Lok Shakti Abhiyan, an outfit spearheading the anti-displacement movement in Odisha, has opposed what it alleged was the ‘forcible’ land acquisition of agricultural land for a cement manufacturing company in Sundargarh district and sought the intervention of the Governor to put the brakes on ousting tribal settlers from their lawful occupation.
“Alleging that the grave violation of the constitution is being perpetrated in Lanjiberna village under the guise of development for the Dalmia Company, agricultural lands belonging to tribal families are being forcibly taken possession of,” Prafulla Samantara, President Lok Shakti Abhiyan, wrote to Governor Dr Hari Babu Kambhampati.
These actions, carried out under the cover of night using JCB machines and heavy police deployment, directly violate the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act of 2013 and the protections guaranteed under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, he pointed out.
No prior consent was sought from the Gram Sabha, nor has there been any meaningful dialogue with the affected landholders, he charged, seeking initiation of a high-level inquiry into the violation of tribal land rights.
“Your intervention will save the tribals from state-sponsored repression and their primary source of livelihood,” Samantara concluded in the petition addressed to the Odisha Governor.