Violence over displacement in India concerns Amnesty

Mumbai, May 23 (UNI) Amnesty International had said the review of policy frameworks for India's upcoming Special Ecomomic Zones (SEZs) and rehabilitation and resettlement policies being undertaken as not fully address human rights concerns in view of violence over displacement witnessed this year.

Sanjeev Poojary and Amit Murugkar of Amnesty International's Mumbai group in a report released here today said India needs a substantiative and long-term investment in human rights to build effective system of justice and accountability to strengthen human rights defenders and for economic, social as well as civil and political rights of the poor and marginal communities.

Protests are being witnessed over displacement in West Bengal, Maharashtra and Puducherry. Even though policies are being reviewed, they do not fully address human rights concerns. For example, no mandatory human rights impact assessment for projects or responsibility to ensure prior informed consent of communities likely to be affected was undertaken.

The report also states that around 300 million people remained in poverty despite implementation of the new legislation guaranteeing employment for the rural poor. New legislation on the right to information, seen as a means to empower the poor, was not fully implemented and the Centre and State governments were reluctant to disclose crucial information about their decision-making process.

Concerns grew over protection of economic, social and cultural rights of the already marginalised communities including adivasis amidst fears of unchecked exploitation of their resource base by the government and businesses. Several States witnessed periodic protests against acquisition of land and other resources for mining, irrigation, power and urban infrastructure development. Such developments were associated with forced evictions, harassment, arbitrary detentions, excessive police force and denial of access to justice.

The report highlights death in police firing of adivasis who were protesting against land accquisition for Tata Steel project in Orissa. Similarly, police used excessive force against activists staging a protest fast in Delhi against displacement that would be caused by the Narmada dam project. Similarly, activists protesting against the UP government's decision to accquire farmland for the Reliance gas project faced police harassment and detention, the report added.

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