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Bastar tribals demand special status on the lines of Northeast

-The Indian Express

Raipur: Bastar saw a major development recently with thousands of tribals joining a rally organised by the CPI and Aadivasi Mahasabha last fortnight. Demanding implementation of the Schedule VI of the Constitution in Bastar, tribals began their padyatra from Chhattisgarh’s southernmost tip in Konta on March 1 and ended it at the division headquarters on March 15. They said that the administration always ignored their requirements and the only way forward was to introduce the Schedule VI, which will accord special status to the region on par with northeastern states. Bastar, by virtue of being a tribal-dominated area, already comes under the V Schedule.

“The government has not implemented the V Schedule and PESA (Panchayat Extension To Scheduled Areas) in Bastar, therefore the Schedule VI is necessary to protect forest and water rights of tribals,” CPI leader and president of Adivasi Mahabasha Manish Kunjam told The Indian Express. Under the VI Schedule, autonomous councils comprising tribals will be formed and all powers of the state government will be delegated to the councils, he added.

The rally was attended by several activists, who demanded that all MoUs signed with power and mining companies in Bastar be cancelled and Central security forces be immediately removed. Delhi University professor Nandini Sundar noted that the Chhattisgarh government has violated the Supreme Court’s order on Salwa Judum and instead of disbanding SPOs, recruited them into the regular police force.

“All encounters by security forces should be judicially probed and culprits punished. Bastar’s militarisation must be stopped to convert it into a zone of peace,” Kunjam added.