Whose Land Is It Anyway?

Chhattisgarh plans to win over Abujhmarh’s tribal population with habitation rights over land and break the Maoist stranglehold in the region

- Rahul Noronha

The Bhupesh Baghel government in Chhattisgarh is taking the battle against the Maoists right into the heart of rebel territory. Not better guns or intelligence gathering, the weapon of choice this time is a clause in the forest rights law that authorities hope will help win over the tribal people of the region.

The initiative is being put to test in Abujhmarh, in the Orchha tehsil of Narayanpur district. The 3,905 sq. km hilly terrain of teak and sal forests is predominantly inhabited by the Abujhmarias. Dandami Maria and Gond are among the other tribes. The only way to get about in these parts is to walk. Abujhmarh is a Maoist den, its inaccessibility serving as a safe haven for the rebels. Unlike the plains, the habitations—clusters of a few huts—are spread out thin. Abujhmarh is a typical strife-torn area. While the government claims it has no access to the villages deep inside, on paper, welfare programmes, such as the PM’s housing and sanitation schemes, are running.

Using section 3(1)(e) of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, or FRA, the government intends to grant people habitation rights. Such rights can be extended only to the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). Chhattisgarh has five of them—Pahari Korwa, Abujhmaria, Baiga, Kamar and Birhor.