NAPM alleges illegal eviction drive in Nabarangpur; collector claims revenue records checked
Bhubaneswar: A team of National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), Odisha unit, has alleged the govt carried out illegal eviction from four villages of Nabarangpur district, leaving many tribal, dalit, OBC and other forest-dependent families homeless.
The team, led by activist Prafulla Samantara, said on Wednesday that they visited the affected villages on June 19 and documented evidence of widespread demolitions and forced evictions in Hatibadi under Jharigaon tehsil, Mendabeda under Umerkote tehsil, Chacharaghati under Chandahandi tehsil, and Lakhanpur under Raighar tehsil.
He said they met governor Hari Babu Kambhampati on Tuesday and urged him to intervene in the matter.
"Nabarangpur district is designated as a Fifth Schedule area. Despite clear provisions under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, and Article 21 of the Constitution, these evictions were conducted without due notice or legal process and without the consent of gram sabhas," he added.
Samantara said several villagers filed FRA claims, and these are pending before the govt.
"The evictions violated the Supreme Court's stay order in the 'wildlife first' case and disregarded procedural guidelines laid out in the Roy Burman and Nandini Sundar judgments. Targeting of SC/ST communities also raises serious concerns under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989," he added.
Sandip Patnaik, a team member, said the forest and revenue departments conducted the eviction drives so they can carry out plantations.
"As they are residents, they need land pattas and houses under the rural housing scheme. At least the departments could have rehabilitated them before carrying out demolition. The poor are staying under the open sky during the rainy season," he added.
The team demanded an immediate halt to all ongoing evictions in Nabarangpur and other scheduled areas and called for a high-level judicial or independent probe. "Action should be taken against officials involved in the eviction drive," said Manas Patnaik, another member.
Nabarangpur collector Subhankar Mohapatra said they cleared illegal encroachments after checking the revenue records. "Whatever FRA claims were submitted by the people, those are under discussion in consultative committees concerned on the Forest Rights Act," he added.
He said they will take action if the houses of people who filed FRA claims were demolished. "But we took all necessary steps, including issuing notices to people, before clearing the encroachments," the collector said.
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