INDIA: Immediately stop demolition drive against Dalit and tribal hamlets in Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh 

Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information from the Samaj Chetna Adhikar Manch, Dabhaura about the demolition drive against Dalit and tribal settlements in Chhipiya, Khairaha, Jirahua, Genduraha and Kota villages in Jawa block of Rewa District, Madhya Pradesh. The AHRC has been informed that the administration has flouted all rules and served the eviction notice only on 31 May 2017, thus giving them a mere three days. It has also done this against its own repeated assurances of giving land deeds to the residents many of whom have been living in the villages for more than two decades, as well as building schools and roads there.

The AHRC urges the authorities to immediately stop the demolition drive and ensure the rights of the inhabitants of these villages are not violated.

CASE NARRATIVE:

On 31 May 2017, the local administration in Jawa block of Rewa district, Madhya Pradesh served an eviction notice on some 150 Adivasi and Dalit families living in Chhipiya, Khairaha, Jirahua, Genduraha and Kota villages. The notice gave them a mere three days to vacate their homes, or face demolition on 3 June 2017. The demolition notice does not merely expose these 150 families to vagaries of the nature just before the onset of the monsoon, it also flouts the rights of the inhabitants living in these villages for up to 30 years. The notice also flouts the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Act, 1959, section 162 of which promises regularization of all long time settlements (amended in 2013, purposefully for residential and agricultural purposes).

The Act guarantees tenancy rights of almost all the villages put on notice, as evidenced by the amenities extended to them by the state government over the years. Chhipiya for instance, is a decades old hamlet that has been provided electricity by the government. The authorities have also built toilets in the village and have enrolled residents under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, promising home allowance of Rupees 1.5 lakh per family. Similarly, Jirahua is a 25 year old hamlet. The authorities have provided electricity, built roads, a government school and an Anganwadi centre in the village. Genduraha, another 25 year old hamlet, also has electricity, a government school, Anganwadi Kendra and government provided hand pumps for drinking water. Kota, the oldest settlement with a tenancy of more than 30 years, also has electricity and other amenities. Almost all of the adult residents of the villages are registered voters and have exercised their voting rights in more than four parliamentary elections.

Further, the promise of the regularization of such hamlets was part of the 100 days agenda of the Madhya Pradesh government when it got elected. The eviction notice thus shows the government reneging on its promise. The notice also flouts the Madhyapradesh Arthik Roop se Kamjor Tatha Nimn Aay Varg Ko Aawas Garantee Vidheyak 2017 (or Madhya Pradesh Housing Guarantee for Economically Weaker Sections and Low Income Groups Act 2017), recently passed by the assembly. The Act guarantees house of 25 square meter or residential plot of land of 45 square meters in areas under the municipal corporations and in other locations, residential plot of 60 square meters.

The threats of demolition are unfortunately not new for the villages. Locally vested interests, often in collusion with the authorities, have repeatedly tried to evict them and gain control of the lands. The administration had demolished three concrete houses and five huts without any prior notice in 2012, causing an uproar. The inhabitants had then rushed to the Madhya Pradesh Schedule Tribes Commission, which took cognizance of the issue. Ramlal Rautel, the Chairperson of the Commission, had even visited the hamlets and took the Tehsildar to task for demolishing the houses without prior notice. The case is still ongoing in the Commission.

Finally, the demolition drive does not only go against the local laws of the land, but it also violates specific international obligations that the Government of India is bound to implement as a state party under international human rights instruments. Such demolition drives flout Article 11(1) of the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), promising adequate standard of living for a person and their family, including adequate food, clothing, and housing. Such evictions also violate 17(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, offering protection from arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, or home, among other things.

General Comment No. 4 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights further stresses that there should be “legal security of tenure including legal protection against forced evictions” while determining “adequacy” of housing. International legal opinion also holds the right to adequate housing as a justiciable and enforceable right as acknowledged by the Special Rapporteur in a report to the 58th session of the Commission (E/CN.4/2002/59).

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the authorities listed below, demanding intervention to ensure that the demolitions are stopped immediately. You may also ask them to ensure that all services are provided to the community.

 

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