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UPDATE 19
Dear friends,
This is the first of a series of three updates aimed at briefing you
on recent developments. This one contains reports of recent public
hearings in Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, and a selection of other
items. The second one will focus on the right to work, and the third
one on the work of the Supreme Court Commissioners, Dr. Saxena and
Mr. Sankaran. They will follow within a week.
We are sending this Update in the shadow of the tragic demise of Dr.
Om Shrivastava, an active member of the right to food campaign and
one of Rajasthan's finest activists. The last item is a brief tribute
to his memory.
Today's headlines:
1.
Training workshop on documenting starvation deaths
2. Mr. Sankaran joins as Commissioner of the Supreme Court
3. Public hearing in Sendwa (M.P): Adivasis demand the right to work
4. Public hearing in Shivpuri (M.P.): The Sahariya Predicament
5. Public hearing in Dindori (M.P.): On the spot redressal
6. Public hearing in Kerpai (Orissa)
7. Remembering Dr. Om Shrivastava
1. TRAINING WORKSHOP ON DOCUMENTING STARVATION DEATHS
Each time a starvation death is reported, the concerned government is
quick to repudiate the report and to invoke some disease or the other
as the cause of death. Establishing that a death was due to
starvation is a daunting task even for the professionals.
The "Hunger Watch Group", a group of medical professionals, has
been
trying to develop rigorous methods of documenting starvation deaths.
They are planning to organize a training workshop to disseminate and
discuss the technique. It is expected that such a systematic
documentation will help in taking up the issue with the courts among
other fora.
The participants will learn to document starvation deaths when they
arise. If you are interested in participating in the workshop, you
can get in touch with Dr. Abhay Shukla of CEHAT who is one of the
organisers of the meeting. Abhay can be contacted at:
cehatpun@vsnl.com
2. MR SANKARAN JOINS AS COMMISSIONER OF THE SUPREME COURT
In its latest order (2 May 2003), the Supreme Court appointed Mr. S.
R. Sankaran as "Commissioner" for the purpose of monitoring orders
relating to the right to food. In this capacity, Mr. Sankaran will be
collaborating with Dr. N.C. Saxena, who was appointed in a similar
manner earlier and has been working for several months as
Commissioner of the Supreme Court. Thus, there will be two
Commissioners from now on.
Mr S. R. Sankaran is a senior civil servant who retired as Secretary
Rural Development, Government of India after a distinguished career.
In recent years, he has been active in the Committee of Concerned
Citizens (Hyderabad), convened "to bring people's aspirations and the
right to live with dignity on the agenda of the Naxalite movements
and governments". He is based in Hyderabad and will be working from
there.
3. PUBLIC HEARING IN SENDWA (M.P.): ADIVASIS DEMAND THE RIGHT TO
WORK
A lively public hearing took place in Sendwa (district Barwani, Madhy
Pradesh) on 29 May 2003. The hearing focused on the right to work,
corruption in relief programmes, and the use of labour-displacing
machinery in public works. We are pasting a short report below,
initially published in The Hindu on 1 June:
"Drought relief programmes in Madhya Pradesh came under heavy fire at
the public hearing organised by Adivasi Mukti Sangathan, a grassroots
organisation based in Barwani district of Madhya Pradesh. Aside from
rampant corruption in relief programmes, the hearing exposed the
pervasive use of tractors on relief works. Tractors displace large
numbers of labourers who have no alternative income-earning
opportunities at this time, thus forcing them to migrate.
Over a thousand tribal women and men travelled from far and wide to
participate in the hearing. Government officials were also invited,
but they did not turn up. The testimonies were heard by a panel of
experts chaired by Dr. B.D. Sharma, former Commissioner for Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The hearing was also an opportunity to
publicise and discuss recent Supreme Court orders relating to the
right to food.
Witnesses presented about 10 specific testimonies of labour
displacement by tractors on relief works. For instance, Ram Singh
Bhai of Gagankhera village explained how a talab construction project
employing some 35 workers lasted only three weeks because of the use
of tractors. In the absence of tractors, he argued, the project might
have lasted for three months or so. Indeed, Rs 4 lakhs had been
sanctioned for this project, and had most of this been spent on
labour, it could have generated at least 4,000 person-days of work,
or 100 days of work for 40 labourers.
A similar story was heard from Gyan Singh of Piprani panchayat, where
Rs 10 lakhs had been sanctioned for the construction of a small dam.
With some 100 labourers employed, the project could have lasted for
three months or so. However, the work was wound up in 6 weeks after
tractors moved in.
The expert panel enquired about the reasons for this widespread
displacement of labour by tractors on relief works. According to the
witnesses, the "official" reason is that the works need to be
completed well before the rains. However, it is hard to take this
seriously when the work is completed in early March, as happened in
Piprani, according to Gyan Singh. The real reason, he felt, is that
tractor owners bribe the officials in charge of relief works to
persuade them to hire their services.
In several cases, the labourers had attempted to oppose the use of
tractors, with or without the support of Adivasi Mukti Sangathan.
However, they felt vulnerable because protests often led to the
immediate closure of relief works. The district collector, for his
part, is looking the other way. He did not respond to a written
complaint sent by registered post on 4 April by the Sangathan, and
nor was he present, or even represented, at the hearing.
Corruption in relief works was another recurrent theme at the
hearing. The participants shared the feeling that a large share of
the money allocated to relief works in the area is appropriated by
government officials and enterprising intermediaries. Some specific
evidence was presented, for instance by the sarpanch of village
Borli, who said that he had received only Rs 1.63 lakhs for relief
works as against a sanctioned amount of Rs 2.32 lakhs. However, in
most cases it seemed difficult to find conclusive evidence of
corruption because the relevant records were jealously guarded by the
administration. In spite of persistent representations to the
relevant authorities, Adivasi Mukti Sangathan has made no headway in
obtaining these records. Activists of the Sangathan have been made to
run from pillar to post for weeks, without any result. This
stonewalling jars with the reputation of openness and transparency
enjoyed by the Government of Madhya Pradesh. When a local official
was reminded about the right to information, he laughed and said that
these things exist only on paper.
In his questions to the witnesses, Dr. Sharma often enquired about
the role of gram sabhas in relief works. He was disappointed to hear
that the gram sabhas had little real control in these matters. In his
concluding speech, he argued that nothing would improve until the
gram sabhas were able to exercise the extensive powers they now enjoy
in tribal areas under the constitution."
4. PUBLIC HEARING IN SHIVPURI (M.P.): THE SAHARIYA PREDICAMENT
Silently but effectively the drought has wrecked much damage in the
Sahariya belt of western Madhya Pradesh. The cattle population has
been decimated, hunger is endemic and there have been many reports of
starvation deaths. Sambhav, an NGO that has been working for many
years among the Sahariyas of the Gwalior-Chambal region, organised a
public hearing on 30 May 2003 in Shivpuri.
"The administration shows statistics of large-scale relief works,
however, the participants of the jan sunwai had a different tale to
tell" says Dr Singh of Sambhav in his account of the hearing. "In
Mohra- Habu for example, a pond was to be constructed for which Rs.
30,000 and 150 Quintals of wheat has been shown as distributed. The
work went on only for six days and only 50 quintal wheat was
distributed. No cash was paid. There is no sign of activity now on
the pond. The trail of unfinished works and unpaid wages is indeed
long." The hearing exposed many such problems in relief works.
According to the same report, the public hearing also uncovered many
cases where people's entitlements were undermined due to poor
implementation of policies. For example, schemes that provide
maternity benefit and compensation in case of premature death of the
breadwinner, etc. are thoroughly underprovided by the Government of
India. The National Maternity Benefit Scheme for example seeks to
provide Rs. 500 for the first two live births of all women below
poverty line. But the budgetary provision for this is inadequate.
The case of pensions and other compensations is similar. The story
of Bharo Lal's family was one of the 35 discussed at this public
hearing. Bharo Lal died of TB at the age of 20. The Panchayat
forwarded his family's case for support under the National Family
Benefit Scheme. All the formalities have been met. It is now two
years and nothing has happened. The case of Bharo Lal as well as
lakhs of others all over the country will be silently buried, with
the family not even getting to know what happened to the fate of
their applications.
Seventy-year-old Matura Bai was getting an old-age pension from 1999,
but it stopped suddenly in 2001. Her trips to the sarpanch and to the
block office have been fruitless. Everywhere in the country, we hear
such stories of pensions stopping abruptly for reasons that the
beneficiaries do not get to know.
5. PUBLIC HEARING IN DINDORI (M.P.): ON-THE-SPOT REDRESSAL
Among other significant events in recent weeks is a public hearing
held in the heart of the "Baigachak" of Dindori district (Madhya
Pradesh) on 8 June, 2003. Baigachak is a thickly forested area
inhabited mainly by the Baigas, one of India's so-called
"primitive
tribes". The hearing was convened by Baiga Mahapanchayat, a local
organisation modelled on traditional Baiga panchayats. The hearing
focused mainly on the obstacles faced by Gram Panchayats in carrying
out any development activity in the "forest villages", and on the
critical food security situation in the area after three successive
years of drought.
A distinctive feature of this hearing was the presence of a range of
senior government officials, including the District Collector,
Additional Commissioner, District Forest Officer, Block Development
Officer, among others. Moreover, the officials were in a conciliatory
mood (partly because of the presence of Dr. Mihir Shah, Adviser to
the Commissioners for Madhya Pradesh), and this prompted them to pass
sweeping orders there and then. For instance, one of the main
complaints of the participants, namely that the Forest Department did
not allow relief works in "forest villages", was immediately
resolved
as the District Forest Officer agreed to retract this embargo.
Similarly, the District Collector agreed to ensure that all Baigas
get Antyodaya cards within a month, as per the latest Supreme Court
Order (2 May 2003). For a more detailed report on this effective
public hearing, click here
6. PUBLIC HEARING IN KERPAI (ORISSA)
Another public hearing took place in Kerpai (Kalahandi district,
Orissa) on 4 June 2003. Kerpai is the most remote panchayat of
Kalahandi district. Public facilities in the area are dismal and
hunger is endemic. The hearing was attended by hundreds of tribals
from the surrounding villages as well as a few local government
officials including the Block Development Officer and the Assistant
Collector.
The concluding memorandum of this public hearing is an eloquent
statement about the lack of basic facilities in one of India's most
backward regions. The basic facilities are either absent or
dysfunctional. The quality of education is so poor that only one
person has ever passed matriculation in the entire Panchayat. The
health worker appointed for the Panchayat takes three months off for
three days of work. The little services that are available come at a
substantial cost.
Participants emphasised the lack of active system of monitoring and
the abysmal response of the administration to their complaints.
Complaints made after long treks to the Block office and the District
headquarters are met with no response. Against this background, the
participants welcomed the opportunity to meet local officials face to
face, on their own terms. The concluding memorandum was sent to the
District Collector and other authorities, including the Chief
Minister of Orissa. A recent communication from the CM's office
indicates that the memorandum has been forwarded to the Chief
Secretary "to initiate action".
7. REMEMBERING DR. OM SHRIVASTAVA
We are sorry to inform you that Dr. Om Shrivastava passed away on 15
June 2003 in a tragic accident. "Om ji", as we knew him, was
one of
Rajasthan's finest activists and a founding member of Akal Sangharsh
Samiti.
Dr. Shrivastava, a Ph.D from Canada in Adult Education, was 63. His
areas of interest were mainly adult education, tribal welfare, human
rights, women's empowerment, and adivasi rights to natural resources
("jal, jungle, jameen"). In 1986, he co-founded "Astha
Sansthan", an
Udaipur-based NGO best known for its contribution to the empowerment
of adivasis in southern Rajasthan. Om ji was also an active member
of the right to food campaign in Rajasthan. Just a few hours before
departing from this world, he was participating in a workshop on the
right to work at the Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur. Many
of us spent three full days with him before he started on his fateful
return journey to Udaipur. We share our grief with his family and a
large circle of friends.
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