India: Violation of Adivasis’ land rights in Jharkhand

Written on 06 February 2017. Posted in India

47 houses owned by the Adivasis have been razed in another attempt from the Jharkhand Forest Department, local police and the so-called forest mafia to evict the Adivasis from their land. Over 200 Adivasi villagers have been directly affected by the violent attempts to overtake the land and natural resources.

To support the Adivasis and raise attention to the land rights violations, IWGIA has shared an urgent alert with relevant authorities and embassies in India.

Here IWGIA calls on these institutions to urge the Government of India to:

• Immediately stop the evictions
• Give the villagers entitlement to the land they reside and cultivate under the Forest Rights Act 2006.
• Register a criminal case against the officials, who were involved in forceful eviction and destruction of houses and other belongings.
• Conduct an investigation by an independent team
• Compensate the victims for the destruction of their houses and belongings.
• Immediately provide humanitarian assistance to the victims
• Establish a constructive dialogue with the Adivasi communities and their representative organisations regarding their concerns.
• Guarantee that the land, natural resources and livelihood rights of the Adivasi communities are respected as per national and international law.

Tags: Land rights