The mask of ‘adla badli’: How Chhattisgarh government steals adivasi land on behalf of Bhilai Steel Plant
Published on: 25 October 2018, 04:00 am
[dropcap]U[/dropcap]nder the scorching sun of the noon, Angad Tekam pointing to the road, explaining the boundaries of khasra number (plot number) 128 and 129, which is 2.26 and 2.25 hectares (ha) respectively in Jamruwa, district Balod in Chhattisgarh, says: "When the tehsildars had first come to see the land in 2017, I thought IIT was being built in this village. I thought it would be nice to have a college in our village. It was only months later I found that the land was being transferred to Bhilai Steel Plant in exchange for land transferred for construction of an Indian Institute of Technology somewhere else. We do not have a college here. Why should we give away our land? What do we get in return?"
Jamruwa khasra no.128 | Photo Credit: Kritika A
On the southwest side of the Jamruwa village is the expansive Konkan mines, followed by the Rajhara mines. The sound of blasting at 1 in the noon might startles a visitor but the locals are accustomed to it as it acts like a siren reminding them of the time of the day. These mines, rich in iron, provide iron-ore for steel production to Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP). Most of the families, belonging to the Gond tribe, migrated from nearby villages in the 1950's in search of job opportunities. Jobs never came by for most of them. Nevertheless, it became their home. The kaccha road and the ponds are red due to mine dust. Villagers face acute problems due to pollution of ground water and drying of ponds. At least five farmers spoke about their land turning barren.
