PESA movement ‘tricky’ for Cong

ROURKELA: Playing up the tribal card with the slogan of ‘jal, jamin and jungle’ rights, the Congress party has announced to ensure proper implementation of the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) in the district, if voted to power in the State.

However, the controversies surrounding the implementation of PESA in the region which has fuelled a deep divide between tribal and non-tribal population in the district could prove a double-edged sword for the party. 

In the guise of self-rule under PESA Act, the tribal activists have not only taken on the non-tribals, who constitute about 49.25 per cent of the population, but also have stalled development works citing violation of tribal rights. With a substantial chunk of the people against PESA, it could prove tricky for the party as well as Biramitrapur MLA George Tirkey, who has positioned himself as a champion of the Act.
On February 6, AICC president Rahul Gandhi, addressing a public meeting at Rourkela, had asserted that the Congress would bring a special Bill to ensure rights of tribal people on water, forest and land. Stating that PESA Act was the creation of Congress Government, he assured to implement it properly.

As per reports, the tribal PESA activists have been trying to impose ‘self-rule’ with formation of Gram Sabha Committees and ‘Pathalgadi’ movement to demarcate village boundaries since 2012. So far, around 350 such committees in areas with  sizeable Christian tribal population have been formed in all seven Assembly constituencies of the district.

Sources said the PESA movement had gained strength after Tirkey started leading the Sundargarh Zilla Adiwasi Mulwasi Bacho Manch (SZAMBM) in 2014. The Manch indiscriminately started opposing all development projects citing violation of land rights of tribals. Instances of PESA Gram Sabha Committees resorting to lawlessness and collision course with the administration are galore. Be it detention of a police team in Nuagaon block or cutting water supply to a residential colony of an industry in Rajgangpur in 2018, the committees have frequently been in the  news for the wrong reasons. In Kutra block, a tribal villager was killed following a clash between anti-PESA and pro-PESA groups.  
However, Tirkey had distanced himself from other leaders of SZAMBM and Sundargarh Zilla PESA Gram

Sabha Coordination Committee nearly a year ago. He had said that he wants effective implementation of PESA Act and other constitutional provisions through constitutional means. 
Tirkey’s assessment of polarising tribal voters over ‘jal, jamin and jungle’ rights may be misplaced with the rival faction of SZAMBM gaining strength. It would also be hard for Tirkey to shed his image of anti-development, political observers said.