TRIBALS – 2007 - Indian Social Institute

notification is issued, the Election Commission shall confine itself to the mandate of the provisionsof the Constitution and will not be swayed by any other consideration.” (The Hindu 15/8/07)AHADS project uplifts tribal people (6)THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Eco Restoration Project that began in Attappady in Palakkaddistrict in 1996 has helped rejuvenate quite a large number of dried-up water sources of theregion, thereby improving the livelihood status of the tribal people domiciled there, according to arecent study of the project’s impact done by the State Government. Enthused by the success, theGovernment has now decided to continue the initiatives under the project till 2010. In thebeginning, the focus of the project was solely on eco-restoration measures such as forest and soilconservation in the barren hills of the region. The Attappady Hill Area Development Society(AHADS), which coordinated the project, had also encouraged the tribal people to take up simpleventures such as processing pulses and other products gathered by them from the forests forbeing marketed in the nearby towns. Subsequently AHADS also concentrated on social activitiesamong the tribal people, trying to wean them away from alcohol and the hold of ganja cultivatorswho exploited their labour. Houses are also being built for the tribal families now. According toproject director V.K. Unniyal, the benefits of various initiatives under the project have alreadyreached the families of 122 of the 187 tribal hamlets in the region. The Government has nowdecided to extend the activities under the project to the remaining hamlets also. The Hindu16/8/07)Tribal land rights: Modi demands Central nod (6)MEHSANA: Asking the UPA Government to allow Gujarat to allot land to tribals by GandhiJayanti, Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday warned that any further delay on the longpendingissue would not be tolerated. “Gujarat is the only state which has allowed tribals tocultivate forest land and has given land rights to them,” he said at the Independence Day functionat the Police Parade Ground at Mehsana. “The proposal of issuing land rights to 4,000 tribals hasbeen pending with the Central Government for the last three years. If no decision is taken in thisregard by October 2, the Gujarat Government will provide land rights to them and break the law,”Modi said, adding that he was “prepared to face the legal consequences”. Attacking theOpposition Congress for “creating hurdles” in the economic progress of the state, Modi expressedconcern over “pseudo-secularism” which, according to him, was damaging the social fabric of thecountry. “It is dangerous to promote religion-based reservation and conversion. Equal importanceshould be given to all religions,” he demanded, highlighting the need to enforce a common civilcode. For the past few years, the official functions to mark the Independence and Republic Dayare being held in different district headquarters. (Indian Express 16/8/07)Tribal youth gets justice at last (6)CUTTACK: In a historic judgment, the Orissa High Court on Monday awarded a compensation ofRs. 8 lakh to a tribal boy who was illegally detained in jail for more than eight years. Pratap Naikof Boudh district languished in jail till January 2003 though he was cleared of murder charge inOctober 1994. A lower court employee, committed the goof-up, failing to place the acquittal orderof the High Court before the district court of Phulbani for eight years two months and 21 days.Terming the erring court staff a State government employee, the court observed that the Statecouldn’t escape its responsibility of paying the compensation. Senior lawyers said this was ahistoric ruling as never before a compensation of such a big amount was awarded in any PILcase. The lawyers also pointed out that this was a rare case where a lower court came in for flakin the High Court. The Bench of Chief Justice A. K. Ganguly and Justice Indrajit Mohanty askedthe Government to deposit the amount with the HC Registrar who in turn would put it in anationalised bank as a fixed deposit for 10 years. “During this period the victim would be allowedto withdraw 75 per cent of the monthly interest. He would be at liberty to withdraw the wholeamount after maturity,” the Bench said. Pratap was arrested in February 1989 when he was only14 years old. He was convicted by the district court in December the same year and wassentenced for life. By the time he was released after 13 years and ten months of confinement,including the illegal detention period, he became severely ill, suffering from acute mental disorder.Pratap did not seek any relief for the illegal detention of his own but a social activist Prabir Kumar