THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Cabinet on Wednesday approved all the demands of the Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha which has been staging a stand-up stir in front of the Secretariat.
The goverment approval came on the 162nd day of the struggle. The demands include the implementation of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), 1996, a comprehensive rehabilitation package for Muthanaga stir participants and withdrawal of cases against them.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the mediation by Medha Patkar helped to reach a consensus with the agitators. Chandy told a post-Cabinet briefing that the PESA would be implemented in panchayats - Idamalakkudi and Aralam - having cent per cent tribal population in the first phase.
“The Act provides for declaring panchayats with 40 per cent population as tribal panchayats. But it will not be the criteria in the state as it may invite opposition,” he said.
The government will issue a notification for distributing 7,693 hectares of land among the landless tribals in the state. The 447 families who participated in the Muthanga agitation will be given one-acre land and 2.5 lakh each for building houses. Compensation of `1 lakh will be given to the children who were jailed during the stir.
AGMS leaders C K Janu and M Geethanandan congratulated the government for taking a “revolutionary decision”. They said the stir will be wound up after they receive a written document of the decisions.