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The Hindu
5 days ago
- Health
- The Hindu
In Telangana's Mulugu, containers crack the access code in cut-off tribal hamlets
In the thick of Telangana's forest belt, where rivers swell and roads vanish during the monsoon, a new kind of lifeline has emerged — one that comes in a metal box. For Allem Roja, a 30-year-old Koya Adivasi woman from Pochapur hamlet in SS Tadvai mandal of Mulugu district, reaching a hospital used to be an ordeal. The local government primary health centre (PHC) is just 5 kilometres away, but without a bridge or a proper road, especially in the rains, it may as well have been in another world. 'Now, with this container health centre in our village, we are able to get first-aid and treatment for fevers and minor ailments right here,' says Roja, cradling her one-year-old daughter during a visit to the facility with mild fever and fatigue on July 31. Following a general check-up, medical officer at the Kodishala PHC, B. Pavan Kumar prescribes her medicines and rest. Everything she needs is provided on the spot. The container clinic is a modest, prefabricated unit set up in July 2024 to serve forest-fringe hamlets like Pochapur that lie within the Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary. It is the first such healthcare facility in Telangana — a pilot effort driven by local MLA and Minister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development, Danasari Anasuya, better known as Seethakka. The initiative has reached far beyond Pochapur, extending its impact to several sparsely populated hamlets and Gotti Koya gudems — settlements of an indigenous tribe originally from Chhattisgarh. These communities migrated here in the mid-2000s after fleeing violent clashes between the outlawed CPI (Maoist) and security forces. Among those forces was the Salwa Judum, a controversial, state-backed anti-Maoist militia formed in 2005, which displaced thousands of tribal families. Today, many of those who escaped the conflict have resettled in these forested parts of Mulugu district, nearly 80% of which lies within dense jungle terrain. But prefabricated container-based centres, both for health and education, are now rewriting what is possible for these long-neglected settlements. 'Minister Seethakka inuagurated this first-of-its-kind facility on July 13 last year just before the monsoon,' says Dr. Pavan Kumar. 'In one year, we have treated around 3,000 patients, including 457 fever cases. We conducted rapid diagnostic tests for 448 people and found six cases of malaria — three each of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum. Only two patients needed referral to higher centres,' he points out. The facility, which operates as a sub-centre under Kodishala PHC, also handled 12 antenatal and seven postnatal cases. Dr. Pavan Kumar visits the centre twice a week, supported by an Auxiliary Nursing Midwife (ANM) and five Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs). 'It covers five villages of Pochapur, Narsapur, Aligudem, Bandala and Bollepalli, all under Bandala gram panchayat,' he says. A health system made of steel The idea, according to District Collector T.S. Divakara, was born out of pure necessity as people couldn't travel even 5 kilometres to Kodishala or 35 kilometres to Pasra town through forest terrain, especially during the rains: 'Permanent structures are not allowed inside the sanctuary due to forest regulations. So we thought, why not a container?' Built at a cost of ₹7 lakh, the structure houses four beds and a small laboratory with washrooms available right outside. It may not be fancy, but it has been transformational for many. Allem Ashok, a young post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication from Kakatiya University, Warangal, and native of Pochapur, says absenteeism among staff at the main PHC in Kodishala remains an issue. 'I have filed several complaints with the District Medical & Health Officer and the Collector,' he says while acknowledging the container facility as a welcome change. 'Many of us avoid going to hospitals as we rely on herbal remedies passed down by our elders,' says Kursam Bikshapathi, another local resident. But when emergencies do occur, the barriers are real. Just last month, a pregnant woman named Gummadi Krishnaveni from Aligudem was carried through waist-deep floodwaters by family members and neighbours to reach the nearest motorable road at Bollepalli. The kutcha road was submerged and impassable. She was eventually taken to the Government Area Hospital in Mulugu in an ambulance. The incident triggered criticism of the Kodishala PHC staff, particularly because Krishnaveni herself worked as an ANM at the Pochapur container facility. Some locals accused the health staff of negligence. Denying the allegations, Dr. Pavan Kumar says Krishnaveni, then 28 weeks pregnant, had gone into premature labour in the early hours of July 24. 'Our team reached her with help from locals despite the flood. She was shifted first to the Government General Hospital, Mulugu, and then referred to the Government Maternity Hospital in Warangal,' he adds. He emphasises that as per the Collector's instructions, pregnant women nearing full term (34-40 weeks) had already been moved to safer locations due to the floods. 'This was a rare pre-term case but it was handled promptly.' Beyond healthcare, the Minister's container initiative has expanded to include education. Work is under way on a cement concrete road connecting Kodishala to Pochapur, and bridges are being constructed across several streams. 'We got the idea last monsoon,' recalls Seethakka, who belongs to the Koya tribal community and was a former Naxalite. 'I know these hamlets and their struggles; I grew up here and worked as a revolutionary among them. When the Collector mentioned using containers like we had for an Anganwadi in my village, it clicked.' The first container facility came up in just 20 days. Two more have since been established — at Ilapuram in Kannaigudem mandal on the banks of river Godavari and at Edjarlapalle in Wazeedu mandal. Pucca houses under the Indiramma Housing scheme are also being allotted to eligible families, with 5,000 sanctioned in the first phase for Mulugu district. 'Our goal is to improve living conditions in these Agency areas, from housing to schools to healthcare, considering the backwardness of the district. We are also promoting eco-tourism in places like Laknavaram Lake, Tadvi forest and Bogatha waterfall,' Seethakka says. She also highlights Mulugu's cultural importance: 'We have the UNESCO-recognised Ramappa Temple and host Asia's largest tribal congregation — the biannual Sammakka-Sarakka Jatara at Medaram.' Education in a box Following the health centres, Telangana's first container school came up at Bangarupalle, a hamlet in Kannaigudem mandal in September last year. Earlier, students of this government primary school used to attend classes under a leaking thatched roof. Built in 10 days at a cost of ₹13.5 lakh, the 25x25 ft container now serves 21 students from nursery to Class 5 and is equipped with a digital board, solar panels, and basic furniture. 'Earlier, classes would be suspended if it rained due to roof leakage. Now it is a proper school,' says former village sarpanch Chinta Chandraiah. The students belong mainly to the Gotti Koya community, which settled here 25 years ago after their migration from Chhattisgarh. Teachers say the digital board, powered by the rooftop solar panels, has improved student engagement, though forest laws still prevent power lines from being laid. The hamlet has just 37 families and remains cut off during rains due to swollen streams. Teachers often struggle to reach the school. One of them, A. Saraswathi, commutes daily on a motorcycle with her husband by navigating the dangerous terrain. 'Now, we are not scared of snakes or any other poisonous creatures entering the school unlike in the past,' she says. But Seethakka believes more needs to change. 'The Centre has relaxed rules for mining in forest areas but not for essential public services. Without roads, development is not possible. Forest laws should not block electricity, hospitals, or schools for tribal communities,' she says, calling for amendments to forest regulations that prevent basic infrastructure in tribal areas. She urges that electricity be provided through solar power systems and boundaries be clearly marked for tribal farmland to avoid disputes. Her consistent push appears to be paying off. On August 3, the Telangana State Board for Wildlife cleared several long-pending development works in Mulugu's Agency areas, including new roads, a 30-bed hospital in Pakhal Kothaguda (in neighbouring Mahabubabad district) and safari vehicles for promoting eco-tourism in SS Tadvai and Eturnagaram mandals. A model in the making Collector Divakara says while container-based services are not permanent solutions, they are practical given Mulugu's terrain and restrictions. As per the 2011 Census, the population of the district stood at 2.94 lakh, spread across 75,600 families. Scheduled Tribes constitute 29.36% of the total population. More container schools are in the pipeline, including one in Eturnagaram mandal with corporate social responsibility funds from ECIL. 'We are glad the Integrated Tribal Development Agency in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh is adopting our model,' says the Collector. In these forests where roads are scarce and help scarcer still, a steel container means more than convenience; it means dignity. Where floods cut off access and trust in systems runs low, the container isn't a stopgap. It is a sign that the State hasn't looked away. Not a miracle, but a beginning for sure.
New Indian Express
07-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Salwa Judum case: Legislative workaround and limits of contempt power
The doctrine of separation of powers must always be acknowledged in a constitutional democracy, the Supreme Court said in its May 15 order ruling that any law made by Parliament or state legislatures cannot be held to be in contempt of court. The decision by a bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma came while dismissing a 2012 contempt petition filed by sociologist Nandini Sundar and others against the Chhattisgarh government for enacting the Auxiliary Armed Police Force Act, 2011, alleging the law violated an earlier SC order. The bench held that the law did not amount to contempt of the SC's 2011 landmark judgment that disbanded the state government-backed Salwa Judum, terming it unconstitutional. Salwa Judum was a government-backed militia formed in Chhattisgarh in 2005, which used armed tribal civilians to combat Maoist violence. The contempt plea claimed that the Chhattisgarh government failed to comply with the 2011 order to stop open backing of vigilante groups like the Salwa Judum, and instead went ahead and armed tribal youths in the fight against Maoists. It said there had been a clear contempt of the SC order when the state government passed the Chhattisgarh Auxiliary Armed Police Force Act, 2011, which legalised arming tribals in the form of Special Police Officers (SPOs) in the war against Maoists. The petitioners further submitted that instead of disarming SPOs, which was a key constituent of the SC's 2011 order, the Chhattisgarh government legalised the practice of arming them. They also argued that the victims of the Salwa Judum movement had not been adequately compensated. In the latest ruling of May 15, the Supreme Court said the Chhattisgarh Auxiliary Armed Police Force Act, 2011 does not constitute a contempt of court per se, and that the balance between sovereign functionaries must always be delicately maintained. 'Every State Legislature has plenary powers to pass an enactment and so long as the said enactment has not been declared to be ultra vires the Constitution or, in any way, null and void by a Constitutional Court, the said enactment would have the force of law," the bench said. If any party wants that the legislation be struck down for being unconstitutional, the legal remedies would have to be presented before an appropriate constitutional court, the bench noted.
Scroll.in
04-06-2025
- General
- Scroll.in
Legislature cannot be in contempt simply for passing laws: Supreme Court in Salwa Judum case
The state Legislatures or Parliament cannot be held in contempt of court for simply passing a law, the Supreme Court has ruled as it closed the Salwa Judum case after 18 years. The court said this while disposing of a 2012 contempt plea filed by sociologist and former Delhi University Professor Nandini Sundar and others against the Chhattisgarh government's 2011 Auxiliary Armed Police Force Act. In its May 15 ruling that was released recently, the bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma said that state Legislatures had the 'plenary powers to pass an enactment' and would have the force of law as long as it 'has not been declared to be ultra vires the Constitution or, in any way, null and void by a Constitutional Court'. 'We must remember that central to the legislative function is the power of the legislative organ to enact as well as amend laws,' the court said. 'Any law made by the Parliament or a state Legislature cannot be held to be an act of contempt of a court, including this court, for simply making the law.' In 2005, the Salwa Judum, a state-supported civil vigilante campaign, was launched with an aim of targeting villages seen as harbouring Maoists. Armed vigilantes allegedly torched homes and forced villagers to flee to government-run camps. Translated as 'purification hunt' in Gondi language, Salwa Judum was presented by the state government as a spontaneous movement by the region's tribal community against the Maoists. However, human rights activists accused the Salwa Judum of coercing people into leaving their villages and supporting the group. With the tribal community split between both sides, there were several deaths for months. In May 2007, Sundar and others filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court alleging that the state government was using men from the tribal community as cannon-fodder in its fight against the Maoists. Four months later, the state government enacted the Chhattisgarh Police Act to absorb many of the Judum activists as special police officers. This was struck down by the Supreme Court on July 5, 2011, saying that the state actions amounted to 'an abdication of constitutional responsibilities' and that it represents 'an extreme form of transgression of constitutional boundaries'. The court also said that Salwa Judum was unconstitutional and ordered the group to be disbanded. Amid criticism, the Chhattisgarh Cabinet on July 22, 2011, promulgated an ordinance to introduce the Auxiliary Armed Police Force Act. Under the new Act, the special police officers were recruited as assistant constables on better terms and conditions. Sundar then filed a contempt plea before the Supreme Court in 2012 accusing the Chhattisgarh government of failing to stop its support for civil vigilante groups such as the Judum in its fight against Maoists. The plea argued that the 2011 law had simply legalised the existence of special police officers instead of complying with the court's order of winding up their activities. Other petitioners in the case The Indian Express reported.
New Indian Express
04-06-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Parliament's laws out of contempt ambit : SC
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has rejected a 2012 contempt plea filed by sociologist and former Delhi University professor Nandini Sundar and others, who claimed that the enactment of the Chhattisgarh Auxiliary Armed Police Force Act, 2011 to curb Maoist activity was in contempt of the court's landmark verdict against vigilante group Salwa Judum that year. 'Every State Legislature has plenary powers to pass an enactment and so long as the said enactment has not been declared to be ultra vires the Constitution or, in any way, null and void by a Constitutional Court, the said enactment would have the force of law,' a two-judge bench comprising justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma said. Sundar had alleged failure of the Chhattisgarh government to comply with the Supreme Court's directions in 2011 to stop support to vigilante groups like Salwa Judum and arming tribals in the name of special police officers (SPO) in the fight against Maoists. However, the bench observed that it was the duty of the state government and the Centre to take adequate steps for restoration of peace and rehabilitation of the residents who have been affected by violence from whatever quarter.
Hindustan Times
04-06-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
‘Not contempt': SC refuses to quash Chhattisgarh's anti-Naxal law
The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea challenging the Chhattisgarh Auxiliary Armed Police Force Act, 2011, holding that its enactment by the state legislature does not amount to contempt of the court's previous order that outlawed the controversial Salwa Judum militia. While refusing to strike down the 2011 legislation, the top court, however, made it unequivocally clear that it is the constitutional duty of both the Centre and the Chhattisgarh government to ensure peace and rehabilitation for the people affected by violence in the region. 'We note that it is duty of the State of Chhattisgarh as well as the Union of India to take adequate steps for bringing about peace and rehabilitation to the residents of State of Chhattisgarh who have been affected by the violence from whatever quarter it may have arisen,' a bench of justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma stated in its May 15 order, released recently. The bench noted that though the earlier order dated July 5, 2011 in the Nandini Sundar Vs State of Chhattisgarh case had directed the state to desist from using Special Police Officers (SPOs) in anti-Naxal operations, the 2011 Act did not violate or override that ruling, nor could the enactment of a law be equated to contempt of court. 'Any law made by the Parliament or a State legislature cannot be held to be an act of contempt of a Court, including this Court, for simply making the law…The passing of an enactment subsequent to the order of this Court by the legislature of the State of Chhattisgarh cannot, in our view, be said to be an act of contempt of the order passed by this Court,' held the bench. The bench added that the legislative action undertaken by the State was an exercise of its legitimate power under the Constitution. 'Every State Legislature has plenary powers to pass an enactment and so long as the said enactment has not been declared to be ultra vires the Constitution or, in any way, null and void by a Constitutional Court, the said enactment would have the force of law,' it said. Led by senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, the petitioners — sociologist Nandini Sundar, historian Ramachandra Guha, former bureaucrat EAS Sarma, had argued that the enactment of the 2011 law was in contempt of the apex court's July 2011 judgment, which held that the practice of appointing tribal youth as SPOs and arming them to fight Maoists was unconstitutional. They contended that the new law merely gave legislative backing to an arrangement that had already been struck down by the court. However, the court noted that while the earlier directions in the Nandini Sundar judgment prohibited the use of SPOs for counter-insurgency operations and ordered disbanding of armed vigilante groups like Salwa Judum, the enactment of a new law by the state legislature could not, by itself, be equated to contempt. It added that the petitioners must mount an appropriate legal challenge if they sought to assail the validity of the 2011 law because the 'interpretative power of a constitutional court does not contemplate a situation of declaring exercise of legislative functions and passing of an enactment as an instance of a contempt of a court.' The region has witnessed a decades-old Maoist insurgency, marked by frequent clashes between security forces and armed rebels, and has claimed thousands of lives over the years, including those of civilians, security personnel, and insurgents. The present litigation arises out of the Supreme Court's landmark 2011 judgment that had declared the use of tribal civilians as SPOs to combat Maoist insurgency as unconstitutional and violative of human rights. The top court had categorically banned the use of SPOs, many of them minors, and ordered disbanding of private militias like Salwa Judum and Koya Commandos, terming their activities as 'unconstitutional'. In that order, the apex court directed the immediate cessation of using SPOs in any form of counter-insurgency operations, withdrawal of all firearms issued to SPOs, prosecution of those responsible for criminal acts committed under the aegis of Salwa Judum and NHRC and CBI probes into grave human rights violations, including alleged arson and killings in some identified districts in Chhattisgarh. However, soon after the 2011 verdict, the state government enacted the Chhattisgarh Auxiliary Armed Police Force Act, purportedly to legitimise the appointment of locals in auxiliary armed forces, prompting fresh litigation and a contempt plea by the petitioners, who argued that the enactment was an 'attempt to nullify' the Supreme Court's binding directions and that the state's move to reintroduce civilian combatants under a new statutory garb amounted to willful disobedience. They also flagged non-compliance with the court's directive to rehabilitate former SPOs, prosecute members of Salwa Judum for past atrocities, and investigate attacks on activists such as Swami Agnivesh, who was assaulted in 2011 while trying to visit affected villages. Rejecting these arguments, the bench held that enacting a law is a legislative act and must be challenged accordingly, not via contempt jurisdiction. It also took note of the Centre's and Chhattisgarh government's submission that they had complied with the directions issued in 2011 and had filed the requisite compliance reports. The Salwa Judum was a state-sponsored civil militia movement initiated in 2005 as a counter-insurgency strategy against Maoist rebels in southern Chhattisgarh. Comprising largely tribal youth armed with basic training and firearms, the movement rapidly became notorious for serious human rights abuses, including extra-judicial killings, sexual violence and forced displacement of villagers. The Salwa Judum was disbanded officially following the 2011 judgment.
