Korba :- The Chhattisgarh Kisan Sabha, affiliated to the All India Kisan Sabha, protested for 2 hours with sloganeering, in the village Rainpur demanding regular employment to the land displaced and granting forest rights to the occupants of the forest land, on the occasion of the arrival of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in the Katghora Assembly, and a memorandum was handed over to Deepka station in-charge in the name of the chief minister. The demonstration ended after Katghora SDM assured to meet the delegation of Kisan Sabha with the Chief Minister.
This is perhaps the first time in the Chief Minister’s tour across the state that hundreds of villagers have participated in the protest on the issue of forest rights and employment on the call of a farmer’s organization. It is discussed in the general public that on the one hand a crowd was mobilized for the Chief Minister by exerting full administrative might, while on the other hand, the administrative officers of the entire district are trying to stop the villagers gathered to meet the Chief Minister and express their views. This has tarnished the image of the administration.
Kisan Sabha leaders Jawahar Singh Kanwar and Prashant Jha said that the government’s claims have been exposed in Korba district on the issue of forest rights. The eviction campaign of the poor occupying forest land is going on in the entire district. Old applications for forest rights have been thrown in the wastebasket and new applications are not being taken at all. Even where applications are being taken, acknowledgment is not being given there. The Chief Minister has no control over his administration on this matter.
It is notable that in Rainpur, a case of eviction of the occupants by rejecting the claims by wrong way had come to the fore, while in Basibar, standing crop in the fields of the farmers occupying the forest land is being trampled and Gothan is being made.The forest in Korba Nagar Nigam area, the administration is not even ready to give pattas to the tribals and other occupants of the land. Keeping these incidents in the center, Kisan Sabha has raised the issue of forest rights.
District Secretary of Kisan Sabha Prashant Jha says that it has become clear from the attitude of the administration that there is no difference between Congress and BJP at least on the question of forest rights. Like the previous BJP government, the Congress government this time too has no political will to remove the ‘historic injustice’ done to the tribals. He says that the Korba District Administration and Forest Department are openly flouting the orders and guidelines of the Supreme Court in the matter of forest rights.
District President of Kisan Sabha Jawahar Singh Kanwar said that farmers are being displaced on a large scale in the name of coal production. After land acquisition, the displaced have to wander from door to door for employment and compensation. The administrative officers of the district are only engaged in land grabbing. The Kisan Sabha has demanded immediate settlement of old pending employment cases, employment to every account holder in all new and old acquisitions, compensation and settlement to those occupying government land.
In today’s performance Hem Singh, Ved Prakash, Man Singh, Dilharan Chauhan, Seva Ram, Sanjay Yadav, Purshottam, Amarjit Kanwar, Satruhan Das, Damodar Shyam, Resham Yadav, Jai Kaushik, Raghu Lal Yadav, Rahul Jaiswal, Pawan Yadav, Vishambhar , Basant Chauhan, Mohan Lal Yadav, Radheshyam Patel, Krishna, Chandrashekhar, Shivdayal Kanwar, Sumendra Singh, Manik Das, Uttam Das, Umesh Yadav, Ashok, Raghu etc. workers were prominently present.
Kisan Sabha leaders have announced to launch a campaign to re-occupy the evicted people from the forest land in the coming days and to expand the movement for forest rights lease.
