Perilous retreat: On gram sabhas, tribal land issues
The Committee on Public Undertakings has suggested that project consent should only require approval from a majority of affected gram sabhas rather than all of them. Critics argue this shift undermines the Forest Rights Act and threatens the land rights of tribal communities by allowing developers to bypass local opposition.
Why it matters
This proposed change represents a significant shift in environmental and tribal rights policy, potentially facilitating industrial expansion at the expense of indigenous democratic protections.
Tribal organisations should recognise the Indian state’s attempt to lower the legal barriers erected by the Forest Rights Act (FRA) as a threat to their survival. The Committee on Public Undertakings’ suggestion that a project require the consent of only most, rather than all, gram sabhas affected by that project, as the FRA intends in spirit , portends a significant jurisprudential change. A regime that deems the acquiescence of 70%-75% of affected gram sabhas to suffice will reduce gram sabhas from democratic bodies protecting the constitutional rights of its specific inhabitants to corporate stakeholders. If the rule enters force, a project developer may bypass the consent of a village located directly within a proposed reservoir, say, while ensuring that less affected villages have provided their no-objection certificates.
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