Rajesh had ‘secure’ life goals to survive until he saw the desperation to survive and need of justice all around him – in his country, community, even in his own family. As a young man, Rajesh had always dreamed of having a “secure job and secure earnings, with more than enough to survive.”  That all changed one day when he…

Rajesh Gupta

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The burning issue in Chhattisgarh that is consuming the marginalised, tribal people of the state today is displacement on a massive scale - for mining, industries, dams, sanctuaries, highways, all in the name of 'development'.

The village of Vehramora, a Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas ACT (PESA ACT) protected land, is also a victim of this development. The state government built a dam near the village which falls under the Dharamjaigarh block, without the consent of the village gram panchayat. The Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code prohibits the transfer of tribal lands to non-tribals.

Indeed there are many similar provisions, laws, regulations in different states applying to tribal areas or tribal owned lands prohibiting the alienation of tribal land to non-tribals. But while building the dam, government officials had verbally stated that the dam would be a boon to the farmers in terms of irrigation and water supply, but it soon turned out to be a bane. The farm lands are submerged under the dam during monsoons, which is the prime time for sowing seeds for 21 farmer families residing near the dam.

The farmers have written to the district collector who is yet to take any action on the matter. You can help the farmers by calling Alarmel Mangai D, the District Collector of Raigarh, demanding that the farmers get rightfully compensated for the loss of land and grain.

Community correspondent Rajesh Gupta reports from Chhattisgarh for Video Volunteers.

This video was made by a Video Volunteers Community Correspondent. Community Correspondents come from marginalised communities in India and produce videos on unreported stories. These stories are ’news by those who live it.’ they give the hyperlocal context to global human rights and development challenges. See more such videos at www.videovolunteers.org. Take action for a more just global media by sharing their videos and joining in their call for change. we could hyperlink to some VV pages, like our take action page.