BHUBANESWAR: Civil society members and activists met Odisha Governor Raghubar Das here on Friday and urged him to take steps for setting up a statutory national commission to hear the grievances of displaced people.
“Starting from the Hirakud dam project until today, around 45 per cent of displaced people have been rehabilitated or compensated. The remaining are still struggling to get their dues,” said activist Prafulla Samantara.
A four-member delegation submitted a report on ‘Displacement and Human Rights Violations- The Odisha Story’ before the governor.It was prepared by the jury members headed by Manoranjan Mohanty, a retired professor of Delhi University, after conducting regional public hearings with displaced people of Odisha.
In the recommendation part of the report, the jury members suggested forming a statutory body like the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to hear the grievances of displaced people. It can be called the National Commission on the Rights of Displaced People.
Mohanty said it can be created by an Act of Parliament at the Centre, having branches in all the states of the country. This Commission will function like the NHRC, National Commission for Women, and the ST and SC Commissions. It should have the legal authority to enforce its recommendations in letter and spirit, he added.
He said the Commission would be assigned to act as a grievance redressal mechanism for people who are already displaced and affected by the projects dating from the time of India’s independence. It will enumerate the number of persons displaced by development projects from 1947 onwards and publish a yearly status report on persons displaced from different projects, he added.
The Commission will monitor the proper implementation of different legislations dealing with the displacement of people. “The major problem of the displaced people is that they do not have any constitutional redressal forum to get justice. Tribal communities are more vulnerable to this crisis,” said Samantara.
He said many people do not get proper compensation and rehabilitation facilities. “The Forest Rights Act, 2006, and the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 are not being followed by the administration. A Gram Sabha needs to be convened while acquiring land for any project. We hope the governor will take action on this matter,” said Samantara.