The Perspectives Blog

Perspectives' visit to Greater Noida

2011-10-27T21:47:00.000+05:30

Racing towards Devastation

India is all set to host its first Formula 1 Grand Prix in end of October. An exhilarating combination of adrenaline-charged racing and glamour, the most expensive sport in the world is closely associated with sharply-dressed playboys, glamorous women and never ending parties. . Dance floor tables are priced at Euro 15,000 and VIP tables are priced at Euro 8,950. The swanky track was virtually ready when a team of Perspectives visited Greater Noida some time back. The track falls in Dhankaur area of Greater Noida, which is about 9 km from the Bhatta-Parsaul villages. The grandeur of the track itself and the adjoining area mocked the lack of access road to these twin villages These villages came to light in May this year after four people (two farmers and two jawans of Provincial Armed Constabulary) were shot dead in course of conflict over acquisition of land of the farmers by Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEA).

These villages are but part of many villages in the Gautam Budh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh where fertile agricultural lands have been acquired by the government for one or another reason. Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) acquired land belonging to eleven villages of the same district and sold the same to builders of housing societies. On 6^th July, the Supreme Court upheld a judgment of the Allahabad High Court, quashing both, the process of acquisition of land and the use of the ‘urgency clause’ for this acquisition (See Box). Since then, cases of such kind pending in the Allahabad High Court have picked up much publicity and new cases have been filed by farmers who had their land acquired in a similar manner.

To investigate and develop a first-hand understanding of the issue, a 13 member Perspectives team visited three villages of Greater Noida on 25^th September, 2011. The first village we visited was Bisrakh where land has been acquired by GNIDA. Apart from this, we also visited the villages of Bhatta and Parsaul where land acquisition was carried out by YEA.

The Noida and Greater Noida areas in Gautam Budh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh were notified under the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Area Development Act, 1976 to usher in planned development in these areas. For this task, several authorities - NOIDA (New Okhla Industrial Development Authority formed in 1976), GNIDA (Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority formed in 1991) and Yamuna Expressway Authority (formed in 2006), have been set up with the specific task of setting up industries, housing, roads, etc in certain earmarked areas that fall under the respective authority. As part of planned development that is promoted in these notified areas the Authorities are entrusted with the task of making an extensive plan for usage of land. The notification of an area restricts the residents from carrying out construction on any land other than the abadi or homestead land or from selling their own land for non-agricultural purposes without an NOC (No Objection Certificate) from the concerned Authority.

Industrial Authorities sans Industry

Bisrakh is one of the eleven villages which received acquisition notice from Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority between 2007 and 2009. 608 hectares of land of this village was acquired by GNIDA and then sold to the builders. The resentment of the villagers was written large on their faces as we settled into a conversation with them in the house of the village Pradhan, Ajay Bhatti. Ever since the area was notified in 1991, the farmers were resigned to the fact that their lands may be taken over but they cannot accept the mockery wherein their lands are being taken away in order to construct middle and high income houses. They have been left high and dry whereas GNIDA and the private builders are making explosive profits. Mr. Bhati told the team that eleven villages in Greater Noida had received acquisition notices between 2007 and 2009 viz. Bisrakh, Shahberi, Patwari, Roza Yakubpur, Ghori Bachera, Tusiana, Ghanghola, Iteda, Badalpur (Chief Minister Mayawati’s ancestral village), and Haibatpur.

Bisrakh is predominantly Gujjar village with Jatav, Sapera, Prajapati, Muslims, Nai and Valmiki being the other communities. We were told that the village has centuries old history and is the birthplace of Ravana’s father, Bisrakha. This village had remained unaffected even during the devastating floods of 1976 and prior to the recent acquisition; the farmers were cultivating three crops annually.

At the time of acquisition, GNIDA had made the villagers believe that these lands would be used to set up industries and they would get jobs. Within three months, however, the land was sold to private real estate developers after changing the land use. The villagers told us that had the land been acquired for a school or a factory and had they been paid their due compensation, they would not have had a problem with it. In this area, landowners were given compensation by GNIDA at the rate of Rs 850 per square metre (and that too after their opposition to the initial rate) while the Authority sold the same to builders at a whopping Rs 17,000 per square metre! The land belonging to the Gram Sabha of this village (1500 bighas) and the land on which check roads (between the farms) had been built had also been acquired by the Authority and for free since there was no owner of this land. Yet the most unjust part of this entire acquisition process perhaps remains the fact that GNIDA used the urgency clause of the Land Acquisition Act (LAA) in order to acquire the land. The urgency in handing over the land to real estate developers escaped our comprehension.

The farmers of the area have been spearheading an agitation against this acquisition under the banner of Kisan Sangharsh Samiti. Manveer Bhatti, a leader of the samiti told us that after the court cases, now the farmers are being offered 11 per cent of the developed land which means that they will have to buy back their own land and pay development charges as well! Although the abadi (homestead) land may remain with them but the area is likely to face acute water crisis with the builders undertaking dewatering from 50 feet under the ground in order to carry on construction. Our team also met the landless labourers in the village who are largely Valmikis and Prajapatis. These families used to work as agricultural labourers on the farms prior to their acquisition. Apart from the wages, they could get milk by rearing some cattle. Additionally, they had the security of being able to take credit from the farmers at times of distress. All this stands changed now. Some of them have taken up odd jobs at construction sites but their vulnerability has increased multifold.

Expressway to disaster/destitution

During the drive to Bhatta-Parsaul, we saw swanky roads, roundabouts with very expensive statues, a knowledge park and residential areas named after the Greek alphabets. Again there was no industry. The entire stretch of 250 kilometres from Greater Noida to Agra has been acquired by YEA and handed over to infrastructure company, Jaypee group. The group has been entrusted with the construction of Yamuna Expressway (erstwhile Taj Expressway). An ambitious 6-lane (extendable to 8 lanes) access-controlled Expressway is conceived with the idea of reducing the travel time between NCR and Agra. The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEA), the nodal body overseeing the project, wants to develop 44,000 hectares of land. Of this only 9.3 per cent has been utilized for the expressway and the rest has been divided into ‘land parcels’ to be sold off to other builders and real estate developers. According to the agreement between Jaypee and the UP government, Jaypee has the rights to collect tolls on the Expressway for 36 years and rights for ‘developing’ about 25 million square meters of land along the Expressway. Land (including 100 meters for the Expressway) at five or more locations with an area of 5 million square meters along the Expressway for commercial, amusement, industrial, institutional and residential development would be offered on acquisition cost on lease for a period of 90 years. The agreement between Jaypee and the state government is the simple case of ‘quid pro quo’ wherein the private real estate companies are sought for developing infrastructure and in return the government instead of paying the company provides them with land parcels that can be developed for any purposes (public or otherwise) the company deems fit to recover its ‘investment’. Hence the ‘development’ and sale of plots around the Expressway.

The only casualty in this grand design are the farmers and other villagers whose lands have been acquired. Sarvadaliya Sangharsh Samiti decided to oppose this unjust acquisition after farmers received a cruel shock when they were told that their lands (with standing crops ) was already sold off on the paper as ‘plots’ by the Jaypee group. The villagers of Bhatta- Parasaul got together on 17^th January, 2011 and sat on a dharna outside the village. On the night of 18th January the police charged on the sleeping protestors, arrested some and left in the morning. After this incident, the police called the villagers to the Dankaur police station. There they beat up the villagers also detained their leader Manvir Singh Tewatia. The villagers in turn took hostage, one of the officials to attempt an exchange for Tewatia and were attacked by the police. From 1^st -3^rd February about 50-60 women and 250 men rallied against this attack despite the fear of further repression. On 21^st February, PAC came to the dharna site and began firing. The agitation took a serious turn starting from 7^th May, 2011. Two farmers and as many jawans of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) were killed in clashes. The police went berserk, killed people, burnt standing crop on 10 bighas, misbehaved with the women. There are allegations of rape as well. Rahul Gandhi’s visit on the 11^th May halted the repression temporarily. On 9^th July, 2011, UP police arrested Manvir Singh Tevatia. As of now Tevatia and 9 others are lodged in Dasna jail in Ghaziabad and Tevatia has sedition charges against him. An additional 250 unknown people have been named in the FIR which has provided a license to the police to continue harassing the villagers.

Even today, the people of the two villages of Bhatta –Parsaul live with the terror of attacks by the police. We were told that even now, the police keeps picking up people indiscriminately. There is a police camp next to the village and people are not even allowed to go to the local market. The anxiety, fear as well as anger of the villagers was palpable. In fact, one of the villagers thought it was the police, when he heard the sound of our vehicles. Some of the women narrated to us the horror of the two days when police led the attack on their villages. They said the first village to get attacked was Parsaul. As soon as people in Bhatta realized the intention of the police, they fled. Families were separated in the chaos. Most of the men disappeared from the village instantly. Many are still absconding, hiding out in homes of distant relatives. Women, children and even animals took shelter in the fields nearby, lying without food and water for two days and nights.

The demands by the villagers of Greater Noida include return of 80 per cent of the land back to the farmers, ¼ th of the jobs created to be given to the farmers and 120 m of plots to be given to the landless. Recently they have added the demand of return of 25 per cent of the developed land back to the farmers. Although some people from these villages have already taken their compensation and bought land in other areas like Pilibhit (Uttarakhand), everyone is not in a situation to do so. Most of these farmers are the bigger land owners, with compensation money being enough for them to settle elsewhere if they should so chose. Farmers with small land holdings, however, are usually unable to use this compensation to create an alternative life for themselves because of the sheer smallness of compensation amounts.

Our team came back wondering about the lack of industrialisation by the various Industrial Development Authorities. Do housing projects and F1 tracks constitute industrialisation? And what about fertile agricultural land and food security? Most importantly, what about the people for whom these lands have been the source of livelihood for many generations? We got our answers on seeing a newspaper report on a proposed sports tournament on the spot being planned by the villagers of Dankaur as a mark of protest against the F1 race. A village leader from Dankaur and one of the chief organisers of the event, said, “The event is symbolic in nature. We gave up our land in the hope that industries would come up and provide employment to our people. As it turns out, our demands have been absolutely ignored. After taking away our livelihood, the administration has not provided our children with any alternative sources of employment.”

Perspectives' survey report in The Hindu

2010-03-24T18:01:00.002+05:30

University survey reveals workers at Games sites getting a raw deal

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Workers at the Commonwealth Games sites of Delhi University are getting a raw deal with respect to their wages, work and living conditions, a report by Perspectives, a non-funded student organisation in DU, has claimed based on a survey conducted in February 2009 of 52 workers employed at various university sites on the North Campus

Perspectives member Shikha Pandey said: “Though the survey was conducted a year ago, the conditions of the workers remain the same. The workers are now planning to approach the Labour Welfare Department for payment of their dues and the revised minimum wages stipulated by the Delhi Government.”

According to an RTI filed by the organisation, M/S Engineer India Ltd and DU are responsible for the enforcement of labour laws at the construction sites. Engineers India Ltd had given the contract of construction to Nagarjuna Construction Company Ltd and the value of the project was estimated to be Rs.252 crore.

The survey report states that workers were mainly unskilled migrants from various States. The NCCL is believed to have employed workers through village level contractors.

The survey report has alleged that all categories of workers were seriously underpaid and irregularly paid. Women workers were paid lesser wages. Workers were also allegedly not being paid for overtime duty and for taking a weekly off. A committee appointed by the Delhi High Court has also reported similar allegations.

Many workers quit without completing their stints as they did not receive money on time, the report claims. According to the report, the wages were paid by the contractors and informal payment slips were given with no stamp of authority or official signature.

Detailing the workers' living conditions on the University Polo Grounds, the report states that the shelters were congested and some workers had to spend nights in plastic sheet tents even in winter. Water, electricity and toilets were scarce. Health facilities and safety equipment for work were also reportedly wanting. Many workers were also allegedly not provided with proper I-cards, had attendance cards with no proper records.

Concept Note on Land Acquisition and Eminent Domain

2010-03-13T10:48:00.000+05:30

Concept Note on Eminent Domain and Land Acquisition

Convention on 'Appropriation of Natural Resources'

2010-02-03T21:53:00.004+05:30

PERSPECTIVES

invites you to a

CONVENTION

COMMUNITIES, COMMONS

AND

CORPORATIONS

The Struggle for Rights and Resources

24th and 25th February, 2010

VENUE

Room No. 22, Faculty of Arts

North Campus, University of Delhi

PROGRAMME SCHEDULE

Wednesday, 24th February

1:30 pm to 5:30 pm

Arundhati Roy

Activist and Writer

Prashant Bhushan

Advocate, Supreme Court

Felix Padel

Anthropologist working in Niyamgiri, Orissa

Joya Mitra

Activist and Writer from West Bengal

Thursday, 25th February

1:30 pm to 5:30 pm

Shamim Modi and Anurag Modi

Activists, Shramik Adivasi Sangathan, Madhya Pradesh

Film and Talk by Amar Kanwar

Independent Documentary Film-maker

Dayamani Barla

Journalist and Activist from Jharkhand

Prof. Nirmal Chandra

Formerly Professor of Economics, IIM-Kolkata

Perspectives report in EPW, January 30, 2010

2010-02-03T21:48:00.002+05:30

Perspectives report on Bundelkhand in EPW

Public Meeting on Water Resources

2009-12-02T21:50:00.002+05:30

Perspectives

Invites you to a Public Meeting

Down the Drain:

Looking for Justice along India’s Rivers

Amita Baviskar

Associate Professor, Institute of Economic Growth

Editor “Waterlines: The Penguin Book of River Writings”

At 2:30 p.m.

On Monday, 7^th December 2009

Students’ Activity Centre

Above the SPIC MACAY Canteen

Faculty of Arts, Delhi University

Falta SEZ in West Bengal - A fact-finding report on workers and environmental impact

2009-11-28T11:03:00.010+05:30

(The following report has been taken from here and is being reproduced here with due acknowledgments)

By Partho Sarathi Ray, Sanhati

This is a report on the Falta SEZ, the first SEZ of India, located around 55 kilometres from the heart of Calcutta city in West Bengal.

What was established by the government of India as the Falta Export Processing Zone (FEPZ) in 1984, turned into the Falta Free Trade Zone (FFTZ) and finally appeared in its current avatar as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) under the West Bengal SEZ Act, 2003, the first SEZ act passed by any state government in India. Therefore, the Falta SEZ earned the dubious distinction of being the first SEZ in India. After the government of India passed the SEZ Act in 2005, the Falta SEZ came under the purview of this act, becoming the pioneer of the 500 odd SEZs set up all over India, becoming the epitome of the neo-liberal capitalist policies of the central and the nominally “leftist” West Bengal state governments.

1. Signboard of Falta SEZ on village road approaching the SEZ [Click to enlarge]

But, what goes on in and around a functioning SEZ? What is the status of workers in an SEZ and what is the effect of an SEZ on the lives and livelihoods of people living in contiguous area? These are things that are needed to be known in order to approach the issue of SEZs by both activists and academics. In order to find out, a fact-finding team, having strong connections with local inhabitants of Falta and with workers of industries within the SEZ, have been visiting the Falta SEZ and speaking to a wide cross-section of people, whose lives are now inexorably tied to the SEZ which has grown up in the midst of their farmland and fishing areas. These are the first impressions from those visits.

The Falta SEZ is located in the southernmost part of the South 24 Parganas district, near Diamond Harbour. It is located on the bank of the river Ganga, not far from where it joins the Bay of Bengal. The deltaic alluvial land in the area is one of the most fertile in the world, and fishing is also a major source of livelihood of most people in the area.

The rationale of setting up the EPZ, and later the SEZ in this locale, was supposedly that the proximity of the river and the sea would allow the export of the goods manufactured in the SEZ at low cost, earning foreign exchange in the process. Therefore the SEZ was set up over 280 acres of land, 193 acres of which belonged to Calcutta Port trust and 87 acres was acquired land. Most of this land was river silt that had been deposited as land-fill during the widening of the river channel, which is the best land for agriculture, whereas the rest was agricultural land already in use. Four sectors (Sectors I-IV) have already been set up, whereas Sector V is in the process of establishment. People who had already been living in the area prior to river widening were displaced and resettled in the area now called Highlands. They are facing displacement for a second time because of the expansion of the SEZ. There a number of densely populated villages all around the SEZ such as Nainan, Neela and Karaghata from where people go to work in the industries located within the SEZ.

In Karaghata village, most people belong to the Ruidas (leatherworkers), Bauri (boatmen) and Muslim communities. The Ruidases traditionally work with leather but also play the ceremonial drum, the dhaak, and also make cane utensils and furniture. However, these professions are slowly dying out as people from nearly every family now go to work in the SEZ.

The condition of workers

About 60% of the workforce in the SEZ are women, and many of the local inhabitants knowingly observed that the reason behind such a large number of female workers is that they are easier to exploit. Wages for female workers are uniformly around Rs 10 less than that for male workers. The dominant system of employment is contractual, and on a daily basis. Many people assemble near the gates of the SEZ every morning, and they are employed if there is work for that day. Some people have regular jobs on a contractual basis and very few are direct employees of the industries.

The daily wagers get Rs 81 per working day, although the official wage is Rs 100 to Rs 110, depending on the type of work. Workers in some industries are paid as low as Rs 50-60 per day. The contractors get the difference. The permanent employees get Rs 3000 a month. A certain part of the wages (Rs 450 for permanent workers and Rs 150 for contractual workers) is deducted per month in lieu of ESI and provident fund. But nearly no worker has ever received a receipt for these deductions, and has no hope of utilizing ESI or provident fund.

There is widespread resentment against the contractors, who deliberately get people from outside the area as workers to maintain a reserve army of labour and keep wages down. They, in collusion with the companies operating in the SEZ, ensure that even permanent workers are not retained for a long time, maintaining a constant atmosphere of job insecurity. Many of these contractors, like Debu Karmakar, are influential members of the ruling party, the CPI(M), and have accumulated great wealth over the past few years.

The companies in the SEZ hire and fire workers as they like. As there are no trade union rights of workers in SEZs under the SEZ Act, there are no registered trade unions. There is a CITU union which claims to fight for the workers’ rights, but there is nearly unanimous agreement that Tapas Mandal, the leader of this union is hand-in-gloves with the companies in the SEZ. In many industries, wages are paid as late as 26th or 27th of the month. The fact-finding team met a “permanent” worker who was employed by VSFT Pillow and Quilt Ltd., and fired three days back because he demanded that wages be paid within the 10th of the month. This worker had to drop out of college while studying for his bachelors in science, and had worked as an agricultural worker before he had to join the factory as agriculture declined in the area. Protesting against the companies or against the contractors has invited physical assault in many cases.

There were reports of horrendous working conditions in many industries. The SEZ has 271 companies, of which 107 are closed. Many which are open are also sick. Many industries which close down reopen under new names, denying all dues to workers who had previously worked in them. Some factories were reportedly burnt down deliberately by the owners to escape paying back bank loans taken for setting up the industry. These seem to comprise quite a widespread practice to deny workers their rightful dues.

Many of the industries have hazardous working conditions and nearly no protection is provided to the workers. Many people who work in the cotspin industry or quilt-manufacturing industries complained about cotton dust which they have to inhale and which gives rise to respiratory problems. They are not provided with masks; rather they bind handkerchiefs around their noses. Sometimes, when there are inspections from the Development Commissioner’s office, they are provided masks and helmets, which are taken back when the inspectors leave.

Accidents are rampant; the fact-finding team met many people who have lost fingers or hands. Workers who have had accidents have had to wait for hours before they received medical attention. A worker, who had lost his hand while operating a machine, received only Rs 20,000 as compensation and receives Rs 1500 as monthly pension. Some people did not even get compensation; Uttam Haldar who lost his hand was ordered by the company to get compensation from the contractor.

In Nainan village, the team met the family of Mohsin Sheikh, a 27 year old worker who had been crushed to death by a 25 kg valve while working in the factory of Datre Ltd. The police even refused to lodge an FIR. The worker’s old mother lamented the fact that many young people in these villages try to put in longer and longer hours in these factories because the pay is low and there is constant fear of losing the job. Working hours are totally unregulated; another worker in Nainan complained that in Patton industries, workers work for 12 hours but their employment cards are punched for 8 hours. People reported that there are industries where the machinery makes such a great noise that people are not able to work there for more than six months.

Another major industry in the SEZ is waste plastic recycling. Waste plastic is shipped in from all over the world and women are employed to sift through and clean these waste plastics, often contaminated with hazardous chemical and biological waste, with their hands. Many women reported that they are unable to continue in this job for long because of the horrible working conditions, but many are forced to get back to this job because they have no other means of income.

2. Women and children carrying away waste material from the SEZ [Click to enlarge]

Sexual exploitation of women workers by supervisors is also widespread, but is kept under wraps. Women workers often have to tolerate sexual harassment in order to retain their jobs, many even have to cook and take food from their home for the supervisors.

There are no mechanism for addressing workers’ grievances. Workers in Nainan village reported that a year ago there was a fast by workers to demand higher wages. The development commissioner who is the final arbiter of affairs in an SEZ didn’t agree to meet the workers. After a prolonged agitation when he met them, he guaranteed that no worker would lose his job as a result of this agitation. However, his guarantee was not kept and many workers were fired. For the workers in the SEZ a life of low wages, permanent job insecurity and hazardous and demeaning working conditions is the reality today.

Effects of SEZ on surrounding villages

The SEZ has had immense adverse effects on the life in the surrounding villages too. With the initial land acquisition for the SEZ, agriculture was adversely affected in the area. The process of expansion is taking over more agricultural land. Notices for further land acquisition were served to landowners in Sundarika mouja last year.

The loss of agricultural land and the setting up of industries in the SEZ have put agriculture in permanent decline in the area. Many of the local inhabitants now also work as casual labourers, driving cycle vans, working in construction etc. Pollution from the industries located in the SEZ is also causing tremendous damage to the environment of the surrounding villages and the livelihoods of people.

3. Garbage from the SEZ littering the surrounding villages [Click to enlarge]

In Neela village, a black soot released from the Kohinoor paper mills is covering all plants and habitations, causing tremendous loss to agriculture. Also, the steam boiler of the hydraulic press of the Kohinoor factory creates such a terrible noise that children are developing nervous disorders.

In Nainan, periodic release of a red acidic effluent in the canals going through the village is polluting the groundwater and killing off the fish in the river, which is a major source of income for this village mostly inhabited by fisherfolk. There is massive groundwater depletion too, and tubewells can only function if boosters are fitted. Lot of the waste generated in the factories is carried away by the inhabitants of the surrounding villages for recycling, and this garbage can be found to be littering the surrounding villages. The entire area is paying the price for being the locale of an SEZ set up without any environmental impact assessment and with the sole objective of generating profits.

4. Red sludge from the SEZ polluting the water bodies in the area [Click to enlarge]

This is the first time that we have had a glimpse of what the reality of an SEZ is. It is the exemplification of lawless profiteering by capitalists, facilitated and lawfully allowed by the Indian state. If this is what the neo-liberal paradise holds for India, it is no wonder that people all over the country are rising up against it.

More pictures

5. A part of the SEZ from across a paddy field [Click to enlarge]

img_0054.JPG

6. Villagers pointing out plants covered with soot [Click to enlarge]

img_0050.JPG

7. A polluting factory beside a village [Click to enlarge]

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8. Plants covered with black soot in the adjoining villages [Click to enlarge]

9. The river Ganga which is the life blood of the area [Click to enlarge]

10. The new industrial growth centre being set up by WBIDC [Click to enlarge]

2009-11-10T09:12:00.001+05:30

Perspectives’ Visit to Drought Hit Bundelkhand

This season, a total of 246 districts have been identified as drought hit. In this context a 13 member team from Perspectives went to villages of Hamirpur and Mahoba districts (Uttar Pradesh) and Chattarpur district (Madya Pradesh) of Bundelkhand region to study the impact of drought on agriculture and livelihood of people. The visit gave us helpful insights into some factors affecting agriculture in Bundelkhand which are never discussed during mainstream policy making.

Various programmes initiated by the Central government in the name of drought relief and sold to the public as immediate alleviation measures to deal with the crisis were found to be deceptive. The government relied entirely on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) as a solution to the crisis. Treating drought simply as a natural calamity has overlooked and bypassed a deep problem.

The fund received as part of the drought relief package is a meagre Rs. 250-750, distributed according to the size of land holdings, to compensate for the loss of crops. This is given through a bank cheque.
The idea that the rains in mid September would assure a good Rabi crop and cover the shortfall in income from the kharif season was also untrue. Farmers suffered losses due to the untimely rains as tilli which had been sown, was destroyed by the rains. Due to these losses, farmers do not have funds to sow the rabi crop even if the soil has gained some moisture.

The drought situation in Bundelkhand is not new but has only now become prominent in the wake of the recent shortfall in rains all over the country. According to the local sources this situation has persisted over the last five years, only getting progressively worse.

Drought in this region is not only due to natural causes but a large scale ecological disturbance, leading to reduced rainfall all over the area. Over 70% of the forest cover has been wiped off by illegal felling of trees. Rampant mining on mountains for stone violating all environmental laws only aggravates the situation by degrading the land fertility in surrounding areas. This large scale destruction of natural resources viz. cutting of mountains and forest area manifests itself in declining rainfall and reduced fertility of land. With less forests and water, local people are forced to abandon their cattle due to lack of fodder.

With no occupation other than agriculture people are forced to migrate. A farmer with 10 hectares of land also has to do labour in order to survive. Migrants have to labour in construction projects and brick kilns under inhuman conditions.

NREGA was supposed to check migration and provide relief at time of crisis so that a person does not lose his/her entitlements. But the majority of people who actually need the NREGA are unable to find jobs despite having job cards. It was evident that this failure was due to lack of micro level planning and corruption at all levels.

Drought relief policy should not focus entirely on short term fire fighting policies but look at the root causes of the failure of monsoon and its impact on the livelihood of people. In Bundelkhand one of the dominant problems understood was ecological i.e. due to massive mining and deforestation.

Ritesh Jain

M.A. Economics, SIS

Jawaharlal Nehru University

Demolition, Eviction and Police Terror in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

2009-09-15T21:21:00.011+05:30

On 13 September 2009, a three member team from Perspectives visited Rahul Vihar and Baudh Vihar colonies, located on the bank of the Hindon River near the National Highway 24 in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. The colonies were recently in news when angry residents blocked the NH-24 for over six hours on 5th September protesting against the allegedly imminent demolition of their dwellings. The team spoke to the residents, local journalists and a NGO working in the area. Following are the brief observations of the team.

1. The sale of land in the area, which is part of the catchment area of the Hindon River, began around 12-14 years ago, when Ghaziabad was emerging as a satellite town of Delhi. Local farmers sold their holdings to the land mafia at extremely low prices, which then sold it to migrants to the city. The land mafia also dumped fly ash on the banks of the Hindon River, covered it with soil and sold this ‘land’ to unknowing people. Land allotted for housing needs of the poor was also transferred. Over the past 12 years, colonies have developed along a 7 km long stretch on both sides of the Hindon River in Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar districts. It is important to note that this could not have happened without the knowledge of the Irrigation Department of the U.P. government, which is responsible for managing the catchment area. The residents, a large proportion of whom are dalits and Muslims, either own the plots (for which they have ownership documents) or live on rent. Most of them possess ration cards, electoral identity cards and have electricity connections. They are either self-employed workers or have petty jobs in factories and the industrial areas in Ghaziabad and Noida. The area has several schools, temples, mosques, mobile tower and a mixing plant of EPSCO Company. It falls under the jurisdiction of Noida Sector 58 and Vijaynagar police stations.

2. On 3rd September 2009, the SDM, ADM (City) and Irrigation Department officials visited the site for a survey of the Hindon River. On 4th September, the Irrigation Department officials marked 400 m on either side of the River as the catchment area. The officials arrived with bulldozers the next day in Chijarsi, which is on one side of the River in Noida. The rumour that the colonies on both sides of the River would be demolished spread rapidly and there was panic amongst the people. Soon, angry residents blocked the NH-24. The mob violence that followed, and the subsequent lathi charge and firing of tear gas shells by the police was reported by the media.

3. However, what has remained unreported since, is the reign of terror that the police has unleashed on the residents of the area. According to a local journalist, cases have been filed against 900 unknown and 49 named persons under sections 146, 147, 148, 149 (rioting), 307 (attempt to murder), 323, 336, 427 and 436 of the IPC. SSP Akhil Kumar has been quoted as saying that the arrested persons will be booked under the National Security Act.

4. In the last week, the police have been raiding the colonies at all hours of the day and night. They enter the houses and beat up men and women indiscriminately. In many cases, the police locked the houses from outside, entered the houses through the roof and then beat up the residents so that they could not escape.

5. The terror of the police is so great that many people have fled the area, and their houses and shops are locked since last week. Others are hiding near their houses, living in fear of the frequent raids. The daily lives of the people have been disrupted, and wage workers have been unable to go to work to Noida or Ghaziabad. The police are even dragging people from tempos (local vehicles) and beating them up. Schools have been shut in the area and many families have stopped cooking meals in their homes.

6. 53 people were arrested in police raids which began at 4:00 a.m. on 8th September. 14 people were arrested on 10th September. Till now, 67 people have been arrested and sent to Dasna jail in Ghaziabad. Each person has been arrested under 19 cases, thus denying any hope for bail. A large number of those arrested are dalits and Muslims, who are watchmen, hawkers, shopkeepers, tailors and sweepers by profession. Wives and sisters of those who have been arrested have reported that they are being beaten badly and meted out inhuman treatment inside the jail.

7. A local NGO working in the area has collected evidence and testimonies to show that many of those arrested were not even present at NH-24 during the incident of 5th September. Sonu Chaudhary, a class 10th student has been arrested and sent to Dasna jail as well. The arrests are random, and are being undertaken in the spirit of revenge and collective punishment for the community.

In view of the aforementioned incidents, and with the intention of creating pressure on the district and state administration to immediately stop unjustified and illegal police action, it is proposed that a team of eminent individuals should visit the area. The fact finding team should meet the local people, officials of the Ghaziabad Development Authority, Irrigation Department and the District Magistrate and subsequently organise a press conference for the media.

Uploaded Material

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Here we will be uploading any presentations, books, reports that we have presented / published so far.

Harvesting Dispair: Agrarian Crisis in India

Presentation on Agrarian Crisis, 19th February 2009

Presentation on SEZs, 17th September 2007



Drought by Design: The Man Made Calamity in Bundelkhand

Our Past Work

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I. Major Issues Taken Up

A. Displacement and Development

The work on the book “Abandoned: Development and Displacement” was started in October 2006. This led to the formation of Perspectives in February 2007. In December, a five-member team visited Asansol and Durgapur in West Bengal and Sarai Kela Kharsawan and East Singbhum districts of Jharkhand to understand the displacement caused due to coal mining, uranium mines (Turamdih) and a wildlife sanctuary (Dalma). Based on our field visit and secondary literature, we published the aforementioned book in February 2007. A 20-minute documentary film on the same issue (with the same title) was also brought out with the footage captured by a filmmaker who had accompanied us on the visit.

The book was reviewed by the Economic and Political Weekly and Frontier Magazine. The film won the first prize in a documentary film competition at St. Stephen’s College. The book was translated in Hindi to enable it to reach a wider audience and was brought out as कहाँ गए वे लोग: विकास और विस्थापन in September 2007. We organised a convention in September 2007, where we invited academicians and activists who have worked on this issue. Professor Amit Bhaduri released the book and gave the keynote address, Lalit Batra of Delhi spoke on urban displacement, Mohanty of the Anti-Imperialist Forum spoke on displacement in Orissa and Chittaroopa Palit of Narmada Bachao Andolan spoke on the anti-displacement struggle in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Perspectives presented a paper on Special Economic Zones.

B. Agrarian Crisis

Ten students and teachers visited Mansa and Patiala districts of Punjab in June 2007 to understand the reasons behind farmers’ distress and suicide in a state which has always been posed as the most successful example of the Green Revolution. We met activists of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta) and faculty members of the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. In January 2008, we organised a public meeting on the agrarian crisis, where Prof. D.M. Diwakar of Giri Institute, Lucknow was the speaker.

In May 2008, seventeen students and teachers visited Yavatmal district in Maharashtra, which falls in the Vidarbha region characterised by the high rate of suicides amongst cotton farmers. We were hosted by Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti and we met peasant leaders Kishore Tiwari (of VJAS) and Vijay Jawandhia of Wardha.

The book “Harvesting Despair: Agrarian Crisis in India” was published in January 2009. A review of the book appeared in the March 2009 issue of Seminar (No. 595), a special issue on Agrarian Transitions, as well as the Gurgaon Workers’ Newsletter. Journals like EPW and South Asian Journal for Socio-Political Studies are in the process of reviewing our work.

We organised a convention on the issue on 19 February in the Faculty of Arts, which was chaired by Bernard D’Mello, deputy editor of the Economic and Political Weekly. Balkar Singh Dhakonda of BKU (Ekta), Vijay Jawandhia, Professor Sucha Singh Gill and Professor Amit Bhaduri were the speakers at the convention. Perspectives presented an overview of the crisis. The book is being presently translated into Hindi. Azadi Bachao Andolan of Allahabad has helped us in the work of translation.

II. College Seminars

The first college seminar was held in Lady Shriram College in March 2007. Thereafter, college seminars on the issue of development and displacement were organised in Jesus and Mary College, St. Stephen’s, Ramjas, Miranda House, Indraprastha College for Women and Dayal Singh College in August and September 2007.

After the book on agrarian crisis was published, we undertook many college seminars in a time period of just one and a half months. These were organised in Ramjas, St. Stephen’s, Miranda House, Kirori Mal College, Deen Dayal Upadhyay, Dayal Singh, Ramlal Anandlal (Evening), PGDAV, Department of Social Work and Lady Sriram College.

III. Discussion Meetings and Film Festivals

Public meetings were organised on issues and themes, which were different from the two major ones that we took up. In 2007-08, three public meetings were organised: Women’s Lives in Afghanistan (Aunohita Majumdar), Land Reforms and Acquisition before and after Independence (Kannan Kasturi), and Capitalism and Climate Change (Nagraj Adve). We also held a screening of anti-displacement films in February 2008. Films portraying the struggle in Nandigram, Orissa, slum demolitions and our own documentary film were shown.

In March 2008, Perspectives organised a film screening (Hari Bhari) and discussion on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

In September 2008, Gautam Navlakha spoke on Struggle for Azadi in Kashmir.

In August 2009, a small public meeting on the issue of Drought was organised which had Nagraj Adve along with Perspectives presenting an overview of the drought problem in India.

In September 2009, a small public meeting, 'Destruction in the Hills, Development of the Country?' where Himanshu Thakkar, Manshi Asher and Kannan Kasturi along with Perspectives discussed the problems of Dams and Hydro Electric Projects in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

IV. Other Issues/ Field Investigations

Along with the two major issues that we have taken up, we have also tried to take up other issues and conduct fact findings in and around Delhi.

In December 2007, a group of Perspectives members visited Ambedkar basti in Nand Nagri to understand the working and living conditions of women workers in the unorganised sector, especially in home-based activities.

In September 2008, Perspectives visited villages in Gurgaon where Reliance is acquiring land for its SEZ and there is some opposition from the farmers on the issue of higher compensation.

In June 2009, a 6-member team from Perspectives visited Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh in June 2009 to understand the effects of run-of-the-river Hydro Electric Power projects on the livelihood of the local people and the environment. The group came out with a report on the issue titled, "Hollowing The Hills, Cementing The Profits" in September 2009 on its study and observations.

In October 2009, 14 people visited the drought hit region of Bundelkhand to understand the long-prevailing drought situation.

V. Newsletter

The first volume of the Perspectives Newsletter was brought out in March 2008, and the theme was Women’s Issues, keeping in mind the International Women’s Day.

The second volume of the Perspectives Newsletter titled 'TRANSGRESSIONS' was brought out in November 2009, with the theme being 'Higher Education'.

VI. Miscellaneous

Perspectives spoke on Special Economic Zones in a discussion meeting of People’s Union for Democratic Rights, Delhi in February 2007. It also spoke at a SEZ seminar organised by the Women’s Studies Centre of Jamia Milia Islamia in December 2008. The group attended a meeting on the agrarian crisis organised by the South Asian Dialogues for Ecological Democracy in March 2009. There was also an internal discussion meeting on the Land Acquisition Act, its recent amendment and the Chengara Struggle in Kerala in the same month. In February 2009, The Indian Express published an article about Perspectives and it's work.

Previous Titles by Perspectives

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Hollowing the Hills, Cementing the Profits

A Report on the Hydro Electric Projects in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh

September 2009

Suggested Contribution Rs. 10/-

The 21st century has brought in its wake a barrage of man-made problems for the inhabitants of Himachal Pradesh. Kinnaur district, situated in north-east Himachal has been in the news for a number of hydro-power projects being set up on the rivers Sutlej, Baspa and Spiti. and these projects are facing persistent resistance by the local people, largely tribal and scheduled caste, as they would result in displacement, loss of livelihood and access to forest and water resources, further damaging the already marginalised existence of the people. The projects would also cause large-scale ecological destruction. This is an area where the environment and the livelihood of the people are directly linked to one another and any degradation of the environment impacts the access that people have to resources.

Harvesting Despair: Agrarian Crisis in India

January 2009

Suggested Contribution Rs. 60/-

"This bottle of pesticide will always be an option..."

In a country where a majority of people depend on agriculture for their livelihood, one farmer has been committing suicide every half hour in the last decade. Dignity once associated with being a farmer, has now been lost to despair and hopelessness. This is not an accident but the inevitable result of state policies.

This book hopes to communicate the gravity of agrarian crisis and examines the policies responsible for the same.

कहाँ गए वे लोग: विकास और विस्थापन

September 2007

Suggested Contribution Rs. 50/-

विस्थापन विकास का सच बन गया है. आज की आर्थिक शब्दरूपावली में विस्थापन और विकास एक रूप हो गए हैं. बिना किसी चुनौती के मान लिया गया है की विकास के लिए विस्थापन होगा ही. विस्थापन के कट्टर आलोचक भी मानते हैं की यह ज़रूरी है और इसलिए वे विस्थापन पर सवाल उठाने की जगह, बेदखल लोगों के बेहतर पुनर्वास की मांग करते हैं. इस किताब में विस्थापन पर प्रश्ण चिंह लगाया गया है और इसके ज़रिये विकास के उस मॉडल पर प्रश्ण चिंह लगाया गया है जो हमारे देश और कई अन्य देशों में चलाया जा रहा है.

Abandoned: Development and Displacement

February 2007

Suggested Contribution Rs. 50/-

Displacement has become a fact of development. In the present economic paradigm, it has become synonymous with development. Its inevitability is challenged. Even the loudest of its critics regard it as a necessary evil and only ask for rehabilitation of the displaced, rather than questioning displacement itself. This book questions displacement, and through it, questions the model of development that is being followed in this country and elsewhere in the world.

For Copies: Sharmin Khodaiji

c/o: D-1, Staff Quarters, Hindu College

Delhi University, Delhi - 110007

Programme

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The idea behind a group such as Perspectives is to create a much needed space within the University where students, teachers and other concerned individuals can come together and address issues of social, political and economic relevance, especially those ones which remain largely unaddressed by the academic curricula.

We live in an unequal and divided society. We, members of the various universities, are the privileged ones with access to higher education. Along with the opportunities that this education opens up for us, it also confers upon us the responsibility to contribute to society in a meaningful way. The majority of people in our country, even to this day, have to struggle every day for dignity and a decent livelihood. There are many facets of reality, which are not given adequate attention by news papers, news channels and even our text books. As an independent group, Perspectives attempts to look at this ‘other side’ which tends to get glossed over.

Perspectives believes that injustices and inequalities must be challenged and opposed in any sphere, whether they pertain to caste, class, gender, nationality, region, religion or even amongst countries. It is unacceptable that some people should be marginalised or oppressed in order to benefit some others in society. Through our work, we have learnt not to accept what is usually taken for granted in society. The task of Perspectives is to document the lives and struggles of people on the margins of law and society.

It is important for us to understand issues and situations “first hand on the ground” by visiting the relevant sites of change, conflict and crises. Further, merely understanding issues is not enough; it is equally important to propagate this understanding amongst the university community. The group is not restricted to any particular discipline. Rather, it firmly believes that the interaction between different fields of knowledge is one of the important ways of understanding social reality, as it exists. Research and the written word is one of the main methods of the group’s work. However, it is not the only method. The group strives to make its work available to as wide an audience as possible.

We do not accept funds from any organisation or institution. The contributions of concerned individuals and the sales of our literature fund our activities and publications.

There is a world outside the classroom to understand and explore
We only need to unhinge the doors and windows of our minds

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You are welcome to attend our public meetings, organise college seminars with us, write for our newsletter, accompany us on our next field visit, or work with us on our next project.

We meet on the first Friday of every month at 2 p.m. at SPIC MACAY lawns, Faculty of Arts, North Campus, University of Delhi. Contact us at: 97171-14182 or 9899-399-794 or contact.perspectives@gmail.com