Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Tribal tea union ‘recovers’ Adivasi land

Tribal tea union ‘recovers’ Adivasi land

Share this article Share this article
published Published on May 5, 2011   modified Modified on May 5, 2011
The Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad today “took back” land that was being used by a Siliguri-based planter as a small tea garden for the past five years, alleging that he had duped the Adivasi owners.

The Jalpaiguri administration has termed the “takeover” illegal. “Who gave them the rights or the responsibility of reclaiming tribal land? There is an administration and government procedure for everything. They should have come to us and we would have taken the appropriate steps,” district magistrate Vandana Yadav said.

But the Parishad alleged that complaints to the administration — that a non-tribal has bought tribal land, which is illegal — had been ignored.

Today, around 12.30pm, the workers of the plantation and the tribal owners of the land accompanied by members of the Progressive Tea Workers’ Union (PTWU), a Parishad-affiliate, marched into Jamadarpara, about 12km from here. The protesters were led by the assistant secretary of the Raipur unit of the PTWU, Pradhan Hembram.

Planting the Parishad flag in the garden, the marchers “took over” 22 bighas of the small garden adjacent to the Raipur tea estate and declared Chitta Majumdar, who has been running the estate on behalf of planter Om Prakash Agarwal, an illegal occupant. “This Agarwal had promised jobs to the Adivasi land owners and their family members, taking advantage of their gullibility. There are about 10 families whose land was taken away,” Hembram said.

The protesters plucked 50kg of tealeaves that was sold to a bought-leaf factory at Rs 15 a kg. “We will soon form a cooperative from among the members of the families who own the land and it will operate the garden and share the profit,” Hembram said.

Tezkumar Toppo, the state general secretary of the Parishad, said he saw nothing wrong in the occupation of the land and that it was part of a democratic movement by the Adivasis as the administration and police had tried to hush up matters.

“In April last year, we tried to prevent Majumdar from running the garden. Matters turned ugly as his men and ours almost came to blows and the police were called. On April 12, 2010, I lodged a formal complaint on behalf of the Parishad with the backward classes welfare department with the plea that the land be returned to the owners. Three days later, a meeting was convened at the Kotwali police station which Agarwal attended.”

Agarwal allegedly told the police that he had taken a power of attorney from one Ramu Oraon, who had bought 39 bighas of land from 10 owners of Jamadarpara in 2002. Subsequent inquiries by the police had revealed that nobody by the name of Oraon existed.

When the block land records office on instructions from the backward classes welfare department identified the 22 of the 39 bighas as belonging to the Adivasis, the Parishad decided to occupy it.

Kandru Oraon said his father, the late Budhuram Oraon, had sold 12 bighas to Agarwal for Rs 3,000 about 10 years ago. “He had promised us jobs but mostly non-tribals work in the garden,” Kandru said. Agarwal could not be reached, but his wife Manju Devi said: “I cannot say anything about the land… All I can say is that Majumdar was given a power of attorney to run the garden.”

Majumdar claimed that he did not know that the garden was on tribal land.

“I have allowed the Parishad to take over 22 bighas without any pact. The rest of the bighas are not on tribal land,” he said.

The Telegraph, 5 May, 2011, http://telegraphindia.com/1110505/jsp/siliguri/story_13940427.jsp


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close