA 2006 in the CTH.
6.	Further, the said notification is in total violation of The
Scheduled Tribes & Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of
Rights) Act 2006 in its entirety.

We, the delegates to the Adivasi Sangamma 2008 further resolve that –

(a)	This notification be withdrawn forthwith as any further
implementation of Critical Tiger Habitats in the state by any
officials is a criminal offense under Sec. 7 of The Scheduled Tribes &
Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act 2006;
(b)	All affected villages shall pass a resolution declaring that this
notification [dated 20.12.2007 (No.FEE 2999 FWL 2007)] as illegal and
intimate the Gram Panchayat, District Collector, State Level
Monitoring Committee of The Scheduled Tribes & Other Traditional
Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act 2006 and the National
Tiger Conservation Authority, New Delhi; and
(c)	All affected Gram Panchayats shall pass a resolution declaring
that this notification [dated 20.12.2007 (No.FEE 2999 FWL 2007)] as
illegal and inform the District Collector, State Level Monitoring
Committee of The Scheduled Tribes & Other Traditional Forest Dwellers
(Recognition of Rights) Act 2006 and the National Tiger Conservation
Authority, New Delhi.



RESOLUTION 3 - On Declaration of Schedule Areas

The Provisions of the Vth Schedule were amended in 1976 to allow the
President to extend the areas covered by the provisions of the Vth
Schedule. State Governments were called upon to submit their proposals
to the President.
However, for the past 32 years,  the state governments of  Karnataka,
Kerala and Tamilnadu continue to  deny  the adivasis of their state
the protection of this central Constitutional provision envisaged
under Article 244, the extension of the provisions of PESA and the
special provisions of  The Scheduled Tribes & Other Traditional Forest
Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act 2006, as they have not sent their
proposals for the past 32 years. The state governments also continue
to disregard the demands of the adivasi people to the constitutional
protection of  the Vth Schedule despite their demands for more than a
decade.

We, the delegates to the Adivasi Sangamma 2008 further resolve–

To call upon the state governments of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamilnadu
to send their proposals to cover all adivasi hamlets under the
provisions of the Vth Schedule, extend the provisions of PESA 1996 to
thes villages, declare the boundaries of these hamlets for
notification as Scheduled Area and guarantee the adivasi people their
right to govern themselves and their homelands democratically with
equity and justice as provided under the Article 244 and PESA 1996
from 1 January 2009.

RESOLUTION 4 –  Condemn and Oppose the Mischevious Designs of the
State Government to declare the Greater Tala Kaveri Area Project.

The adivasis assembled in the Sangamma 2008 condemn the nefarious
designs of the state government to declare the Greater Tala Kaveri
Area Project, appropriate the homelands of the adivasi people and the
livelihoods of other forest dwellers residing in these areas for
generations and to hand them over in a platter to real estate
developers, tourist resort developers, other land sharks and the urban
and rural elite, while destroying the present and future of the
adivasi people and other traditional forest dwellers.

We, the delegates to the Adivasi Sangamma 2008 further resolve –

To oppose this nefarious design of the state government and fight it
tooth and nail till the project is withdrawn.


RESOLUTION - 5

We, the delegates to the Adivasi Sangamma 2008 further resolve–

To send the resolution and declaration to our respective Governors of
the respective States and to the Hon'ble President of India.


Signed by all the participants of Adivasi Sangama 2008.