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Political Notes

	January 07, 2008

Government notifies Act on forest dwellers



The government on Jan. 1 notified the much-awaited Sched¬uled Tribes and Other Traditional Forests Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights Act) 2006, almost an year after it was passed by the Parliament.



The Act aims at providing forest rights to STs and other people, living and depending on forests for their livelihood for three generations. Those living in forests for 75 years prior to December 13, 2005, will be the main beneficiaries of the Act.

Some of the major rights recognised under the Act include forestland up to four hectares, right to collect, use and dispose off minor produce and traditional rights like grazing inside forests.



The Tribal Affairs Ministry issued the notification to the Act promising land rights to forest dwellers on December 31, the last day of 2007. And the same day the PMO also issued the list of core notified tiger reserves that would be out-of-bounds for human beings. The PMO notification stated that as many as 11 tiger range states had been identified as critical big cat habi¬tats.





Centre takes U-turn on SEZs



Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat on Jan. 3 got a green signal from the UPA government to go ahead with his 31 December decision to scrap all 15 Special Economic Zones (SEZs), including the three notified ones, in the state.



Overriding the stance his Secretary Gopal Pillai, Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath informed Chief Minister Kamat that the Centre would not impose any SEZ on Goa and would review the status of the three notified SEZs just as the state wished.



Sticking to his government’s decision, Kamat made it clear that the Congress-led government in Goa did not want SEZs any longer now that Goan people were “opposed” to them.



A day earlier, Pillai had questioned the Goa government’s decision to scrap even the three notified SEZs, asserting these “legal entities” could not be de-notified by the state govern¬ment. Pillai had, however, added that the remaining 12 SEZs, including four approved but not notified by the Centre, could be revoked in view of the state’s desire.





Congress non-commital, leaves it to states



However, taking a non-committal stand on whether or not it supports the Goa government’s move to scrap all 15 Special Eco¬nomic Zones (SEZs) in the state, the AICC on Jan. 4 left it to each state to chart out its own SEZ course “in tune with the national SEZ policy” depending on their “local conditions and issues”.



Seeking to dispel the impression that the Central govern¬ment was divided on the issue, AICC spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath’s remark that all SEZs, including the three notified ones, could be reviewed appeared to be at sharp variance with his Ministry Secretary Gopal Pillai’s statement on Jan. 2 that the notified SEZs could not be cancelled because they have become “legal entities”.



“The issue is only relevant for the three notified SEZs,” said Singhvi indicating that there should be no problem in revo¬cation of in-principle or formal approval extended to 12 other SEZs in Goa.



The Congress central leadership shied away from throwing its weight behind the Kamat government’s move because it does not want to be perceived as anti-economic reforms or anti-SEZ per se.

Giving credit to the party chief Sonia Gandhi, for applying correctives to the national SEZ policy at the party’s 2006 Naini¬tal conclave to “safeguard the interests of the agriculture sector and affected farmers” and give it a “human face”, the AICC spokesman said, “It was the Congress-led UPA government which for the first time laid down detailed SEZ guidelines in public inter¬est and in the interest of farmers.”





Kandhamal normal : UPA to ensure social harmony, says PM



The situation in the Kandhamal district of Orissa, which witnessed violence against Christians and their places of worship in the beginning of the New Year, is returning to normal, thanks to swift efforts by the state and central agencies including the initiative by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and National Human Rights Commission.



Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured Gladys Staines, whose missionary husband Graham Staines was killed in Orissa, that the Government was taking all steps to ensure restoration of normalcy and bring about harmony and peace in affected areas.



“I assure you that the Government of India will take neces¬sary steps to safeguard the fundamental rights and liberties of all sections of our society and protect their religious freedom as enshrined in the Constitution,” Singh said in a letter to Gladys Staines.



A delegation of Christian leaders, led by Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar Raphael Cheenath, also met Home Minister Shivraj Patil, National Commission for Minorities chairman Mo¬hamed Shafi Qureshi and Chairman of the NHRC Rajendra Babu, urging them to address Christian’s concerns.



According to media reports, fresh violence rocked several areas in Kandhamal district of Orissa on Jan. 1-2, even as Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil visited relief camps and promised compensation to the victims of the communal riot since December 24.



Police said at least 20 houses and shops were torched at Phiringia, Khajuripada, Gochapada and Brahmanigaon by rioters on Tuesday night. Similar incidents were reported from Brahmani¬gaon, one of the badly affected areas in the riots. Around 15 shops were attacked and torched, police said.



Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced that those whose houses were destroyed would be provided accommodation under Indira Aawas Yojana. Similarly, Rs 10,000 would be provided to people whose houses were partially damaged, he said, adding, Kandhamal had remained incident-free since December 27 as efforts were on to restore peace and normalcy in the district.