India
18.04.01
Urgent Interventions
India: the forest exploitation in Madhya Pradesh, the World Bank and violence pertpetrated against tribal people
Case IND 170401. ESCRC
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in India.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Indian Centre for Human Rights and the Law, a member of OMCT network that the police have fired at an assembly of Adivasis (tribal people) in the village of Mehnidekheda -in the Dewas district of the state of Madhya Pradesh- on April 2nd 2001. It is reported that 4 people were killed and 3 injured in the police firing.
To protest against the repression carried out by the authorities against the Adivasis, the Adivasis of the village of Mehndikheda decided to gather in a non-violent way when they saw a police units arriving at their village on April 2nd 2001. In response, the police threw tear-gas at the assembly which responded with stone-throwing. At this time, the police started firing indiscriminately. It is reported that the police made no announcement or warnings before starting to shoot at the crowed.
The persons killed are:
1. Balaram s/oShri Jherma (Semli village)
2. Bholu s/o Shri Idasingh (Jamasindh village)
3. Pathaniya (Kanad village)
4. Nemichand Jaiswal (Bisali village)
The persons injured are:
1. Ramesh (Sabalgadh village)
2. Bhimsingh (Sitapuri village)
3. Karan Singh (Aakiya village)
It is reported that the complete information concerning those killed and injured is not available, as most Adivasis have run away from their homes and are hiding in the forest from fear of further violence and repression.
According to the information received, the police shooting incident of April 2nd 2001 was preceded by a series of violent incidents perpetrated by the police as well as officials working for the Forest Department and the Special Armed Forces (SAF) against Adivasis villages, including demolishing houses, assaulting people and mistreating women. The Adivasis villages of Kadudiya, Potla, Patpadi, Jamasindh, Mehendikheda, Jamasindi and Katkut have been attacked between March 14th 2001 and April 3rd 2001. It is reported that convoys numbering 25-35 vehicles and containing 300-400 armed policemen surrounded these villages and fired bullets in the air before looting and demolishing the houses and assaulting people.
More than 50 houses have allegedly been destroyed and looted since March 14th 2001, of which 22 are in Katukiya. On March 14th 2001 in the village of Katkut, the armed forces demolished houses, looted and scattered food grains and also assaulted villagers: Mithubaba received head injuries and Gumanand and Naru sustained bullet wounds in their legs.
According to the information received 3 Adivasis girls from the village of Potla were picked up by the police on March 29th 2001 and have not yet returned date. It is also reported that another Adivasi woman from the village of Katudiya has been missing since March 29th 2001.
The entire operation of the raids since March 28th 2001 has allegedly been conducted under the personal direction and in the presence of the Collector of the Dewas district, the Superintendent of the Police and the Divisional Forest Officer.
Following these events, it is reported that on April 4th 2001 the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh decided to:
1. constitute a committee of inquiry to investigate the loss of property suffered by the Adivasis and provide appropriate monetary compensation to the victims;
2. ensure complete transparency of the felling operations with a full involvement of the Adivasis;
3. transfer all Forest Department Officials and personnel who have been in service in the area for more than 4 years to another area; and to provide immediate relief to the affected villages.
Reminder of the situation in the Dewas District
The repression by the police, the Forest Department and by the Special Armed Forces (SAF) against Adivasis in the state of Madhya Pradesh dates back to the mid-1995. In the last 6 years, the authorities fired live ammunition at Adivasis people on eight occasions:
1. In the village of Hansli (district of Shivpuri), 03/02/95
2. In the area of Jaitpur (district of Shahdol), 25/05/96
3. In the villages of Mandva and Nepa Range (district of Khandwa), 27/08/97
4. In the village of Nandarwada (district of Hoshangabad), 31/08/97
5. In the village of Titagarh (district of Khandwa), 27/02/99
6. In the village of Katukiya (district of Dewas), 23/02/99
7. In Budhni Tehsil (district of Sihar), 27/08/00
8. In the village of Mehendikheda (district of Dewas), 02/04/01
This conflict relates to the issue of forest exploitation. The authorities are opposed to the Adivasis cutting down trees for private use, while they tolerate that employees of the Forest Department as well as private companies cut trees for commercial purposes. According to the information received, on the night of April 7th 2001, 4 trucks were allegedly fully loaded with trees. While thousand of trees are cut daily either by private companies or by employees of the Forest Department, Adivasis are not allowed to cut trees required for building their houses and are in fact threatened with dire consequences if they do not surrender the wood they have allegedly cut.
According to the information received, the Government of Madhya Pradesh has itself issued orders in February 2001 to crush the Dewas Adivasis. It is also reported that the District Collector of Dewas, Shri Ashok Barnwal, has on two occasions, in Pipri and Udainagar, between February and March 2001, publicly declared on a loudspeaker that he would crush the Dewas Adivasis within six months. On March 5th 2001 in Udainagar he declared that he would wipe them out without a trace within a month.
The World Bank and the Madhya Pradesh Forestry Programme
According to the information received, there is a strong correlation between the repression faced by the Adivasis in the Dewas District and the funding by the World Bank, since 1995, of the Madhya Pradesh Forestry Project. The World Bank, in the project descriptive, divided its project in two different stages, the second one starting after the first four years of implementation. At this time, OMCT could not get any further information on the continuation of the project past the first stage’s compliance in 1999.
The World Bank’s Madhya Pradesh Forestry Project, launched in 1995 and closed in 1999, aimed at assisting the implementation of the strategy of the Government of Madhya Pradesh for development of the forestry sector in Madhya Pradesh, with the Madhya Pradesh Forestry Department and the Government of Madhya Pradesh as implementing agencies. The total amount of the project was estimated at around 67.3 million USD, with a contribution of 58 million USD from the World Bank.
As its main objective, the project aimed at assisting the development of the forestry sector in Madhya Pradesh through the restructuring of the wood market. The project saw a lesser involvement of the State, along with a greater role for forest-based industries as a prerequisite for the creation of a market-oriented environment. Among other benefits, the project anticipated a direct and indirect increase in the production of wood in order to match the demand for forest products.
The main beneficiaries of the project were expected to be the tribal people and forest fringe villagers, the assumption being that a move towards a lesser state’s control over the wood production and the wood market would guarantee greater involvement of tribal communities in the forest’s management as equal partners.
The above-mentioned developments highlight a totally different outcome of the World Bank’s project, in which the movement towards a deregulation of the wood market led to a degradation of the situation faced by the Adivasis. According to the information received, a lack of transparency in the project’s implementation and a failure to ensure equitable and full participation of Adivasis in the project’s management and implementation, as well as in the process of forest protection, are the main factors leading to the current situation.
Indeed, on the basis of the information provided, the outcome of the project led to a situation in which the forests’ management and responsibility for the forest’s protection is left in the hand of the authorities and the wood companies.
While OMCT does not take a position concerning the merits of economic restructuring as such, it notes that this project’s outcome clearly highlights the World Bank’s failure to fully analyse and consider the possible negative impact of its project on the tribal peoples. While the project reiterates, in several parts, the centrality of the tribal peoples both in terms of implementation and direct beneficiaries, it failed to address the issue of tribal people when considering the possible risks going along with the implementation. This failure is particularly worrying when the project itself acknowledged, at one point, the difficult relations between the authorities and the Adivasis with regard to forest issues.
Action Requested
Please write to the Indian authorities urging them to:
i. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
ii. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the aboved-mentioned injured persons, as well as of the 4 missing Adivasis women;
iii. guarantee adequate reparation to all victims and their families;
iv. fully implement the above-mentioned decisions of the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister;
v. guarantee respect for the economic, social and cultural rights of the Adivasis;
vi. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and ILO Convention No 169.
Addresses
H.E. President K.R. Narayanan, Office of the President, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi 110 004, INDIA Fax: 91-11-301 7290 / 7824
H.E. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India, South Block, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India-110 011 Fax: 91-11-3019545 / 91-11-3016857 indun@undp.org
Mr L.K. Advani, Home Minister of India, South Block, New Dehli 110001, India, fax: +91 11 3015750
Justice A. N. Varma, Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission, Sardar Patel Bhavan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi 11001, India. Fax: 91-11-334 0016
Geneva, April 17th , 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in India.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Indian Centre for Human Rights and the Law, a member of OMCT network that the police have fired at an assembly of Adivasis (tribal people) in the village of Mehnidekheda -in the Dewas district of the state of Madhya Pradesh- on April 2nd 2001. It is reported that 4 people were killed and 3 injured in the police firing.
To protest against the repression carried out by the authorities against the Adivasis, the Adivasis of the village of Mehndikheda decided to gather in a non-violent way when they saw a police units arriving at their village on April 2nd 2001. In response, the police threw tear-gas at the assembly which responded with stone-throwing. At this time, the police started firing indiscriminately. It is reported that the police made no announcement or warnings before starting to shoot at the crowed.
The persons killed are:
1. Balaram s/oShri Jherma (Semli village)
2. Bholu s/o Shri Idasingh (Jamasindh village)
3. Pathaniya (Kanad village)
4. Nemichand Jaiswal (Bisali village)
The persons injured are:
1. Ramesh (Sabalgadh village)
2. Bhimsingh (Sitapuri village)
3. Karan Singh (Aakiya village)
It is reported that the complete information concerning those killed and injured is not available, as most Adivasis have run away from their homes and are hiding in the forest from fear of further violence and repression.
According to the information received, the police shooting incident of April 2nd 2001 was preceded by a series of violent incidents perpetrated by the police as well as officials working for the Forest Department and the Special Armed Forces (SAF) against Adivasis villages, including demolishing houses, assaulting people and mistreating women. The Adivasis villages of Kadudiya, Potla, Patpadi, Jamasindh, Mehendikheda, Jamasindi and Katkut have been attacked between March 14th 2001 and April 3rd 2001. It is reported that convoys numbering 25-35 vehicles and containing 300-400 armed policemen surrounded these villages and fired bullets in the air before looting and demolishing the houses and assaulting people.
More than 50 houses have allegedly been destroyed and looted since March 14th 2001, of which 22 are in Katukiya. On March 14th 2001 in the village of Katkut, the armed forces demolished houses, looted and scattered food grains and also assaulted villagers: Mithubaba received head injuries and Gumanand and Naru sustained bullet wounds in their legs.
According to the information received 3 Adivasis girls from the village of Potla were picked up by the police on March 29th 2001 and have not yet returned date. It is also reported that another Adivasi woman from the village of Katudiya has been missing since March 29th 2001.
The entire operation of the raids since March 28th 2001 has allegedly been conducted under the personal direction and in the presence of the Collector of the Dewas district, the Superintendent of the Police and the Divisional Forest Officer.
Following these events, it is reported that on April 4th 2001 the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh decided to:
1. constitute a committee of inquiry to investigate the loss of property suffered by the Adivasis and provide appropriate monetary compensation to the victims;
2. ensure complete transparency of the felling operations with a full involvement of the Adivasis;
3. transfer all Forest Department Officials and personnel who have been in service in the area for more than 4 years to another area; and to provide immediate relief to the affected villages.
Reminder of the situation in the Dewas District
The repression by the police, the Forest Department and by the Special Armed Forces (SAF) against Adivasis in the state of Madhya Pradesh dates back to the mid-1995. In the last 6 years, the authorities fired live ammunition at Adivasis people on eight occasions:
1. In the village of Hansli (district of Shivpuri), 03/02/95
2. In the area of Jaitpur (district of Shahdol), 25/05/96
3. In the villages of Mandva and Nepa Range (district of Khandwa), 27/08/97
4. In the village of Nandarwada (district of Hoshangabad), 31/08/97
5. In the village of Titagarh (district of Khandwa), 27/02/99
6. In the village of Katukiya (district of Dewas), 23/02/99
7. In Budhni Tehsil (district of Sihar), 27/08/00
8. In the village of Mehendikheda (district of Dewas), 02/04/01
This conflict relates to the issue of forest exploitation. The authorities are opposed to the Adivasis cutting down trees for private use, while they tolerate that employees of the Forest Department as well as private companies cut trees for commercial purposes. According to the information received, on the night of April 7th 2001, 4 trucks were allegedly fully loaded with trees. While thousand of trees are cut daily either by private companies or by employees of the Forest Department, Adivasis are not allowed to cut trees required for building their houses and are in fact threatened with dire consequences if they do not surrender the wood they have allegedly cut.
According to the information received, the Government of Madhya Pradesh has itself issued orders in February 2001 to crush the Dewas Adivasis. It is also reported that the District Collector of Dewas, Shri Ashok Barnwal, has on two occasions, in Pipri and Udainagar, between February and March 2001, publicly declared on a loudspeaker that he would crush the Dewas Adivasis within six months. On March 5th 2001 in Udainagar he declared that he would wipe them out without a trace within a month.
The World Bank and the Madhya Pradesh Forestry Programme
According to the information received, there is a strong correlation between the repression faced by the Adivasis in the Dewas District and the funding by the World Bank, since 1995, of the Madhya Pradesh Forestry Project. The World Bank, in the project descriptive, divided its project in two different stages, the second one starting after the first four years of implementation. At this time, OMCT could not get any further information on the continuation of the project past the first stage’s compliance in 1999.
The World Bank’s Madhya Pradesh Forestry Project, launched in 1995 and closed in 1999, aimed at assisting the implementation of the strategy of the Government of Madhya Pradesh for development of the forestry sector in Madhya Pradesh, with the Madhya Pradesh Forestry Department and the Government of Madhya Pradesh as implementing agencies. The total amount of the project was estimated at around 67.3 million USD, with a contribution of 58 million USD from the World Bank.
As its main objective, the project aimed at assisting the development of the forestry sector in Madhya Pradesh through the restructuring of the wood market. The project saw a lesser involvement of the State, along with a greater role for forest-based industries as a prerequisite for the creation of a market-oriented environment. Among other benefits, the project anticipated a direct and indirect increase in the production of wood in order to match the demand for forest products.
The main beneficiaries of the project were expected to be the tribal people and forest fringe villagers, the assumption being that a move towards a lesser state’s control over the wood production and the wood market would guarantee greater involvement of tribal communities in the forest’s management as equal partners.
The above-mentioned developments highlight a totally different outcome of the World Bank’s project, in which the movement towards a deregulation of the wood market led to a degradation of the situation faced by the Adivasis. According to the information received, a lack of transparency in the project’s implementation and a failure to ensure equitable and full participation of Adivasis in the project’s management and implementation, as well as in the process of forest protection, are the main factors leading to the current situation.
Indeed, on the basis of the information provided, the outcome of the project led to a situation in which the forests’ management and responsibility for the forest’s protection is left in the hand of the authorities and the wood companies.
While OMCT does not take a position concerning the merits of economic restructuring as such, it notes that this project’s outcome clearly highlights the World Bank’s failure to fully analyse and consider the possible negative impact of its project on the tribal peoples. While the project reiterates, in several parts, the centrality of the tribal peoples both in terms of implementation and direct beneficiaries, it failed to address the issue of tribal people when considering the possible risks going along with the implementation. This failure is particularly worrying when the project itself acknowledged, at one point, the difficult relations between the authorities and the Adivasis with regard to forest issues.
Action Requested
Please write to the Indian authorities urging them to:
i. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
ii. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the aboved-mentioned injured persons, as well as of the 4 missing Adivasis women;
iii. guarantee adequate reparation to all victims and their families;
iv. fully implement the above-mentioned decisions of the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister;
v. guarantee respect for the economic, social and cultural rights of the Adivasis;
vi. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and ILO Convention No 169.
Addresses
H.E. President K.R. Narayanan, Office of the President, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi 110 004, INDIA Fax: 91-11-301 7290 / 7824
H.E. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India, South Block, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India-110 011 Fax: 91-11-3019545 / 91-11-3016857 indun@undp.org
Mr L.K. Advani, Home Minister of India, South Block, New Dehli 110001, India, fax: +91 11 3015750
Justice A. N. Varma, Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission, Sardar Patel Bhavan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi 11001, India. Fax: 91-11-334 0016
Geneva, April 17th , 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.