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Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas lR;eso t;rs Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas REPORT OF AN EXPERT GROUP TO PLANNING COMMISSION GOVERNMENT OF INDIA NEW DELHI 2008 Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas REPORT OF AN EXPERT GROUP TO PLANNING COMMISSION GOVERNMENT OF INDIA NEW DELHI APRIL, 2008 Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas — Report of an Expert Group ii Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas — Report of an Expert Group Contents Page No. Prologue v-vi Chapter 1 The Context 1 Introduction 1 Social, Economic and Political Context 2 The Condition of Dalits, Adivasis and Women 3 Dalits 4 Adivasis 8 Women 10 Access to Basic Resources 11 Forests 11 Land 11 Special Economic Zones 12 Common Property Resources 13 Labour, Unemployment and Wages 14 Displacement and Rehabilitation 15 The Process of Adjudication 17 Environmental Degradation 17 Political Marginalization of the SCs and STs 18 Some Statistical Pointers 20 Governance 20 Concluding Observations. 29 Chapter 2 Extending Panchayati Raj to the Scheduled Areas (PESA) 31 Background 31 The Traditional and Formal Systems 32 PESA and the State Legislature 33 PESA and Panchayats 33 PESA and the Community 34 Definition of Village 34 Competence of the Community 34 PESA and the Traditional System 35 PESA and its Implementation 35 States 36 Critical Review of PESA FrameFormal Jurisdiction of Gram Sabha 36 Gram Sabha, Panchayats and the State: A Harmonious Construct 37 Harmonization of the Traditional and Formal 37 iii Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas — Report of an Expert Group Protective Aspects 39 Land and its Alienation 39 Labour 39 Excise 39 Money Lending 39 Market 40 Forests and Minor Forest Produce 40 Planning and Development 40 Consultation with Gram Sabha 40 A Resume of Mandatory Consultation 40 Consultation in Leasing of Minor Minerals 41 Consultation before Environmental Clearance 41 Consultation in Rehabilitation & Resettlement 41 PESA and Central Government 42 Chapter 3 Investigating the People’s Discontent and Support for Extremists 44 Land Related Factors 45 Displacement and Forced Evictions 48 Livelihood 50 Social Oppression 51 Issues arising out of non- or mal- governance 52 Policing 54 Chapter 4 The State’s Response 56 Chapter 5 Recommendations 62 Effective Implementation of Protective Legislation 62 Land Related Measures 64 Recommendations relating to Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation & Resettlement 68 Livelihood Security 69 Three New Programmes 70 Universalise Basic Social Services to Standards 72 PESA 74 State Response 76 Strengthening the Planning System 79 Governance Issues 80 Epilogue 83 Annexure 85 iv Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas — Report of an Expert Group Prologue 0.1 The Planning Commission set up an 0.3 The Group invited its own Members to Expert Group on “Development Issues to deal contribute in writing their views in the areas in with the causes of Discontent, Unrest and which they have specialization. Several papers Extremism” in May, 2006. It had 16 Members. were received from Shri Prakash Singh, Shri The Terms of Reference included, inter alia, Ajit Doval, Dr. B. D. Sharma, Shri Kamla Prasad, identification of processes and causes Shri K.B. Saxena, Shri S. R. Sankaran, Dr. contributing to continued tensions and alienation E.A.S. Sarma and Dr. Sukhdeo Thorat. The in the areas of unrest and discontent, such as Group is highly obliged to each of them for wide-spread displacement, forest issues, their contribution. insecured tenancies and other forms of exploitation like usury, land alienation, etc. It 0.4 Dr. Bela Bhatia and Shri K. Balagopal also included special measures to be taken for volunteered to make the first draft. In fact both strengthening the implementation of Panchayat of them worked very hard to produce a fairly Extension to Scheduled Area Act (PESA). It exhaustive draft containing materials from the had altogether six terms of reference (the papers already submitted and other secondary notification is given in Annexure-I). Two materials available in print. The Group is Members Prof. Amit Bhaduri and Shri Amiya extremely grateful to Dr. Bela Bhatia and Shri Samanta did not participate in any one of the K. Balagopal for this effort. meetings and thereby they ceased to be Members of this Group. Dr. Vinayan who was 0.5 For preparing the final version, the Group a very active Member, unfortunately, passed set up a Drafting Committee consisting of about away before the Group could conclude its half a dozen members. The drafting Committee deliberations. met several times both at Delhi and Hyderabad to complete the draft. The final draft as it 0.2 Three new Members Dr. E.A.S. Sarma, emerged was then put before the final meeting Dr. N.J. Kurian and Shri K.B. Saxena were of the Expert Group held in March, 2008. Before inducted because of their expertise in different this meeting all the Members were sent the disciplines with which Group had to deal with. draft along with a letter requesting them to give The full Group met ten times including the final their comments in writing on whichever issue meeting held on March 14-15, 2008. Some they felt it necessary. Some of them sent the members of the Group constituted sub-groups comments to the Member Secretary and some for field visits. Two field visits were organized others gave their written comments in the final one each for Andhra Pradesh and Chhatisgarh meeting. All these comments were gone into and other for Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa. Both and most of them were incorporated with the sub-groups gave their reports. appropriate editorial changes. v Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas — Report of an Expert Group 0.6 The issues placed before the Group specifically with the elements of discontent of were highly sensitive and even contentious. the people arising out of failure of the system. Eminent persons who constituted the Group The fourth chapter discusses the responses of had their own views on most of the items the state to these issues of rural violence and based on their experience and scholarship. But the fifth chapter contains recommendations they understood the need to come out with a which arose from the analysis contained in the consensus report which would reflect the various preceding four chapters. points of view and could give the authorities, the civil society and public at large an analysis 0.8 The Group would like to place on record of the situation and a package of programmes its high appreciation for continuous support it to tackle the issue of rural violence which has received from the Rural Development Division been continuing in the rural areas of India for of the Planning Commission and especially from nearly four decades. It speaks highly of their Dr. Santosh Mehrotra, Sr. Consultant (RD) and social commitment and spirit of public service Shri Rupinder Singh, Deputy Secretary, who that they submerged their personal views to spared no effort in providing all requisite support get at a consensus report which gives a good for the work of this Group. analysis of the situation culminating into a set of actionable points which are reflected in the 0.9 The Group hopes and trusts that efforts recommendations. made by it to refocus on the basic issues which are behind the continued rural unrest 0.7 The Report has five chapters. The first would receive serious attention of the authorities chapter gives the context in which the whole and its recommendations would be implemented situation developed. Second chapter deals sincerely and promptly to douse the spreading exclusively with the Tribal issues in the Fifth bushfire of rural discontent. Scheduled Areas. The third chapter deals vi Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas — Report of an Expert Group Chapter 1 The Context Introduction 1.3 India is today proudly proclaiming an above 9 per cent growth rate and striving to 1.1 Widespread discontent among the achieve double digit growth. But it is a matter people has plagued the Indian polity for of common observation that the inequalities sometime now. It has often led to unrest, between classes, between town and country, sometimes of a violent nature. Over the years, and between the upper castes and the under- statutory enactments and institutional privileged communities are increasing. That this mechanisms for addressing the various aspects has potential for tremendous unrest is of deprivation have been brought into being. recognized by all. But somehow policy But the experience has been that the discontent prescriptions presume otherwise. As the and unrest continue to surface notwithstanding responsibility of the State for providing equal such measures. For a large section of the social rights recedes in the sphere of population, basic survival is the problem. policymaking, we have two worlds of education, two worlds of health, two worlds of transport 1.2 As 58 per cent of the Indian labour and two worlds of housing, with a gaping divide force is still engaged in agriculture and allied in between. With globalisation of information, occupations, landlessness is an important root awareness of opportunities and possible life of poverty. The Indian State recognized the styles are spreading but the entitlements are vital link between land and livelihood soon after receding. The Constitutional mandate (Article independence and launched land reform 39) to prevent concentration of wealth in a few measures which included three components: hands is ignored in policy making. The abolition of intermediaries such as zamindars, directional shift in Government policies towards security of tenancy and a ceiling on agricultural modernisation and mechanisation, export holdings for distribution of the surplus to the orientation, diversification to produce for the landless. However, as time passed the market, withdrawal of various subsidy regimes commitment to land reform has weakened and and exposure to global trade has been an it remains an unfinished agenda of governance.
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