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New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Rayagada bans entry of activists to six panchayats over mining project tensions
BHUBANESWAR: The Rayagada administration has prohibited entry of two organisations and their office-bearers along with seven civil rights activists to six gram panchayats of the district from Friday till August 11 unless specifically permitted. The prohibitory orders under section 163 of the BNSS, 2023 has been imposed on 'Maa Mati Mali Suraksha Manch' and 'Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti' along with their office-bearers and activists including Prafulla Samantara, Narendra Mohanty, Lingaraj Azad, Raja Ranjan, Saranya Kumari, Raj Kishore Sunani and Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar. They have been barred from entering, assembling, addressing any gathering or participating in any public or quasi-public activity within the jurisdiction of Sunger, Adajore, Sindoor Ghati, Talajhiri and Kashipur gram panchayats. The organisations have been planning meetings in Sijhimali hill region along with processions in these panchayats on the occasion of World Indigenous People's Day on Saturday. The orders came following two petitions received by Rayagada sub-collector from locals of Sagabari and Sunger about the movement and mobilisation of certain people in the past 10 days, threatening tribals to oppose the mining project at Sijhimali or face social boycott, apart from the intelligence inputs. 'The organisations inviting the activists have neither intimated the district administration nor submitted the list of speakers. Although the district administration attempted to contact some individuals, including Patkar, they did not respond to calls while some replied that they may come,' the orders stated. Stating that the entire Sijhimali region has a high threat of left-wing extremism, Rayagada collector Ashutosh Kulkarni asked the SP to take necessary preventive and coercive action to pre-empt any breach of peace. Earlier, a similar order on the ban of entry of a doctor and activists was challenged in the Orissa High Court, which had quashed the controversial order.
Time of India
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
NAPM alleges illegal eviction drive in Nabarangpur; collector claims revenue records checked
Bhubaneswar: A team of National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), Odisha unit, has alleged the govt carried out illegal eviction from four villages of Nabarangpur district, leaving many tribal, dalit, OBC and other forest-dependent families homeless. The team, led by activist Prafulla Samantara, said on Wednesday that they visited the affected villages on June 19 and documented evidence of widespread demolitions and forced evictions in Hatibadi under Jharigaon tehsil, Mendabeda under Umerkote tehsil, Chacharaghati under Chandahandi tehsil, and Lakhanpur under Raighar tehsil. He said they met governor Hari Babu Kambhampati on Tuesday and urged him to intervene in the matter. "Nabarangpur district is designated as a Fifth Schedule area. Despite clear provisions under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, and Article 21 of the Constitution, these evictions were conducted without due notice or legal process and without the consent of gram sabhas," he added. Samantara said several villagers filed FRA claims, and these are pending before the govt. "The evictions violated the Supreme Court's stay order in the 'wildlife first' case and disregarded procedural guidelines laid out in the Roy Burman and Nandini Sundar judgments. Targeting of SC/ST communities also raises serious concerns under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989," he added. Sandip Patnaik, a team member, said the forest and revenue departments conducted the eviction drives so they can carry out plantations. "As they are residents, they need land pattas and houses under the rural housing scheme. At least the departments could have rehabilitated them before carrying out demolition. The poor are staying under the open sky during the rainy season," he added. The team demanded an immediate halt to all ongoing evictions in Nabarangpur and other scheduled areas and called for a high-level judicial or independent probe. "Action should be taken against officials involved in the eviction drive," said Manas Patnaik, another member. Nabarangpur collector Subhankar Mohapatra said they cleared illegal encroachments after checking the revenue records. "Whatever FRA claims were submitted by the people, those are under discussion in consultative committees concerned on the Forest Rights Act," he added. He said they will take action if the houses of people who filed FRA claims were demolished. "But we took all necessary steps, including issuing notices to people, before clearing the encroachments," the collector said.
New Indian Express
26-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
NAPM members urge Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati to protect rights of tribals in Nabarangpur
BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha unit of National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) has expressed concern over a series of unlawful evictions and violation of human rights by the Forest and Revenue departments in the tribal-dominated Nabarangpur district. The forum members led by president of Lok Shakti Abhiyan Prafulla Samantara have appealed to Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati to intervene and stop all ongoing evictions in Nabarangpur and other scheduled areas to protect the interests of tribals and forest-dwelling communities. A fact-finding team of NAPM team had visited the district on June 19 and documented large-scale demolitions and displacement of hundreds of scheduled tribe, scheduled caste, OBC, and forest-dependent families across several villages. According to the report prepared by NAPM, villagers in Hatibadi (Jharigaon block), Mendabeda (Umerkote), Chacharaghati (Chandahandi) and Lakhanpur (Raighar) were subject to widespread demolitions by the Forest and Revenue departments. They alleged the eviction drives carried out during monsoon have left families without shelter, food, drinking water or access to healthcare. Despite clear legal protection under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, and the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), 1996, the evictions reportedly took place without proper notice and consent of Gram Sabhas while legitimate land claims under the FRA were still pending.
