Annexure III:

A meeting of Internally Displaced Tribals
23 & 24 March 2009
At: ASDS, Rekhapally

Context:

For the past one year, Agriculture and Social Development Society, Rekhapally of Khammam district has been trying to help the displaced tribal of Chattisgarh by providing food, health and educational services as well to protect the rights. Besides, to make the government of Andhra Pradesh civilized towards the issue of IDPs, initiated for the formation of state level Solidarity Group. So far solidarity group has taken up many activities, can reduce the plight of IDPs.

Recently, solidarity group has made the first move for the meeting of IDPs of Khammam district. With an objective that: to gather the IDPs at one place so that they can share among themselves; to inform about repatriation programmes; to aware on the hurdles being faced by the NGOs while implementing the programme as the issue has many dimensions, to form a committee among the displaced tribals.

84(10 women and 74 men) from 24 settlements falls in 6 mandals have attended to the
programme.

23 March 2009:
Mr. P.S. Ajay Kumar, APVVU, has been playing vital role in solidarity group has initiated the meeting, after the introduction of the participants, he explained about all the efforts being put by the NGOs and solidarity group. He condemned the attitude of the government of A.P. that despite the relevant laws and treaties being a civilized government has been hostile to the issue, where the IDPs are subjected to hunger, severe malnutrition, diseases and no work to do. Solidarity group had approached government to provide NREGS, 2 rupees kilo rice, ICDS and health facilities but the government officials are deliberately quoting the IDPs as either supporters of Maoists or forest< encroachers.He concluded that the solidarity group has been thinking of approaching the central government as the issue is of interstate.
Mr. Lingu Markam of Vanavasi Chetana Ashram of Dantewara stated in detail that how the villagers of Nendra and Lingagiri have come back to their home, rebuilt the village, VCA’s intervention and the impact on tribals. He assured that who ever wants to come back will be repatriated and he mentioned that the displaced tribal who ever are in Andhra Pradesh must gain courage and come back because any way it is their home land and must claim rights over the land otherwise the government of Chattisgarh is going to handover the lands to multi nationals for mining.
He also stated that after the experiment of Judum the government of Chattisgarh has lost its credibility national and international wide and facing cases in the Supreme Court and the High Court of Chattisgarh. And now the Judum also became unpopular and weak because of its brutality over their fellow tribals. He stressed that living in once homeland is a constitutional right and the rest of the civil society also wish for the same he appealed that to gain courage for one day and it will end fear of 100 years. It is only the strong will can defeat the weapons which many are carrying in Chattisgarh. Moreover, if the displaced tribal come back to their homes then only the atrocities held on the people by Judum and government security forces will come to light, culprits will get punishment and will get compensation as the government of Chattisgarh assured for before the Supreme Court.

He concluded by assuring that VCA will provide two months of food grains, clothes and emergency medical facility to the families who ever come back. urther Mr. Gandhi Babu made the participants into six groups, to have discussion among them and to come with some ideas that what is to be done for the issue. The groups responded as - the solidarity committee must approach the government of Andhra Pradesh again and again to make sensible towards the issue; must appeal local authorities to provide ration cards and NREGS cards; must approach the sarpanch of the respective villages and to make them informed of the severity of the issues so that they can act sympathetically; and to think of back home seriously.

Formation of a committee of IDPs:
As the meeting decided, a committee of IDPs was formed with 45 members of 24
settlements, and the participants to the meeting came to a consensus and framed the roles and functions of the committee as:

• All the committee members should represent entire people’s grievance and aspirations of their settlements in the meetings
• Keep all the IDPs informed of formation of the committee, decisions held
• Also the committee should inform the other IDPs that the developments and changes that are taking place at their homeland such as back home programmes,
• efforts being put by the civil society organizations of Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh

The meeting was concluded by taking a decision that the Committee of IDPs should meet 25th of every month irrespective of day and all, because it is very difficult to inform the members about the date of a meeting as the IDPs are residing in remotest places and they also change their settlements often, due to raids of police and forest officials, availability of work and water.