Thread by @maitreemuz

(1/10) Eviction notices have been shamelessly served to about 45000 tribals in 52 villages in #Chitrakoot (UP) because they are in Ranipur Wildlife Sanctuary. They have been living here for generations. “Where will we go?”

Watch report by @alim_jafri:

https://twitter.com/alim_jafri/status/1488858545059958785

(2/10) #Chitrakoot district has vast tracts of forest land, a home & livelihood source for the adivasis & other forest-dwelling communities & forest workers. Most hail from economically weak backgrounds & depend on forest produce & land for sustenance.

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(3/10) Forest officials are allegedly engaging in intimidation, harassment and abuse of the tribals to keep them away from the land. Many such instances have been reported from villages such as Kihuniya, Nagar, Ranipur, Gopipur, Unchdih, etc.

google.co.in/amp/s/www.news…

(4/10) “Our houses are set on fire and crops destroyed by officials, who are leaving no stone unturned to harass us so that we get scared and leave the forest. The Forest Department claims the land belongs to them, but the reality is it is our forefathers’ property.”

(5/10) Several of them have already been slapped with cases. Suggan, 48, a father of four, faces a case under Section 26 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, for “illegally occupying government land, levelling it and using for farming and residential purposes”.

(6/10) The Forest Department officials are not the only ones who allegedly threaten their existence. They have to also deal with landlords of the area who, they say, do not let them do any farm activity of the land allotted to them decades ago.

(7/10) The harassment comes in wake of Adivasis filing community claims in line with their rights enshrined in Forest Rights Act, 2006 that gave them back rights to govern, manage & access forest land & resources that were controlled by the forest department since colonial times.

(8/10) The law makes the Gram Sabha the statutory body for managing forestlands, and protecting them. It provides that no activity should be carried out in these forests until individual and community claims over them have been settled.

(9/10) Activists believe that forceful evictions of the Adivasis violate provisions of The Scheduled Tribes & Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. It also goes against the SC order of Feb 2019, staying evictions of all forest dwellers.

(10/10) Forceful eviction of tribal communities is a human rights violation. This is their home & livelihood. They protect & conserve wildlife & forests. The ground report is heart-wrenching. Speak up loud against the eviction. #Chitrakoot

Snippets from report by @alim_jafri