Lok Sabha Question No. 183 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-11-29
Subject: Displacement of Tribals
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Kalyan Banerjee

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 183

TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.11.2021

## DISPLACEMENT OF TRIBALS

## 183.  SHRI KALYAN BANERJEE:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is a fact that over 20,000 families, mostly Adivasis/tribals, face the threat of displacement, as a result of commercial licenses given for coal mining in the States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha;
- (b) if so, the detail of action taken by Government thereto; and
- (c)  the  post-covid  action  and  vaccination process taken  for  almost 14 million tribes of the country therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU)

- (a) to (b):  Ministry of Coal (MoC) has informed that no information regarding number of families facing threat of displacement as a result of commercial license given for coal mining is available. MoC has further informed that till date a total of 29 coal mines have been allocated for commercial/sale of coal purpose in the State of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha by Ministry of Coal since 2015. Land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement are done by the State Governments.

To address the issue of displacement of tribals, Constitutional and legal provisions for safeguarding the rights of tribals to land, which are already in place, are as under:-

- i. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, in section 4 (5) states that  save  as  other  wise provided,  no  member of  a  forest  dwelling Scheduled Tribes or Other Traditional Forest Dweller shall be evicted or removed from the Forest Land under his occupation till the recognition and verification procedure is complete.
- ii. Government has enacted the RFCTLARR Act, 2013. The purpose of the said Act is to ensure, in consultation  with  institutions  of  local  self-government  and  Gram  Sabhas  established  under  the Constitution, a humane, participative, informed and transparent process for land acquisition with the least disturbance to the owners of the land and the other affected families and provide just and fair compensation to the affected families whose land has been acquired or proposed to be acquired.
- iii. Under  Section  48  of  the  Right  to  Fair  Compensation  and  Transparency  in  Land  Acquisition, Rehabilitation  and  Resettlement  Act,  2013  (RFCTLARR  Act,  2013  in  short),  a  National  Level

Monitoring Committee for Rehabilitation and Resettlement has been constituted in the DoLR vide DoLR's Order No. 26011/04/2007-LRD dated 2 nd  March, 2015 for the purpose of reviewing and monitoring the implementation of rehabilitation and resettlement schemes and plans related to land acquisition  under  the  RFCTLARR,  2013  and  National  Rehabilitation  and  Resettlement  Policy, 2007.

- iv. By way of safeguards against displacement special provisions have been made for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under Sections 41 and 42 of the RFCTLARR Act, 2013 which protect their interests. The RFCTLARR Act, 2013 also lays down procedure and manner of rehabilitation and resettlement.
- v. The First Schedule of the RFCTLARR Act provide for compensation for land owners. The Second Schedule provide for element of rehabilitation and resettlement for all the affected families (both land owners and the families whose livelihood is primarily dependent on land acquired) in addition to those provided in the first Schedule. Similarly, the Third Schedule provide for infrastructural amenities for a reasonably habitable and planned settlement in the resettlement area.
- vi. The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, also provides that the Gram Sabha or the Panchayats at the appropriate level shall be consulted before making the acquisition of land in the Scheduled Areas or development projects and before resettling or rehabilitating persons affected by such projects in the Scheduled Areas; the actual planning and implementation of the projects in the Scheduled Areas shall be coordinated at the State Level.
- vii. Constitutional provisions under Schedule - V also provide for safeguards against displacement of tribal population because of land acquisitions etc. The Governor of the State which has scheduled Areas is empowered to prohibit or restrict transfer of land from tribals and regulate the allotment of land to members of the Scheduled Tribes in such cases.
5. (c)    Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW) has informed that Comprehensive Guidelines for Management of Post-Covid Sequelae (https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/NationalComprehensiveGuidelinesforManagementofPostCovidSequ elae.pdf) was issued by MoHFW on 21st October 2021 after expert consultations to guide doctors on post-COVID-19complications  and  their  management.  MoH&FW  has  also  informed  that  regarding vaccination process, the National COVID-19 Vaccination Program is going on across the country since 16 th January,  2021  where  all  adult  citizens  irrespective  of  their  income  status  are  entitled  to  free vaccination at Government Covid Vaccination Centres (CVCs).

MoH&FW has further informed that all efforts have been made to ensure vaccination of beneficiaries, including tribal communities, some of which include registration through Common Service Centres, walk-in  registration  at  COVID-19  vaccination  centre.    Near  to  Home  Covid  Vaccination  Centres (NHCVC) for elderly & people with disabilities and Har Ghar Dastak vaccination campaign to identity and vaccinate missed beneficiaries for 1 st dose and due beneficiaries for 2 nd dose.