The Dongria Kondh tribe, one of 13 particularly vulnerable tribal groups in Odisha, fought a historic winning battle to save its ecology from bauxite mining operations in the Niyamgiri hill range from 2004 to 2013. Now, the tribe may face another challenge to prevent diversion of community-owned forest land.
Experts working in the forestry sector have sounded an alarm around the proposals of the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill (FCA), 2023. The Bill has received the approval of the Joint Parliamentary Committee and was passed in the Lok Sabha, in the ongoing Monsoon Session. The new legislation may open a window for government agencies to divert land not classified as ‘forest’ in government records to other purposes.
“One of the important amendments in the FCA-2023 is altering the definition of ‘forest’ set by the Supreme Court of India in 1996. The amendment Bill proposes that the FCA-2023 would be applicable only to the forest or plots that have been notified as ‘forest’ according to the Indian Forest Act, 1927; and plots or areas recorded as ‘forest’ in government records on or after October 25, 1980,” said Bhubaneswar-based Manohar Chauhan, an expert on the implementation of the Forest Rights Act.
Mining plan vetoed
In 2013, up to 12 villages, home to 202 Dongria Kondh households, voted against a mining proposal in the Niyamgiri hill range, situated in Odisha’s south-west. The proposal would have aided the London-headquartered Vedanta Group’s alumina facility at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district. Kalahandi and Rayagada districts are where the tribe’s religious and cultural identity, and traditional livelihood opportunities lie.
“Most Dongria Kondh tribals are not aware of this proposal and its implications,” said Lingaraj Azad, the convener of the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti, which had spearheaded the movement against the mining proposal in Niyamgiri.
This month, Mr. Chauhan, who was formerly with UNDP and currently works with the non-profit Foundation for Ecological Security, did an analysis of land holdings in the hill range. This showed that 95% of land was not classified as ‘forest’ in government records, though large tracts of forest could be found there.
“The record of rights (RoR, a document containing all details about a piece of land) analysis shows that there are 3,634.54 acres of land in these 12 revenue villages. Of this, 3,467.94 acres constituting 95.42% are categorised as government land. Only 166.6 acres constituting 4.58% acres are under private ownership. Of the government-owned land, there are only 106.54 acres of recorded forestland. This is only 2.93% of the total land and 3.07% of the government-owned land,” the FRA expert said. Mr. Chauhan clarified that on ground, “there are vast forest stretches”.
Similarly, Tushar Dash, an independent researcher, Bhubaneswar, said, “The FCA-2023 seeks to reclassify ‘forest’ to exclude forest land categories such as deemed and revenue forests, private forestland, and plantations. It means the agencies will now be able to bypass forest diversion processes.” These processes take years and compulsorily need the go-ahead of gram sabhas.
He explains that the proposals can lead to excluding large areas of forest that come under the deemed forest category, which tribal and other forest-dwelling communities have legal rights over. These may not be recorded as ‘forest’ in government records, and account for about 66 lakh acres in Odisha.
Deemed forest lands are located in the tribal districts of Rayagada, Koraput, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Nayagarh, Khordha as well as in some coastal areas. “All these forest areas and communities will be directly affected by the FCA,” Mr. Dash said.
Sweta Mishra, a lead consultant at the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute in Bhubaneswar, said, “The Dongria Kondhs treats the hills as the abode of their deity Niyamaraja. They protect and preserve these areas.”
On August 9, the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti will bring together the tribe to observe International Day of the World’s Indigenous People at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi, a district of waterfalls and Paleolithic cave paintings. “We will explain the threat of the provisions to community,” said Mr. Azad.
