NETARHAT FIELD FIRING RANGE PILOT PROJECT, DIST. GUMA PALAMU, BIHAR
I represent a student organisation. I want to speak of the issues concerning displacement in Bihar. There are many reasons why people continue to be displaced even today in Bihar. You have seen the participation of women in the struggle against displacement and the impact of displacement on women. Women should join this struggle in even larger numbers…In our area in the struggle against Netarhat the participation of women has been much higher than that of men. We believe that if the presence of women had not been double and sometimes even triple that of the men, we would not have been successful. Not to say that we have won entirely, but in course of the struggle, we have made many victories. Sarkar (Government) talks of environment. The basis of adivasi life and culture is agriculture, water and forests. Adivasis are so close to these, their lives so intertwined with nature that any separation from it makes it difficult for them to survive. We need to raise our voices as women in defence of our right to retain this relationship. But sarkar wishes to oust adivasis—the protectors of environment—from their rivers and lands. In Bihar, Jharkhand is an area rich in minerals. It also has a diversity of communities. Five of these are the original inhabitants of the area and form 85-90% of the population. Their situation has deteriorated rapidly because of the devastation of the environment at many levels. The Tata Steel company, Bokaro Steel Plant, Hatia heavy industries have been set up in Bihar. Electricity is being produced here. But the benefits of electricity have not yet reached people living in these areas. In the villages here [Badwani, M.P.] we can see have electricity/irrigation facilities. In Bihar there is darkness all over. On the way to Sattalai, in the train, we could see that villages all around have electricity. In Bihar we don’t see so much light even during Deepavali!……245 villages were to be affected amongst these are 8 jatis and four amongst these are dwindling in communities and will be affected. Significant amongst these are Asur, Birhor, Birjia and Korba jatis. In Nov 1961 the then MLA Shri Shiv Prasad Sahu had said that the Bihar government had given its approval for the range and for the displacement of 245 villages. This was made public through two notifications. Hearing this, adivasi men and women decided that something would have to be done. And everybody opposed the range. Men and women, young and old, all gathered under a shamiana and sat there day in and out. They confronted the police, faced firing and lathi blows. Many lost their lives, trees were destroyed, animals killed. The compensation given was a paltry sum. What was to be done with this amount? No compensation was given for loss of cattle or life. Neither do we hope that in future there will be any compensation given after the range has been set up. The first phase of the project was to utilise 308 sq. km. and 7855 persons were to be affected according to army sources. The total demand put forward by the army was for 19,856 sq. km. The population of the adivasis is the highest in the 245 villages earmarked for displacement. 30% of them have already left for other regions, many have left because of the factories and industries set up here. We have been opposing the range since 1990, but have been more active since 1993. Indira Gandhi has said, “We have poverty. Not the poor. But it seems as though the sarkar thinks that way. Because with the poor around, there can be no development!” We believe that if any activity or struggle is to succeed women have to participate in a big way …