Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 08.03.14
Govt failed to implement SC/ST Act, claim dalits- The Times Of India
No One Can Reverse T Process: KCR- The New Indian Express
Money, Muscle Power Ensure Sabotage of SC/ST PoA Cases- The New Indian Express
FAIR LAND DISTRIBUTION NEEDED FOR INTEGRATED FARMING- The Pioneer
The Times Of India
Govt failed to implement SC/ST Act, claim dalits
JAIPUR: Expressing concern over low conviction rate in cases related to atrocities against Dalits, the National Dalit Movement for Social Justice (NDMSJ) and Centre for Dalit Rights (CDR) on Friday alleged that the state government failed to implement SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act1989 properly.
They released a status report on implementation of SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. They took up 199 cases of atrocities against Dalits in different parts of the state alleging that the Act had not been effective in preventing the atrocities.
Some of the major areas of concern, which are mentioned in the report, are non-registration of cases, inordinate delay in investigation, no arrest of the accused, delay in filing charge-sheets, delay in trial leading to huge number of pending cases and low disposal of cases.
The report mentioned, "It has been observed that registration of 64 cases was delayed by the police and 46 cases were registered after court intervention. It means registration of total 110 cases was delayed out of 199 cases."
The 199 cases include, murder and abuse, rape, land dispute and violence against women. VA Ramesh, general secretary, Nathan National Dalit Movement for Justice, said, "Rajasthan government has failed to submit annual report to Centre on the enforcement of the Act. It has also failed to effectively monitor the Act's implementation. We brought out the report and there are various gaps in implementation. Also, the state government has failed to take action against the government officials in the matters."
The CDR claimed that a number of Dalit organizations monitored atrocities and gathered information through various means including fact finding visits to sites of atrocities, feedback from the victims, survivors and witnesses and activists in the field.
The report said charge sheet in only 24 cases out of 199 were filed within the stipulated time (0-30days). As many as 79 cases were closed as fake and one of them was not investigated by the police.
The New Indian Express
No One Can Reverse T Process: KCR
TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao on Friday said he was looking for a Telangana where there is a smile on the face of every one.
Addressing TDP workers from Mahabubabad in Warangal district who joined the TRS, Chandrasekhara Rao said that though Telangana state has already been formed, some Seemandhra leaders are trying to cheat people of their region saying that they would still be able to prevent it. “No one can reverse the process. It is an Act now,” he said, in an oblique reference to legal recourse former chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has taken to stall formal announcement of creation of Telangana state.
He said it was now very important that the same missionary zeal of party workers was necessary for reconstruction of Telangana state. He promised to spend Rs 1,000 crore in each Telangana district which works out to Rs 10,000 crore. There would be a SC component plan allocation of Rs.7,500 crore and if we can bargain with the Centre, we could get Rs 2,500 crore. Together, annual spending would be Rs 10,000 crore in Telangana for improving the living standards of Dalits, he said.
The New Indian Express
Money, Muscle Power Ensure Sabotage of SC/ST PoA Cases
A young Dalit woman was dragged out of her tailoring shop in broad day light and manhandled by a college lecturer at Kutiattur in Kannur on April 25 last year.
Her clothes were ripped off and she was abused by her caste name. After protest by dalit organisations, the police registered a case under relevant sections of the IPC and SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act (SC/ST PoA).
But when the case came up for hearing she found that the sections of SC/ST PoA was deleted from the chargesheet, allegedly owing to the pressure of political bigwigs and money. The culprit was discharged due to ‘lack of evidences’.
The court snubbed the prosecution for the way in which investigation in the case was carried out, but no appeal was filed. The woman says she has lost her faith in the judiciary and the system.
“Not a single person was convicted in SC/ST PoA cases in Kannur district for the past 10 years,” said Thekkan Sunil Kumar, general secretary of Kerala Pattika Yuvajana Samajam. The prosecution is not interested in filing appeals if they receive a set back in the lower court, he said.
“The two committees set up to monitor the investigation of such cases, one under the district police chief and another under the district collector, are just an eyewash and provide no respite for the complainants,” Sunil Kumar said.
According to him, approaching the police and the judiciary results in another round of harassment for victims.
“Police, money, political power all come to play eventually altering the fate of the case,” Sunil Kumar said. At least five suspicious deaths were written off as suicides by the local police in the recent years, he alleged.
State SC \ST Commissioner Justice P N Vijayakumar said that most of these poor people are afraid of police and police cases.
“They are still reluctant to approach the police with complaints. Let alone complaining against the police officers for not imposing SC-ST Po,” Vijayakumar said.
Money and muscle power play a great role in discouraging Dalits from pursuing cases. Adv K K Preetha, lawyer and activist, said there is a need for heightened vigil on the part of the community leaders and activists.
Many Dalits, especially tribals, lose their confidence in the solemn ambience of the courts. Formal court language also intimidates them, she pointed out.
According to section 18 of the PoA Act, the atrocities committed against Dalits are non-bailable offences. But in most cases, the accused go scot-free and the provision is not imposed, experts point out.
Besides, the public prosecutor should personally appear to present the case for the complainants, a provision which is seldom adhered to.
The SC/ST PoA has provisions that provide for legal aid and financial assistance to victims. The act also stipulates providing travelling expenses to victims and witnesses and compensation. But none of these provisions are properly implemented.
The Pioneer
FAIR LAND DISTRIBUTION NEEDED FOR INTEGRATED FARMING
Saturday, 08 March 2014 | MANAS JENA | in Bhubaneswar
Land is one of the most important productive assets, which provides identity, social security, food sufficiency and employment to all rural household. Agriculture has been creating opportunities for fullest utilisation of manpower and natural resources available in rural villages to mitigate poverty, distress migration and raise production which needs to be improved further. Land distribution is required to boost production, democratise ownership and access and by that ensure economic justice to the poor.
Land holding patterns are recognised as one of the important determinants of agriculture production. The skewed distribution of agricultural land in the State is affecting production. Agricultural land is required for those who are still depending on cultivation which includes bonded labourers, agricultural labourers, and share croppers.
The State Government has identified 50,000 bonded labourers out of which half of them are from undivided KBK districts. As per the Revenue Department sources, in 2006 about 4,45,450 agricultural landless families were identified in the State out of which 1, 25,494 were SCs and 1, 42,359 were STs. There has been no data about share croppers of the State. However, share croppers are deprived of getting formal credit, compensation and benefits of Government schemes in the absence of entitlement.
It is an established fact that absentee landlord presence is a problem for agriculture which affects production. It is very often reported in media that a large number of influential people have grabbed Government land and manipulated revenue record in their favour. The subsequent Government’s policy and lack of political will has been affecting land distribution programme.
The land distribution programme, once the agenda of Left forces, are slowly losing visibility. The land distribution was opposed by kings and Jamindars in early fifties and later by big farmers and now private corporate bodies. It is observed that the State Government has been providing huge area as lease to private companies and facilitating land lease for corporate farming and contract farming. Half of the geographical areas of the State are 5th Scheduled areas where survey and settlement have not yet been completed.
The State Government’s “Mo Jami and Mo Diha” scheme in 2007 is aimed to physically verify the actual possession of ceiling surplus land and waste land distributed among beneficiaries because many of the beneficiaries have only Patta without physical possession. Out of the total beneficiaries of the scheme, 2, 84,564 were STs, 1,53,029 were SCs and 1,83,452 were others.
Similarly Bhoodan Yagyna Samiti has distributed 5,79,984 acres out of total land of 6,38,706 acres among 1,52,852 land less persons. The quantum of land distributed is very less. However, land distribution has been an incomplete agenda. Therefore, agricultural land distribution should be fully reviewed by setting a commission. The land distribution programme needs to be changed in the context by broadening its scope and land size, considering integrated farming.
Odisha has advantage of ten agro climatic zones and abundant inland water having much scope for integrated farming. Strategies of land distribution should be local specific considering the availability of land and the geo-climatic situation. The water clad and swamp areas in coastal blocks can be distributed for pisciculture, seacoast for betel vines, river beds water bodies and canal banks for seasonal vegetable cultivation, hilly and forest areas for fruit orchard and agro-forestry, etc. The utilisation of waste land and reclamation of land for agriculture will positively contribute to boost production, employment and bring improvement in environment.
The agricultural land settlement and distribution has been getting delayed. The farmers are facing problem in getting RoR of the land in possession since long. The 12th plan document of the Planning Commission has proposed to distribute surplus land to disadvantaged and women farmers. It suggested for a comprehensive assessment of all land available with the Government including ceiling surplus land, uncultivable waste land and so on and its distribution in groups. The land can be registered in group’s name or under very long-term lease arrangement. It is also proposed to have a loan-cum-grant scheme with 50 per cent as grant and 50 per cent as low interest loan to purchase land.
The States like Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have exhibited success in such initiatives. The Kudumbashree project in Kerala and AP Mahila Samatha Society have brought substantial uncultivated land under farming, revived agriculture and created employment. The group model can be replicated in pisiculture, fishery, poultry, and livestock and integrated with schemes like MGNREGA for land development. It is also proposed to have public land bank at panchayat level by mobilizing deposits of land from land owners and making land available for the landless farmers.
The State Government can learn from the experience of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh and creatively implement this programme in Odisha. There is enough scope to make plan within budgetary provisions like Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) and Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) to develop waste land and purchase private land for distribution.
The Right to Fair Compensation, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Act 2013 has provisions to give land to the displaced, in case of irrigation projects and also to acquire land for project affected people. The Revenue, Agriculture, ST and SC Development, Labour and Employment Department and institutions like NABARD and the National Waste Land Development Board should collectively work out strategies to integrate programmes of land distribution and integrated farming.
(The writer is a rights activist who can be reached atojaabbsr@gmail.com)
News Monitor by Girish Pant
.Arun Khote
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of “Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC”)
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of “Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC”)
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