Resolutions and Declaration

November 1, 2008 at 10:25 am (resolution)
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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 –

  • 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;
  • 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
  • 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.

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