Resolutions and Decisions adopted by National Campaign Committee(NCC) of Jan Sangharsh Morcha, other democratic organizations and individuals on August 23, 2010 at Gandhi peace Foundation, New Delhi)
1. Land Acquisition/Transfer and Displacement:
The Meeting noted that the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 and similar other laws in the States were fundamentally flawed in that they were founded in the doctrine of “eminent domain”; they defined “public purpose” loosely, thereby giving legitimacy to the questionable role of the government as facilitator and agent of private companies and businesses; they violated the constitutional and legal protection available to Adivasis and forest dwellers in respect of their land and habitat; they failed to make the consent of the Gram Sabha a necessary condition for any acquisition/transfer; they failed to recognize that the provision of a decent, alternative livelihood to all those whose livelihood is threatened by any acquisition/transfer of land must be a pre-condition for such transfer or acquisition.
The Meeting further noted that the proposed amendments to the Laws failed to remedy the basic flaws.
The Meeting resolved
• that the said laws, including the notorious SEZ Act, be repealed;
• that there be an immediate freeze on transfer of all agricultural, forest and mining land to the corporate sector;
• that any transfer of agricultural land to non-agriculturists, in general and to foreigners and NRIs, in particular be prohibited immediately;
• that any transfer of Adivasi land to non-Adivasis be prohibited forthwith; • that pending the formulation of a radical new policy in this regard with the ultimate objective of decommodifying land , only consensual acquisition/transfer of land for specifically stated social purpose be allowed with the consent of the concerned Gram Sabha and with prior provision of alternative and decent livelihood for all those being displaced and/or whose livelihood is threatened as a result of such acquisition /transfer.
The Meeting further resolved •
that a National Land Use Commission be set up to formulate a comprehensive, people-centric, ecology-friendly, region- specific and scientific land use policy which will promote food security, biological diversity and the well being and solidarity of all those whose livelihood depends on land.
2. Mining and Minerals:
The Meeting noted: That while all mining is hazardous, disturbs ecology, destroys biodiversity, devastates land and water resources and leaves them unusable in perpetuity besides causing large scale displacement and loss of livelihood, some mining is inescapable in an urban-industrial economy;
That the mineral wealth belongs to the people, the future generations included, and therefore, the ownership of the mineral resources must remain with the people and the exploitation of these resources must be under full social control;
That there is need to make mining activity environmentally and socially acceptable and contribute to social and economic development of the area;
That the rapid liberalization of the mining and mineral policy since 1993; the opening up of the mining sector to foreign and indigenous big capital; colossal profiteering and rampant corruption leading to the unbridled loot of the national mineral wealth , on the one hand, and ruthless devastation of habitat and loss of livelihood of poor people , particularly Adivasis subsisting on the mineral bearing lands and forests; -- all have resulted in unprecedented anger and alienation among the forest dwellers and Adivasis;
That the situation calls for an immediate and radical overhaul of policies, laws, regulatory institutions and enforcement mechanism relating to this sector, based on the recognition that the community consent and welfare must be embedded in the relevant policies and laws.
The Meeting further noted:
That the proposed mining and mineral development legislation namely, the Draft Mines and Minerals(Development and Regulation) Bill 2010, falls short of the requirement , particularly as it still adheres to the philosophy of providing level playing field to all actors and making policy environment attractive for big capital, indigenous as well as foreign.
The Meeting resolved
• that, pending formulation of a policy which is comprehensive, far-sighted, people -centric, environment- conserving , socially acceptable, in general, and Adivasi- friendly, in particular;
• an immediate moratorium be imposed on issuing of LOIs , licenses, permissions, or entering into contracts for mining and exploitation of the resources in the Adivasi areas and a review be conducted of all such permissions issued /contracts entered into during the last sixteen years since the announcement of the National Mineral Policy in 1993 which opened up 13 major minerals ( iron ore, manganese ore, chrome ore, sulphur, gold, diamond, copper, lead, zinc, molybdenum, tungsten, nickel and platinum);
• all export of minerals be prohibited immediately;
• mineral wealth and mining be restored to public ownership and social control, with full involvement and consent of those sections of society that are directly affected in the course of exploitation of the mineral resources.
3. Prices, Employment, PDS
The Meeting noted that the Indian economy is plagued with inflation that is assuming serious proportions in recent years. The cost of living index (industrial workers) increased by 8% during 2008-09 and by 15% in 2009-10 and the food prices mounted by 15% in October 2009, 18% in November 2009 and 20% in December 2009. And despite this alarming situation, the Government effected increase in the prices of petrol, diesel, kerosene and LP Gas and deregulated petrol prices. This has resulted in all-round increase in transport and fuel costs and added fuel to price escalation.
The Meeting further noted with deep concern the steep escalation of prices of food items. From July 2008 to July 2010 the prices of rice and wheat increased by 19%, tur dal – 58%, moong dal – 113%, sugar 73%, potato, onion – 32%; prices of vegetables, fish, meat and milk prices are also mounting. In the case of rice and wheat even though there are large stocks with the Government that are held incurring huge expenditure and wastage, the stocks are not made available to the needy, they being misclassified as APL. Introduction of targeted PDS (1997) in place of universal PDS has defeated the very aims of PDS viz. maintaining price stability and ensuring supply of cereals and sugar to all at affordable prices. Deepening agrarian crisis which is the cumulative result of a number of factors has contributed significantly to the rise in food prices.
The meeting further noted that while the food prices are escalating, the farmers are not getting adequately remunerative prices for their produce. The Agricultural Cost and Prices Commission has failed to ensure this. The Commission has no statutory status, its functioning is not transparent and scientific, its recommendations are not mandatory and the government announcement of support prices is made much after the sowing season.
The Meeting resolved
• that the coverage of the Essential Commodities Act be expanded, its penal provisions be strengthened and its strict enforcement be ensured.
• that the administrative price regime for all petroleum products be restored; Oil Pool Account be reopened and the prices of petroleum products be set keeping in view the paying capacity of different classes of consumers through the use of appropriate tax structure and cross -subsidization.
• that the application of NREGA be universalized ; the period of guaranteed employment be enhanced to 300 days in a year; and, a decent wage be assured to those who report for work under the scheme.; and
• that PDS be universalized; its coverage be expanded to include locally available cereals such as Jowar and Bajra and other essentials such as edible oil, pulses and kerosene;
• that the The Agricultural Cost And Prices Commission be given statutory status; its functioning be made transparent and scientific; its recommendations be made mandatory ;and, the support prices must be announced well before sowing.
4. Kashmir
The Meeting noted with deep concern that the lack of timely and sympathetic response by the Prime Minister has led to aggravation of the tragic situation in the Kashmir valley. The GOI chose not to recognize the ground reality of alienation and continued to pass on all blame to external forces.
The Meeting strongly condemned the killing of unarmed protesters in the Kashmir Valley by security forces. This has added to the alienation of the people and exposed the apathy and indifference of the National Conference-Congress government to the peoples’ plight.
This Meeting called upon the State and UPA governments to stop the violence and start immediate dialogue within a specific timeframe. The government to restore confidence and trust by:-* withdrawing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act;
• replacing CRPF with the State Police
• releasing the arrested youth;
• releasing the political prisoners;
• starting immediate talks with all sections in Jammu and Kashmir for a political solution; • punishment to those guilty of fake encounters;
• removal of bunkers from bastis which cause continuing annoyance and humiliation; • restoring democratic rights and freedom to the people of the valley.
• public mobilization by civil society against communalism;
5. Democratic Rights
The Meeting noted with deep concern unprecedented erosion of democratic rights and freedoms. The last few years have witnessed increasing resort to legislation circumscribing the basic democratic freedoms. Cases of abuse of such laws are increasing in every state. On top of that, we are witnessing larger numbers of “encounter killings” in the name of countering “terrorist threats” or “threats to internal security”. We have also seen the launching of warlike “operations” under different names by the State and Central Security Forces , the latest being “the operation green hunt ”.
•The Meeting further noted that pursuit of neo-liberal economic policies has its compelling logic. It creates increasing disparities and polarization. It leads to predatory capital accumulation. It brings about alienation and marginalization of the vast masses in economic and political spheres. It pushes the ruling elites more and more to resort to use of force in containing the unrest engendered by its policies. The increasing sections of the various institutions of the state and the polity intended to safeguard the democratic freedoms and facilitate the implementation of people- centric policies tend to come under the sway of the compelling logic of neo-liberalism. Worse still, through its omissions and commissions, the neo-liberal logic encourages chauvinistic, internecine conflicts in the polity, to divert the attention from the main issues and to provide legitimacy to its attack on democratic freedoms.
In this background, the Meeting demanded abrogation of all black laws passed by the State and Central governments in the recent years ostensibly in the name of preserving security and maintaining public order but in reality to crush the mass upsurge and peoples’ struggles against the injustice and exploitation unleashed by the neo-liberal policies that serve the interest of the big capital.
• The Meeting demanded that the “operation green hunt” be called off immediately.
• The Meeting also demanded the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
6. Social justice to Minorities, Adivasis-Vanvasis, and MBCs (moved by Jan Sangharsh Morcha)
The Meeting noted that the journey to social justice remains incomplete. As long as the minorities, Adivasis, MBCs and women do not get social justice , it can not be regarded as complete.
The meeting called upon the government to promptly implement the recommendations of the Rangnath Mishra Commission and provide separate reservation quota to the backward Muslims and include the dalit Muslims in the Scheduled Caste category.
The Meeting noted that the MBCs are deprived of social justice although two decades have elapsed since the implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations. Even today the share of MBCs in government and administration is extremely low. One member of the Mandal Commission, Shri L R Naik was apprehensive that the MBCs would not get social justice if they were not allocated a separate quota. It is worth mentioning that precisely on this issue he resigned from the Commission. His worst apprehensions have come true. Supreme Court also opined in its verdict that the government may provide separate quota for the MBCs. to ensure social justice for them.
The Meeting called upon the government to constitute a National Commission for ensuring social justice to the MBCs within a stipulated time-frame and separating their quota from the OBC quota.
The meeting noted that in states like UP, the Adivasis have suffered a great injustice. Adivasi communities like Kol, Musahar(Vanvasi), Dhangar( Uraon), Dharikar, Koranva, etc. have not even been accorded the status of Scheduled Tribes. As a result, these communities dependent on the forests, are not able to get the benefit of Forest Rights Act which was enacted after a long struggle to ensure the ancient and traditional right of Adivasis on forest land. The democratic rights of the sixteen tribal communities like Gond, Kharvar, Chero, Panika, Bainga, Bhuiyan,Agaria who were accorded ST status in 2003, have been negated. They will no longer be able to contest elections on the seats reserved for SCs. Actually these seats were reserved for SCs because these communities were included in SC category till 2003. The Meeting, therefore, demanded that communities like Kol, Musahar(Vanvasi), Dhangar(Uraon),Dharikar, Koranva, etc. be included in ST category, and seats from the Panchayat upto the Parliament level be reserved for communities like Gond, Kharvar, Chero, Panika,Bainga, Bhuiyan, Agaria on the basis of a rapid survey. The meeting strongly disapproves of the government’s putting the women reservation bill again on the back burner. It demanded that the women reservation bill ensuring 33% seats for women in Parliament and State Assemblies be passed without any further delay and reservation for women in services also be guaranteed.
7.Widespread illegal mining in Bellary and other districts of Karnataka including in the Bellary reserve forest on both sides of the interstate border of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka by Mining Mafia led by Reddy Brothers (moved by Shri S.R.Hiremath, Rajakeeya Janandolan Karanataka)
The Meeting expressed deep concern about unprecedented loot of mineral wealth((iron ore, manganese) by the mining mafia led by Reddy Brothers of Bellary and demanded :
1. Immediate moratorium on new mining leases in Karnataka and adjoining area of Andhra Pradesh including ban on forest and environmental clearances on the pending applications by Ministry of External Affairs (MoEF), GOI.
2. Nationalisation of iron ore, manganese and other major minerals, that is to say, declaring null and void the notifications(CI 33 AND CI 16) DATED 15.03.2003 and subsequent such notifications which threw open mining by private parties on forest and other lands( 1300+ Sq Km)
3. Effective measures against illegal mining by strict enforcement of laws especially on the forest land and other common lands and restoration and protection of water sources already adversely affected and immediate halting of raising contract( which is illegal).
4. Taking strongest actions against those involved in illegal mining starting with Reddy Brothers and all other political party persons.
5. Stopping export of major minerals e.g. iron ore and protection thereof by careful domestic use through value addition and for future generations.
6. Taking strict measures to recover the ill gotten wealth by Reddy Brothers and all others and taking criminal actions where warranted.
8. Privatisation of PSUs, retrenchment of workers and social security for organized and unorganized workers ( moved by Khadan Mazdoor Union Allahabad)
The Meeting resolved to fight against privatization of public sector undertakings, disinvestment, downsizing and retrenchment of workers and decided to fight for a central legislation for social security of unorganized labour including agricultural labour.
The meeting demanded the regularization of Shikshamitra, Kisanmitra, panchaytmitra, ASHA heath workers and Anganwadi workers and helpers. Lakhs of workers of stone quarries and mines are currently excluded from the benefits of the policies and schemes of the Labour and Employment Ministry. The Meeting demanded that they should be given the benefit of the welfare schemes. Further, in order to protect weavers’ lives, special package of financial and other assistance should be granted and their outstanding loans be written off.
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