Odisha
,
Balarampur
,
Dhenkanal
Published : 12 July, 2014   |   Last updated - 24 Jun, 2024
Odisha CM Orders Relocation of Beer Factory from Balarampur Following Public Protests
Reported by
Sandeep Pattnaik
Legal Review by
Anmol Gupta
Updated by
Anupa Kujur
Households affected
7200
People Affected
2014
Year started
13
Land area affected
Households affected
7200
People Affected
2014
Year started
13
Land area affected
Key Insights
Sector
Industry
Reason/Cause of conflict
Beverages
Conflict Status
Ongoing
Ended
Legal Status
Region Classification
Rural
Ended
1
Summary

Since 1972, the villagers of Balarampur and adjoining villages of Dhenkanal district have been protecting 92 acres of forestland. This land is adjacent to Tansa Hill, which is also a forest spread across 600 acres. This patch is home to various wild animals and is also an elephant corridor. Further, the village residents depend on this land for minor forest produce. They claim industrial activities in this area would lead to an environmental disaster. The conflict started when the state government converted the 92 acres of forestland to revenue land. An area of 12.86 acres of grazing revenue land was dereserved and transferred to the Industrial Development Corporation of Odisha (IDCO) on lease for the construction of breweries. The villagers alleged that the entire process was initiated without the approval of the Central government, which is a violation of Section 2 of Forest Conservation Act, 1980. The entire plot of land is a physically dense forest growing various matured timber species. If any patch of the area is being allowed for industrial activity, the entire landscape will be adversely affected. Supplanted by a historically strong antiliquor movement in the region, the people urged the government authorities to cancel the lease agreement, if any, made with IDCO as the conversion, dereservation and transfer of land was blatantly illegal. In November, 2018, protesters clashed with the police, in which 13 persons were arrested. Soon after, following a recommendation of the Revenue Divisional Commissioner, the chief minister finally scrapped the project and ordered the beer factory to be relocated.

2
Fact Sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand for compensation

Refusal to give up land for the project

Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources

Opposition against environmental degradation

Complaint against procedural violations

Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Region Classification

Rural

Type of Land

Common

Forest

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)

Status of Project

Original Project Deadline

Whether the Project has been Delayed

Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

Total investment involved (in Crores):

102

Type of investment:

Cost of Project

Year of Estimation

Page Number In Investment Document:

Has the Conflict Ended?

Yes

When did it end?

November 2018

Why did the conflict end?

Author
Reported by
Sandeep Pattnaik

Odisha

Kumar Sambhav is a social entrepreneur and award-winning journalist, leading innovative research in accountability investigations. He is the founder of Land Conflict Watch and is currently working as India Research Lead with Princeton University’s Digital Witness Lab.

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Fact sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand for compensation

Refusal to give up land for the project

Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources

Opposition against environmental degradation

Complaint against procedural violations

Odisha CM Orders Relocation of Beer Factory from Balarampur Following Public Protests

Reported by

Sandeep Pattnaik

Legal Review by

Edited by

Updated by

Updated by

Aishwarya Mohanty

Published on

December 2, 2017

May 17, 2022

Edited on

December 2, 2017

Sector

Industry

Reason or Cause of Conflict

Beverages

Starting Year

2014

Land Area Affected (in Hectares)

13

ha

Households Affected by Conflict

People Affected by Conflict

7200

State

Odisha

Sector

Industry

People Affected by Conflict

7200

Households Affected by Conflict

Land Area Affected (in Hectares)

13

ha

Starting Year

2014

Location of Conflict

Balarampur

Dhenkanal

Reason or Cause of Conflict

Beverages

Land Conflict Summary

Since 1972, the villagers of Balarampur and adjoining villages of Dhenkanal district have been protecting 92 acres of forestland. This land is adjacent to Tansa Hill, which is also a forest spread across 600 acres. This patch is home to various wild animals and is also an elephant corridor. Further, the village residents depend on this land for minor forest produce. They claim industrial activities in this area would lead to an environmental disaster. The conflict started when the state government converted the 92 acres of forestland to revenue land. An area of 12.86 acres of grazing revenue land was dereserved and transferred to the Industrial Development Corporation of Odisha (IDCO) on lease for the construction of breweries. The villagers alleged that the entire process was initiated without the approval of the Central government, which is a violation of Section 2 of Forest Conservation Act, 1980. The entire plot of land is a physically dense forest growing various matured timber species. If any patch of the area is being allowed for industrial activity, the entire landscape will be adversely affected. Supplanted by a historically strong antiliquor movement in the region, the people urged the government authorities to cancel the lease agreement, if any, made with IDCO as the conversion, dereservation and transfer of land was blatantly illegal. In November, 2018, protesters clashed with the police, in which 13 persons were arrested. Soon after, following a recommendation of the Revenue Divisional Commissioner, the chief minister finally scrapped the project and ordered the beer factory to be relocated.

Fact Sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand for compensation

Refusal to give up land for the project

Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources

Opposition against environmental degradation

Complaint against procedural violations

Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Region Classification

Rural

Type of Land

Common

Type of Common Land

Forest

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)

Status of Project

Original Project Deadline

Whether the Project has been Delayed

Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

Total investment involved (in Crores):

102

Type of investment:

Cost of Project

Year of Estimation

Page Number In Investment Document:

Has the Conflict Ended?

Yes

When did it end?

November 2018

Why did the conflict end?

Legal Data

Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict

Forest and Scheduled Area Governance Laws, Environmental Laws, Other

Legislations/Policies Involved

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  2. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

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  3. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

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  4. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

  5. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

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  6. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

  7. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute

Yes

What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?

The community demanded that the felling of trees be stopped immediately and adequate compensation for trees felled be granted, along with the implementation of afforestation programme on the same land. As a result of protests, tree felling was ordered to be put on hold and the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) was asked to probe the matter. The RDC recommended that the allocation be cancelled and an alternate site be granted. Following this, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ordered the relocation of the plant. The RDC also directed that “felling of trees may be stopped” and “immediate plantation should be taken up”.

What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?

The community demanded that the felling of trees be stopped immediately and adequate compensation for trees felled be granted, along with the implementation of afforestation programme on the same land. As a result of protests, tree felling was ordered to be put on hold and the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) was asked to probe the matter. The RDC recommended that the allocation be cancelled and an alternate site be granted. Following this, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ordered the relocation of the plant. The RDC also directed that “felling of trees may be stopped” and “immediate plantation should be taken up”.

Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:

Non-implementation/violation of FRA

Violation of environmental laws

Legal Status:

In Court

Status of Case In Court

Whether any adjudicatory body was approached

Yes

Name of the adjudicatory body

National Green Tribunal

Name(s) of the Court(s)

Case Number

Original Application no. 174/ 2017/ EZ

Main Reasoning/Decision of court

Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:

Arrest/detention/imprisonment

Reported Details of the Violation:

In November, 2018, protesters clashed with the police, in which 13 persons were arrested.

Date of Violation

Location of Violation

Additional Information

Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:

Industries department

PSUs Involved in the Conflict:

Industrial Development Corporation of Odisha Limited

Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?

Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached

Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:

P&A Bottlers Private Limited

Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?

No

Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:

Anchalika Suraksha and Bikash Mancha

Information on the use of criminal law

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Resources

Resources Related to Conflict

  • News Articles Related to the Conflict:
  • Documents Related to the Conflict:
  • Links Related to the Conflict:

Images

Image Credit:  

Image Credit:  

Video

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