Impacts of Government Policies on Sustenance of Tribal ... - Samata

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Rs. 40/- per kg was obtained; almost a 100percent increase over that being paid by theC<strong>of</strong>fee Board. Today APFDC sells itsc<strong>of</strong>fee at Vijayawada and Bangalore atauctions conducted every month fromJanuary to May/June. The APFDC currentlyaccepts prices that are atleast on par with theprices prevailing in the international market.A considerable number <strong>of</strong> the tribal farmerson the other hand were selling their c<strong>of</strong>feeto merchants or traders in the local santhas,<strong>of</strong>ten at very low rates and were beingexploited by these middlemen. Themembers <strong>of</strong> the organic farmerscooperative, however, sell their producethrough the cooperative and are able todemand a higher price. Recently (inOctober 2010) the GCC has also indicatedthat it would enter into c<strong>of</strong>fee procurementby encouraging the adivasis to go in forc<strong>of</strong>fee cultivation and has made a request tothe C<strong>of</strong>fee Board to invest Rs. 25/- crores. Itwould install c<strong>of</strong>fee processing units forroasting, grinding, drying yards, and babypulpers in different villages as part <strong>of</strong> itspilot project for c<strong>of</strong>fee.Different estimates are available fromdifferent source on incomes earned fromc<strong>of</strong>fee over the years since c<strong>of</strong>feecultivation was introduced to the tribalfarmers—in 1999-2000 income wasestimated at between Rs. 15,000/- and Rs.18,000/- per ha. A <strong>Government</strong> Order(dated 27 December 2008) mentions that theaverage annual income from c<strong>of</strong>fee wasbetween Rs. 8,000/- and Rs. 10,000/- peracre. Another government press releasegives income in 2009-10 to have gone upbetween Rs. 30,000/- and Rs. 36,000/- perha (for one acre between Rs. 12,000/- andRs. 15,000/-). The infrastructure availableconsists <strong>of</strong> 3,465 cement drying yards,2,165 baby pulpers and 29 storage/godowns.The creation <strong>of</strong> employment through wagelabour was one <strong>of</strong> the primary reasons forpromoting c<strong>of</strong>fee cultivation. Labour forc<strong>of</strong>fee plantations in the early yearsincluded tribal people from the region andrepatriates from Sri Lanka. Labour fromplain areas was also brought in especiallyduring the harvest season to meet theincreased demand for labour. At present, thec<strong>of</strong>fee plantations <strong>of</strong> the APFDC arecreating 6 lakh man-days <strong>of</strong> employment inthe tribal areas <strong>of</strong> Andhra Pradesh. Therehas also been an improvement <strong>of</strong> wages.Between 1984 and 1987 the area saw a lot<strong>of</strong> labour unrest and strikes demandinghigher wages. At that time wages paid wereRs. 14/- per day and this has been increasedtoday to Rs. 50/- per day for both men andwomen. Nearly 3,000 families are employedin the c<strong>of</strong>fee estates throughout the year,each family earning not less than Rs. 3,000/-per month according to the APFDC. Twohundred and fifty families <strong>of</strong> workers werealso provided with permanentaccommodation and facilities like freemedical care, electricity and transport fortheir children to schools. The tribal farmerswho grow c<strong>of</strong>fee also hire labour toundertake c<strong>of</strong>fee cultivation work at the rate<strong>of</strong> Rs. 50/- per day. The ITDA has alsoincluded the c<strong>of</strong>fee project underMGNREGA in convergence with TRICORin Paderu recently.Pepper, was introduced as a companion cropto c<strong>of</strong>fee in APFDC plantations in early1970s with Kottandan and Karimundu beingthe original cultivars. Today there areseveral high yielding varieties <strong>of</strong> pepper likePanniyur-I, Purnima, Sreekara, Subhakara,Panchami and Panniyur-5. The pepper vinesare grown as a climber on the shade trees inc<strong>of</strong>fee estates. In the APFDC c<strong>of</strong>feeplantations there are more than 4 lakhpepper vines whose yield is adding to theincome generated from c<strong>of</strong>fee plantations.In addition c<strong>of</strong>fee plantations owned by theadivasis and the C<strong>of</strong>fee Board research anddemonstration farms also produce peppercrop annually in Andhra Pradesh. The otherintercrops include mango, jackfruit, arecanut and vegetables. Expected income from24
pepper per one government document(<strong>Government</strong> Order dated 27 December2008) is between Rs. 20,000/- and Rs.30,000/- per acre while a government pressrelease (dated 5 August 2010) gives theincome from pepper and subsidiary crops asranging between Rs. 2,500/- and Rs.10,000/-.Bauxite reserves and mining in theEastern Ghats <strong>of</strong> Andhra PradeshThe East Coast Bauxite Deposits locatedalong the east coast in the states <strong>of</strong> AndhraPradesh and Orissa in India have a specialstatus owing to certain diagnostic geologicgeomorphicmanifestations. The recognitionin 1970 <strong>of</strong> crystalline gibbisite in the thicklateritic duricrust <strong>of</strong> Galikonda nearAnanthagiri mandal in Visakhapatnamdistrict, Andhra Pradesh, led to thediscovery <strong>of</strong> these resources and broughtabout a spectacular boost to the bauxitereserves <strong>of</strong> the country. These reserves arefound within the northern latitudes 17°47’and 19°45’ and the eastern longitudes81°53’ and 83°30’ over a length <strong>of</strong> 400 kmand width <strong>of</strong> 30 km in a northeast-southwestalignment in the southern part and northsouthalignment in the northern part.Bauxite is a product <strong>of</strong> weathering andbauxite here is a product <strong>of</strong> in-situweathering <strong>of</strong> bedrock. Theoretically, givenenough time and suitable climaticparameters bauxite can form from any form<strong>of</strong> parent rock. In the context <strong>of</strong> the EasternGhats these have been best developed eitherover khondalites or over charnockites. TheEast Coast bauxite deposits are found onflat-topped hills and occur at two levels—1,000 m elevation that is more enriched inaluminium and lower altitudes rangingbetween 300 m and 500 m. The bauxitedeposits occur mostly on the gentle tomoderately sloping plateaus. Thekhondalite, in general forms the hills, whilethe charnockite occupy the lower slopes andintervening valleys. The area comprising thebauxite duricrust is also devoid <strong>of</strong> thickvegetation whereas the slopes support thickvegetation. The bauxite reserves are, ingeneral, low in silica and titania and high iniron content. The alumina content variesbetween 42 percent and 56 percent. InOrissa, the individual cappings have largeareal extent and are widely scattered over anarea <strong>of</strong> 4,000 sq km.The state <strong>of</strong> Andhra Pradesh, in peninsularIndia has 21 percent, nearly 750 milliontonnes, <strong>of</strong> India’s bauxite resources. Thesebauxite reserves are primarily concentratedin parts <strong>of</strong> the Eastern Ghats that stretchacross the districts <strong>of</strong> East Godavari andVisakhapatnam, in north coastal AndhraPradesh. The main deposits in AndhraPradesh are found in the Ananthagiri,Chintapalli and Gurtedu regions (Table 5:Exploration data for bauxite reserves inAndhra Pradesh sector).Attempts to mine the bauxite ore had begunas far back in the 1970s, but faced severeopposition from the adivasis in the region.The state government and different privatecorporations made several attempts in thedecades after to initiate mining in theregion. The main benefits promised to thelocal communities are that <strong>of</strong> creation <strong>of</strong>employment opportunities and development<strong>of</strong> the region. The local communities,however, were more concerned about thethreats to their agricultural and resourcebase, and sustained protests by themprevented the advancement <strong>of</strong> the miningplans. Some <strong>of</strong> the adivasis, especiallyfrom the older generation, who had been toexposure visits organised by an NGO to theNALCO bauxite mining site in Damanjodi,Orissa, were more than ever convinced thatnone <strong>of</strong> the benefits <strong>of</strong> mining would accrueto the communities. The districtadministration too had taken about 46adivasis from the village <strong>of</strong> Beespuram toDamanjodi in August 2005 in an attempt toconvince them about the benefits <strong>of</strong> themining project. However, the adivasis were25
Page 4: List of Abbreviati
Page 7 and 8: IntroductionThe Constitution <stron
Page 9 and 10: Mitra, a community-based organisati
Page 11 and 12: Table 1: Vegetation types o
Page 13 and 14: Faunal diversityFaunal records incl
Page 15 and 16: are typical of hig
Page 17 and 18: vegetables, fruits, and roots and t
Page 20 and 21: union territories in the country en
Page 22 and 23: exploitation in the Scheduled Areas
Page 24 and 25: and more than 10.13 lakh titles hav
Page 26 and 27: A coffee plantatio
Page 28 and 29: capacity building of</stron
Page 32 and 33: Table 5: Exploration data for bauxi
Page 34 and 35: Adivasi women at the public hearing
Page 36 and 37: division. The coastline is broken a
Page 38 and 39: stream. In 2007 piped water to a ta
Page 40 and 41: Table 7: Land details of</s
Page 42 and 43: improve the soil fertility; finger
Page 44 and 45: lack gram, green gram, ginger, chil
Page 46 and 47: Table 10 : Land area under c<strong
Page 48 and 49: purposes only. Wood from different
Page 50 and 51: Table 13: NTFP collection calendarP
Page 52 and 53: Orangesgrown athomeSome amount <str
Page 54 and 55: Hens are raised for meat and sold f
Page 56 and 57: emaining had worked anywhere betwee
Page 58 and 59: Major findings and discussion• Ag
Page 60 and 61: nutrition with meat from huntingadd
Page 62 and 63: government are oft
Page 64 and 65: Forested hill slopes of</st
Page 66 and 67: supplementing the inadequate housin
Page 68 and 69: Table 15: Some data on child labour
Page 70 and 71: of a range NTFP an
Page 72 and 73: • The environment is facing sever
Page 74 and 75: Land alienation and violation <stro
Page 76 and 77: ReferencesAgarwal, A. and S. Narain
Page 78 and 79: Government Order M
Page 80 and 81:
Sudhir, SNV. 2005. Nalco trip fails
Page 82 and 83:
Common name Local name Botanical na
Page 84 and 85:
Annexure 3: Compensation paid for l
Page 86 and 87:
Integrated Tribal Development Autho
Page 88:
Dhaatri Resource Centre for Women a
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Impacts of Government Policies on Sustenance of Tribal ... - Samata

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