Janadesh, the March, a real step forward for the Right to Land

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October 18 and 19 2008, militants belonging to Ekta Parishad organised a public assembly at Gwalior. Objective: to assess the results obtained and pass in review the actions undertaken after Janadesh.

For many years now Ekta Parishad has been battling for the rights of the poorest. Janadesh was a significant mobilisation organised in October 2007 with as a result important actions permitting several advancements:

Concretely at the National Level:

  • Creation of the National Council for Agricultural Reform. This group’s responsibility is to track the elaboration and establishment of agricultural reforms in favor of the poorest populaces at the state and regional government levels. → Rajagopal P.V., President Ekta Parishad, has been named member of this council.
  • Establishment of the National Commission for Agricultural Reform. This group has the responsibility of formulating National policies of agricultural reform, to ensure land redistribution and the real establishment of these reforms. → Ramesh Sharma, member of Ekta Parishad has been elected to this Commission.
  • In January 2008 the application of Forest Rights Act . This statute attributes permanent rights of usage of forest lands in favour of the resident populations. Almost 10 million tribes and native residents benefit of this Act.
  • Amendment of the Land Acquisition Act approved by Parliament (2008). The 1984 Act allows the central Indian state to requisition land for general means. This 2008 amendment includes several modifications, particularly regarding the evaluation and the amount of financial compensation. As a result environmental and social effects must be taken into account.
  • Instauration of Resettlement & Rehabilitation Act approved by Parliament (2008). An Act put in place to allow for the populations affected by dislocations a greater level of assistance than the monetary compensation provided for in the Land Acquisition Act.
  • Drafting of a National political project on the tribal conditions (2008). This project’s legal objective is to recognize and attribute forestry rights as well as occupancy authorizations of these forest lands to the native residents and registered tribes of the forests.

Visible concrete results; some notable examples:

In the state of Madhya Pradesh:

  • 238 000 claims have been registered and 90 000 land ownership titles distributed to the forests’ tribes and native residents.
  • 174 000 cases (minor offences regarding usage of forest products and user conflicts) have been registered and action taken to resolve these cases.

In the state of Orissa:

  • Thanks to a government action called « Vasundhra » or « Mor ghar mor deha » (my land, my home) nearly 83 000 homeless families received land ownership titles.
  • Around 62 000 claims have been registered by native forest residents and tribes to regularize their land occupancy.

In the state of Bihar:

  • The state commission for agricultural reform has been established and 324 000 hectares have been designated for redistribution to landless families.

New levels reached:

  • Due to the training received during Janadesh, 5000 engaged youth and militants have become instructors for youth camps.
  • Ekta Parishad has expanded it’s presence geographically, for example to the states of Utter Pradesh, Maharastra, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan, touching nearly 500 new villages.
  • Janadesh instaured a very successful model of “campaigning with the help of the people” : 200 000 kilos of grains and cereals and 140 000 roupies (more than 2000 euros) have been donated by the communities engaged in Janadesh.
  • Delegates of the people (elected or non-elected) have actively taken part throughout the different stages of the electoral process.
Update: Tuesday 7 October 2008