Maharashtra: ‘Do we even exist in the state’s eyes?’

Locals from Navandhe Adivasiwadi in Khalapur are forced to cremate in the open as their demand for a crematorium has not yielded any results yet

Hundreds of tribals from three talukas of Raigad district will be marching to the district collector's office today seeking basic amenities and to protest abject neglect by local officials. The charter of demands of tribal people of Panvel, Pen and Khalapur includes road connectivity, potable water, sanitation, anganwadi, health care centres and a crematorium.

A tribal woman walking alone towards Khadai Dhangarwadi in Khalapur which has a population of about 200 people

The tribal people are also demanding action against the officials of the Zilla Parishad and revenue department for failure to implement various state and central government schemes. The marching tribal people will also be demanding to lodge FIRs against the errant officials for dereliction of duty. The protesters have threatened to sit on fast unto death, if the demands are not met.

Deprived of basic rights

According to Santosh Thakur, founder of Gram Sanvardhan Samajik Sanstha, who has taken up the fight for the voiceless tribal people said, "It is unfortunate that tribal people residing in over 10 tribal wadis from three talukas of Raigad district, 84 tribal wadis in Raigad district lack basic amenities."

A two-wheeler struggles to make its way from Karambeli hamlet which has a population of over 1,000 tribal people and is located 5.5 km from the main road in Khalapaur taluka

Thakur said in Khausa, Kelichi, Kajuchi, Tambdi and Umbarmal in Pen tehsil the tribals from these wadis have been seeking the construction of a road, either concrete or asphalt, to connect Vadgaon to Khausa and adjoining wadis. Thakur said what the villagers got instead is a dirt road and that too is incomplete six months after the work had commenced. He said the Rs 60 lakh contract of carving out the dirt road was given to a local politician's relative.

Thakur said, "The local authorities have cited lack of funds to construct roads in these wadis and so only dirt roads are being made. Besides, Tambi and Umbarmal wadis do not even have Anganwadis and health centers, and the nearest primary health centre is located 8 to 10 km from their hamlets."

Sunil Waghmare, 32, of Umbarmal Wadi said, "I am now unemployed and have no source of livelihood. Our village is on a hilly area amidst a dense forest and there are about 25 houses with a population of about 100 people. The problem is that our existence was never acknowledged by anyone, we have no roads, no water and during monsoon, the power fluctuates and power disruption prolongs for weeks. We have been misled and let down by the elected body of the panchayat, term after term. We have to rely on rain water to fulfill our domestic needs, but this time, the water holes are also drying up rapidly."

No voice in the planning process

According to Thakur, in the case of Karambali Thakurwadi and Kadai Dhangar wadi, in Khalapur taluka, for the last three years the tribal people have been demanding funds under the District Planning Development Committee (DPDC) for roads and water supply. Surprisingly, none of the villagers are part of the committee in DPDC, where the collective voice of the tribal people could be heard by the DPDC members who are MPs, MLAs and bureaucrats, he said.

Gram Sanvardhan Samajik Santha, an NGO, has written to the chief minister and other government officials including the Raigad collector informing them about the charter of demand of tribal people and protest on Dec 13

Thakur said, "These villagers are used for vote bank politics and they are left in the lurch post the election. The R2.50 crore demand by the villagers for the construction of roads at Karambali Thakurwadi and Kadai Dhangarwadi has remained on paper."

No cremation ground

In Navandhe and other Wadis, in Khalapur, Pen and Panvel tribals are forced to cremate in the open. Thakur said, "The tribal people have been demanding a crematorium to be constructed near their wadis, as during monsoon lighting the pyre becomes utmost challenging. Besides, the water connections under the Jal Jivan mission in most of these tribal hamlets are only on paper."

Janu Waghmare, 33, of Navandhe Wadi said, "The file with our demand to construct a crematorium has been pending for seven years. The panchayat, a few years ago, had allowed us to construct a crematorium claiming that the land belonged to them and sanctioned R4.50 lakh. But as we started the work, the forest department stopped us as the land belonged to them and no crematorium would be allowed on forest land. We also do not have road connectivity inside the villages."

Our protest continues

Advocate Siddharth Ingale who has been working closely for the tribal welfare in this region said, "It is unfortunate that even the district administration had assured to address the issues being faced by these tribal wadis. The district collector was also keen to visit these wadis in person. It has been eight months, since our last meeting with the collector, but till date, he has not visited a single wadi nor has he made any headway on our demands."

"We had demanded to bring tribal pockets of Raigad district under the PESA (Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Act) so that these tribal people could get recognition and empowerment," said advocate Ingale.

Otherside

Somnath Garge, superintendent of police, Raigad said, "The local police will be deploying the bandobast." A state revenue official from the district on condition of anonymity said, "We have to understand that some of these tribals are living in a notified area, which comes under the forest department. Though the local administration wants to provide them with roads and water supply the same cannot be done on account of forest land." "Rehabilitating the tribals to a new location is also a challenge as they have been residing in these notified areas for generations. Such protests do come up for gaining attention, especially when the (Legislative) sessions are underway," the officer said.

Never interested in welfare

Rubbishing the claim of the revenue official Thakur said, "Even if these tribals were residing in notified areas under forest department, there is provision under section 3 (2) of the Forest Right Act, 2006, the central government shall provide for diversion of forest land for facilities managed by the government such as school, dispensary, Anganwadi, roads, drinking water pipelines etc.

The local district administration needs to submit a proposal to the district conservator of forest about the nature of work it proposes to carry out in the forest notified areas. The district administration neglects tribal welfare, wrongly labelling them as encroachers. It's a disheartening situation." Attempts to contact the district collector Dr Yogesh Mhase did not yield any result.