Another round of tribal stir on cards
The committee would be based in Kochi
Thiruvananthapuram: Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha (AGMS) may go in for another round of agitation over the government’s failure to implement decisions taken at the meeting to end the Nilpu Samaram in December last year.
This was discussed at a meeting of the vigilance committee consisting of activists, who had supported the Nilpu Samaram of the AGMS, at a convention at Renewal Centre, Kochi on Wednesday.
The meeting decided to form a defence committee with advocates as members to appear in cases relating to various adivasi agitations. The committee would be based in Kochi.
The AGMS had withdrawn the 162-day-long 'nilpu samaram' on December 17, 2014 in front of the Secretariat as the government agreed to implementing the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA).
The meeting also decided to organise a convention each in Wayanad and Palakkad in July or August to discuss the further course of action. A national convention will be organised either in Thiruvananthapuram or Kochi in December before finalising the future action.
AGMS state convener M. Geethanandan told DC that there was an inordinate delay in executing the agreement.
“Though a proposal on implementing PESA was forwarded to the centre, we have no clue on what happened afterwards.”
The idea was for identifying 19,000 acres for distribution to landless adivasis. Now, the whole process is under the supervision of the revenue department. “We want the process to be with the forest department,” Mr Geethanandan said.