LAND RIGHTS: Adivasis, Dalits to march to Gandhinagar

Over 1 lakh Adivasis, Dalits and landless from across Gujarat will converge for a mahasammelan in Gandhinagar to demand land and other rights on November 26.

Organised by the Jameen Adhikar Zumbesh, an umbrella body for organisations and people working on land rights, the mahasammelan will put forth a set of demands before the government that have not been addressed despite several representations.

Gova Rathod, the convener of Jameen Adhikar Zumbesh, said over 90,000 landless families from across 33 districts had sought land form the government but hardly 10% of it has been accepted. "Even tho-se where it was accepted, either the title is not in their name or were not given what they asked for," said Rathod.

He said it was strange that the government could give over 27,000-hectare land to corporates for building SEZ, but not to the landless of Gujarat. "In the tribal areas of the state as per the Forest Rights Act, 1.82, individual applications and over 7,000 community land applications have been made in the last decade.

Of this, over 81,000 individual applications and over 3500 community application have been accepted," said Rathod. Even in such applications that were accepted, the beneficiaries have not got the land, he said.

The Dalits, Rathod said, had a problem of lack of cremation grounds. "In over 2,000 villages, Dalits don't have a cremation grounds. Their demand for land even when approved is not accepted by Gr-am Panchayat," said Rathod.

WHERE IT LANDS?

• Gova Rathod, con-vener of Jameen Adhikar Zumbesh, said over 90,000 landless families from across 33 districts had sought land form government, but hardly 10% plea were accepted. 
   
• He said it was stra-nge that govt gave land to corporates for building SEZ, but not to the landless of Gujarat.