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Tribal Communities in Jharkhand Protest against Land Bank in Netarhat Firing Range

Reported by

Alok

Legal Review by

Edited by

Updated by

Published on

April 24, 2017

May 17, 2022

Edited on

April 24, 2017

State

Jharkhand

Sector

Land Use

People Affected by Conflict

275000

Households Affected by Conflict

Land Area Affected (in Hectares)

147100

ha

Starting Year

1993

Location of Conflict

Mahautar

Latehar

Gumla

Reason or Cause of Conflict

Landbank

Land Conflict Summary

For nearly three decades, tribal communities have been agitating against the proposed Netarhat Firing Range in Gulma and Lathehar districts in Jharkhand. When the government proposed to create a land bank of nearly 80 acres in the range to attract investors, irate tribespeople called for a _bandh _on March 29, 2017, to boycott then Chief Minister Raghubar Das' public event at Mahautar in Latehar district. Public support to the _bandh _led to the cancellation of the chief minister's visit. Subdivisional officer of Mahautar, Om Prakash, informed the media that the demands of the people had been forwarded to the chief minister's office and also to the chief secretary. Dayamani Barla, a frontal tribal leader, told LCW that land bank of nearly 8090 acres for the firing range was created by the government to invite investors to the state and to displace the tribal communities. "The government did not have the courage to displace tribals in 2000 when land acquisition for the firing range had begun as our protest forced the government to take a backstep. So the government is now trying to enter the Netarhat firing range by giving land to industrialists, Barla said. The proposed firing range, spread across 245 villages, threatens to displace 2.75 lakh tribespeople. The issue was debated in the Rajya Sabha in 2007 when MP Mabel Rebello sought the government's stand on how it planned to rehabilitate the displaced families. Gladson Dung Dung, another tribal activist of Pilot Project Netarhat Field Firing Range Virodhi Jan Sangharsh Samiti, told LCW that nearly 90 per cent of the land under the land bank falls under Schedule V and hence cannot be purchased or transferred. "Moreover, the land in question belongs to various Gram Sabhas. The government has no right to put this land under the land bank," he added. On March 2324, 2021, thousands of tribespeople participated in an annual congregation in Latehar demanding cancellation of the project. It is to be noted, however, that practice in the firing range and land acquisition were stopped in 1994 after massive public protests. When asked about the current status of the project, Pramod Kumar Gupta, deputy commissioner of Latehar, told LCW it was the same as it was 10 years ago. "Nothing much has changed. However, most of the land falls in Gumla district, so I cannot say much," he added. Gumla DC Shravan Sai did not respond to LCW's phone calls.

Fact Sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Refusal to give up land for the project

Complaint against procedural violations

Demand for rehabilitation

Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources

Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Cancellation of the project

Region Classification

Rural

Type of Land

Both

Type of Common Land

Forest and Non-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):

Type of investment:

Year of Estimation

Page Number In Investment Document:

Has the Conflict Ended?

No

When did it end?

Why did the conflict end?

Legal Data

Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict

Forest and Scheduled Area Governance Laws, Land Acquisition Laws, Constitutional Law, Other

Legislations/Policies Involved

Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006
Section 3(a)[Right to live on and hold forestland]; Section 4(2) [Free informed consent of Gram Sabha is essential before any plan is approved]
Land Acquisition Act, 1894
Section 5A [Hearing of objections against land acquisition]; Section 11 [Lapse of acquisition proceedings if award of compensation is not prepared within two years from the date of declaration]
Manoeuvres, Field Firing and Artillery Practice Act, 1938
Section 9(1) [Power of state government to notify any area for carrying out field firing and artillery practice]
Constitution of India, 1950
Fifth Schedule, Paragraph 5(2) [Transfer of tribal land]
Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996
Section 4(m)(iii) [Empowerment of Gram Sabha to prevent alienation of tribal land]
  1. 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.

  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.

    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.

  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.

    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.

  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.

    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.

  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

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

What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?

Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:

Controversial land acquisition by the government

Forced evictions/dispossession of land

Non-implementation/violation of FRA

Non-rehabilitation of displaced people

Non-implmentation/violation of PESA

Legal Status:

Out of Court

Status of Case In Court

Whether any adjudicatory body was approached

Name of the adjudicatory body

Name(s) of the Court(s)

Case Number

Main Reasoning/Decision of court

Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:

No items found.

Whether criminal law was used against protestors:

Reported Details of the Violation:

Date of Violation

Location of Violation

Additional Information

Nature of Protest

Campaigns (grassroots organisations/press releases/media)

Protests/marches

Strikes

Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:

Ministry of Defence

PSUs Involved in the Conflict:

Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?

Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached

Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:

Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?

Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:

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

For nearly three decades, tribal communities have been agitating against the proposed Netarhat Firing Range in Gulma and Lathehar districts in Jharkhand. When the government proposed to create a land bank of nearly 80 acres in the range to attract investors, irate tribespeople called for a _bandh _on March 29, 2017, to boycott then Chief Minister Raghubar Das' public event at Mahautar in Latehar district. Public support to the _bandh _led to the cancellation of the chief minister's visit. Subdivisional officer of Mahautar, Om Prakash, informed the media that the demands of the people had been forwarded to the chief minister's office and also to the chief secretary. Dayamani Barla, a frontal tribal leader, told LCW that land bank of nearly 8090 acres for the firing range was created by the government to invite investors to the state and to displace the tribal communities. "The government did not have the courage to displace tribals in 2000 when land acquisition for the firing range had begun as our protest forced the government to take a backstep. So the government is now trying to enter the Netarhat firing range by giving land to industrialists, Barla said. The proposed firing range, spread across 245 villages, threatens to displace 2.75 lakh tribespeople. The issue was debated in the Rajya Sabha in 2007 when MP Mabel Rebello sought the government's stand on how it planned to rehabilitate the displaced families. Gladson Dung Dung, another tribal activist of Pilot Project Netarhat Field Firing Range Virodhi Jan Sangharsh Samiti, told LCW that nearly 90 per cent of the land under the land bank falls under Schedule V and hence cannot be purchased or transferred. "Moreover, the land in question belongs to various Gram Sabhas. The government has no right to put this land under the land bank," he added. On March 2324, 2021, thousands of tribespeople participated in an annual congregation in Latehar demanding cancellation of the project. It is to be noted, however, that practice in the firing range and land acquisition were stopped in 1994 after massive public protests. When asked about the current status of the project, Pramod Kumar Gupta, deputy commissioner of Latehar, told LCW it was the same as it was 10 years ago. "Nothing much has changed. However, most of the land falls in Gumla district, so I cannot say much," he added. Gumla DC Shravan Sai did not respond to LCW's phone calls.

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Refusal to give up land for the project

Complaint against procedural violations

Demand for rehabilitation

Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources

Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Cancellation of the project

Region Classification

Rural

Type of Land

Both

Type of Common Land

Forest and Non-Forest

Total investment involved (in Crores):

Type of investment:

Year of Estimation

Page Number In Investment Document:

Has the Conflict Ended?

No

When did it end?

Why did the conflict end?

Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict

Forest and Scheduled Area Governance Laws, Land Acquisition Laws, Constitutional Law, Other

Legislations/Policies Involved

Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006
Section 3(a)[Right to live on and hold forestland]; Section 4(2) [Free informed consent of Gram Sabha is essential before any plan is approved]
Land Acquisition Act, 1894
Section 5A [Hearing of objections against land acquisition]; Section 11 [Lapse of acquisition proceedings if award of compensation is not prepared within two years from the date of declaration]
Manoeuvres, Field Firing and Artillery Practice Act, 1938
Section 9(1) [Power of state government to notify any area for carrying out field firing and artillery practice]
Constitution of India, 1950
Fifth Schedule, Paragraph 5(2) [Transfer of tribal land]
Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996
Section 4(m)(iii) [Empowerment of Gram Sabha to prevent alienation of tribal land]
  1. 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.

  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.

    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.

  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.

    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.

  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.

    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.

  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

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

What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?

Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:

Controversial land acquisition by the government

Forced evictions/dispossession of land

Non-implementation/violation of FRA

Non-rehabilitation of displaced people

Non-implmentation/violation of PESA

Legal Status:

Out of Court

Status of Case In Court

Whether any adjudicatory body was approached

Name of the adjudicatory body

Name(s) of the Court(s)

Case Number

Main Reasoning/Decision of court

Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:

No items found.

Whether criminal law was used against protestors:

Reported Details of the Violation:

Date of Violation

Location of Violation

Nature of Protest

Campaigns (grassroots organisations/press releases/media)

Protests/marches

Strikes

Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:

Ministry of Defence

PSUs Involved in the Conflict:

Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?

Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached

Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:

Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?

Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:

Resources Related to Conflict

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

Image Credit:  

Image Credit:  

Documented By

Text Link

Reviewed By

Text Link

Updated By

Text Link

Edited By

Text LinkLand Conflict Watch

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