Allow Cookies!
By using our website, you agree to the use of cookies
A fresh petition was filed by Tarika Tarangini Larka, an Aadivasi woman from Chhattisgarh in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the authorities to not evict any forest dweller. She relies on her fundamental rights as enshrined under Articles 21, 238, 244, 245 and Schedule V and VI of the Constitution of India in order to demand protection of the rights of Adivasis to the possession and ownership of their land.
The petition asserts that the injustice done to the Indian tribal people forms a dark chapter in our country's history. The tribesmen were slaughtered by the invaders, powerful political leaders, Industrialist in large numbers, and the survivors and their descendants were degraded, shamed, and all kinds of violence inflicted on them for centuries. Many were deprived of their lands and pushed into forests and hills. Their life was full of poverty, illiteracy, disease, etc. Efforts are now being made by some people to deprive them even of their forest and hill land where they are living, and the forest produces on which they depend for survival.
The petitioner further some demands as mentioned below.
She sought a declaration of indigenous residents of forests/villages in the tribal/ forest and schedule areas as Aadivasi within Schedule V and VI of the Constitution of India.
She further claimed that direction should be issued to the authorities to protect and not to evict any such Aadivasi from their forest land. The Court has to decide whether the grabbing and transfer of the Aadivasi land is allowed under any law.
There should be a strict direction to prohibit the authorities from transferring possession of any forest land belonging to a tribal/forest area to anyone other than an Aadivasi/Tribal who is belonging to that Tribal area.
She prayed for a direction to the authorities to restore all land that has been procured by the State for mining and other purposes after the mining work is over, in a repaired manner to the Aadivasis/Tribals residing in India.
She claimed that the Court should direct provision of cost/value of the minerals extracted to Aadivasis/Tribals from the land which initially belonged to them.
She urged for the setting up of a SIT. This SIT committee should consist of Supreme Court judges to investigate into the cases of the acquisition of land from the Aadivasis. Further direction should be issued to the CBI to register an FIR under Section 3 and 4 of the SC/ST Act to investigate into such cases and file a report before the court to take further action. The petitioner also demanded payment of costs.
This fresh petition was filed after the Supreme Court passed an order on February 13 which directed 21 States to evict 11.8 lakh illegal forest dwellers whose claims over the forest land have been rejected by the authorities. However, on Thursday a bench of Justice Arun Mishra stayed this order and directed the Chief Secretaries of States to disclose the modalities concerning the procedure of settlement of the alleged claims on forest areas.
86540
103860
630
114
59824