MALKANGIRI: Amid stiff opposition from the Zilla Adivasi Samaj Mahasangha to the state government’s decision to rename 220 villages inhabited by Bengali settlers in Malkangiri, Chitrakonda MLA Mangu Khilla and president of Dandakaranya liberation organisation’s state unit Lalit Narayan Madkami on Friday met Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi in Bhubaneswar and urged him to scrap the move.
Khilla, who is also the general secretary of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee, and Madkami also met Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari in this connection. The duo submitted memorandums to the CM and Pujari requesting them to stop the ongoing process to give revenue status to the Bengali settlers’ villages.
They said the move violates Article 244 of the Constitution which outlines provisions for administration and control of scheduled and tribal areas of undivided Koraput districts under the fifth schedule.
The government is bound under Article 244 to protect the interest of tribal people and hold gram sabha meetings for consultation. It must abide by the tribal advisory council recommendation to understand their concerns and suggestions.
The administration of scheduled and tribal areas is governed by Article 244 which vests special powers in the governor to ensure the protection of tribal rights and interests, they said.
“The government’s move to rename the Bengali villages and give them revenue status will have far-reaching implications for tribal communities including potential loss of land rights, cultural identity and autonomy. We urged the chief minister and revenue minister to stop the ongoing exercise immediately and engage the tribal community in consultation through gram sabha and tribal advisory council meetings keeping the potential implications of the proposal,” they told this paper.
At present, there are 220 Bengali villages in the district of which 136 are Malkangiri villages (MV) and 84 Malkangiri Potteru villages (MPV). In Kalimela block alone, there are 41 Malkangiri villages followed by 55 Malkangiri Potteru villages.
The Zilla Adivasi Samaj Mahasangha is opposing the government’s decision tooth and nail forcing the district administration to put the ongoing gram sabha and palli sabha meetings on hold.