VZCZCXRO8711
RR RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHLH RUEHNEH
DE RUEHKT #0074/01 0300349
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 300349Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9690
INFO RUEAEPA/EPA WASHDC 0041
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 7077
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 2393
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 5123
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2811
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 6791
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 2955
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 4429
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE 0303
RUEHNEH/AMCONSUL HYDERABAD 0001
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 3967

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 000074 
 
DEPT FOR OES/PCI, SCA/INS, SCA/RA 
USAID FOR ANE/SAA 
EPA FOR OIA FREEMAN 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: SENV EIND EMIN PREL XD IN
SUBJECT: DISLOCATION, ENVIRONMENTAL DEPRIVATION, AND CONFLICT IN 
EASTERN INDIA 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. Mining concessions in India's eastern states of Orissa and Andhra 
Pradesh are causing the dislocation of tens of thousands of tribal 
people and threatening their traditional way of life, which is 
highly dependant on the natural environment.  In the process, tribal 
people have become targets for recruitment by Naxalite extremists. 
The Government of India (GOI) is seeking to address the issues of 
tribal people with the 2006 Forest Dwellers Act.  But, on the state 
level there is no consensus that the needs of the tribal people are 
being adequately met through GOI and state rehabilitation and 
resettlement policies. 
 
 
SCHEDULED TRIBES 
---------------- 
 
¶2. On a December 10-13, 2008, trip to Orissa and Andhra Pradesh the 
South Asia Regional Environmental Officer (REO) spoke to state 
government officials, academicians, and NGO representatives about 
the nexus of environment and conflict.  Discussions focused on the 
pressures facing the tribal people in these states, whose 
traditional livelihoods are threatened by mining interests.  These 
states are changing quickly.  Although Orissa is the second poorest 
state in India, with 45 percent of its people still mired in 
poverty, it recorded 8.5 percent economic growth on average from 
2002 to 2007, according to the World Bank. 
 
¶3. The eastern states of India are host to numerous indigenous 
tribes, referred to as scheduled tribes.  They tend to be engaged in 
subsistence agriculture or hunter- gathers, poorly educated, 
confined to specific areas, highly dependent on their natural 
surroundings, and the poorest of all communities in India.  They 
also tend to be linguistically isolated.  For example, in Orissa 
there are 62 tribes with a total population of 8.1 million (2001 GOI 
census) who speak 24 languages.  In Andhra Pradesh there are over 5 
million tribal people. 
 
¶4. Uneducated, with few employment opportunities outside their 
communities, and lacking access to credit to create businesses, they 
are easily exploited by outsiders.  The quality of government health 
services in tribal areas is, according to a local NGO, "appallingly 
low."  In addition, tribal women are frequently targeted by 
traffickers.  The most important asset of tribal people is their 
land.  They may have occupied land for generations, but they 
commonly lack land titles, which makes tribal people vulnerable to 
land grabbers. 
 
¶5. The GOI is attempting to address tribal concerns with programs 
and legislation.  The National Rural Employment Scheme provides 100 
days of employment per year to tribal people, although some local 
officials report that the GOI has not funded this scheme adequately. 
 State governments in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh have also worked 
with the NGO community to promote micro-financing and women's 
self-help groups.  The 2006 Forest Dwellers Act (Recognition of Land 
Rights) and its 2007 implementing rules permit tribal people to 
acquire land titles.  The Act allows for the inheritance of tribal 
lands and limited transfer of land titles between tribals, but does 
not permit the sale of land to non-tribal people.  But, the rules 
are proving to be cumbersome.  Over 100,000 title applications have 
been submitted and only a few cases have been settled. 
 
FOREST WEALTH 
------------- 
 
¶6. The forests of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, where the tribal people 
are concentrated, also contain much of India's mineral wealth. 
Forests cover 31 percent of Orissa, one of the highest percentages 
of any Indian state. The state also contains 51 percent of India's 
bauxite, 21 percent of its iron, 24 percent of its coal, 95 percent 
of its chromium, and 91 percent of its nickel.  India's rapid 
economic growth has led to an unprecedented demand for these 
minerals and is transforming Orissa and Andhra Pradesh from a 
forest-based economy into an industrial economy.  In the process, 
tribal people are frequently evicted from their lands and 
 
KATHMANDU 00000074  002 OF 003 
 
 
livelihoods, offered little or no compensation, and cut off from 
their social and cultural networks.  Representatives of NGOs report 
that mining activities pollute massively and the Indian Bureau of 
Mines is completely ineffective in reclaiming mines. 
 
¶7. According to an Indian anthropologist and expert on tribal 
people, those who are unfamiliar with tribal culture may mistakenly 
believe that mining poses minimal risks since tribal people have 
little income to lose and high unemployment rates.  But, he argues 
that earned income is only a small portion of tribal wealth, which 
is better measured in terms its ability to sustain tribal identity, 
culture, and institutions. 
 
¶8. In many cases, tribal people have resisted industrial 
development.  A civil society leader in Orissa said that only 30 of 
the 100 Memoranda of Understanding signed between the state and 
mining companies have gone forward.  He said that several large 
initiatives undertaken by multinational companies, including Tata, 
Arcelor Mittal, and the South Korean steelmaker POSCO, have been 
delayed by ongoing conflicts with tribal communities.  In response 
to several violent incidents, Orissa has crafted a resettlement and 
rehabilitation policy aimed at tribal communities.  The UNDP is 
assisting the state to build capacity to implement its new policy. 
 
 
ATTRACTION OF EXTREMISM 
----------------------- 
 
¶9. REO asked to what extent forced dislocations, loss of traditional 
livelihoods, and an end to access to the natural environment can be 
linked to the violent extremist groups operating in the region, 
specifically the Naxalites. 
Among state government officials, NGOs, and academicians there was a 
range of responses to this question. 
 
¶10. Local Andra Pradesh government officials played down the 
connection, stating that Naxalite violence was waning and under 
control due to effective implementation of social programs and law 
and order policies.  The officials said the Naxalite movement had 
peaked in the mid-1990s.  Afterwards, it deteriorated from an 
ideological struggle of leftists to a criminal mafia.  In Orissa, a 
senior forest official pointed to the continuing need for adequate 
compensation for tribal people whose land was expropriated by mining 
interests.  He maintained that the Forest Dwellers Act was 
productively channeling tribal concerns into a workable system.  He 
supported the right of tribal peoples to receive full market value 
or equivalent land for land expropriated by industry or mining 
concessions.  But, he also noted that conflict had broken out 
between tribal groups when one group had been resettled too close to 
another tribal group, resulting in greater demand and competition 
for forest resources. 
 
¶11. NGOs tended to see a direct relationship between the dislocation 
and spreading Naxalite violence, arguing that the forced loss of 
livelihood made tribal people targets for recruitment.  They see the 
compensation policies as flawed and believe the states should halt 
the expansion of mining activities until proper compensation can be 
made to tribal communities.  Otherwise, the Naxalite movement will 
only strengthen and spread.  One NGO director described the conflict 
between Naxalites and Indian authorities in the neighboring state of 
Chhattisgarh as "India's own Darfur."  In his view, brutal police 
actions were turning tribal youth into Naxalite recruits. 
 
¶12. The academicians whom REO spoke to generally expressed more 
nuanced views, allowing that forced dislocation of tribal people 
communities by the state had led some tribal people to the 
sympathize with the Naxalite movement, but maintaining that the new 
rehabilitation and resettlement policies were promising and could 
ameliorate the situation.  A University of Hyderabad professor 
underscored that forced displacement was clearly an incentive to 
participate in Naxalite violence.  However, recent elections in 
Chhattisgarh had shown that other factors were also influencing 
tribal people.  Tribal voters had supported a GOI-backed 
paramilitary movement, the Salwa Judum, to arm tribal people to 
fight against the Naxalites.  She concluded that the Naxalites could 
only gain sway over displaced tribal people intermittently.  She 
 
KATHMANDU 00000074  003 OF 003 
 
 
noted that Naxalite violence had declined in Andhra Pradesh, which 
was relatively well governed, but was still present in other states. 
 However, she was also critical of the Forest Rights Act because it 
fails to educate tribal people in their rights and gives them only 
three months to submit land claims. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶13.  The Indian experience with the dislocation of tribal people 
from their traditional lands and natural environments is complex and 
not pretty.  In new locations with their social networks weakened, 
tribal people have to learn new skills to survive or become, in a 
sense, victims of globalization.  Pressure to exploit minerals from 
tribal forest lands will inevitably grow with India's economic 
development, making real compensation policies for expropriated 
lands necessary to prevent conflict and to preserve the identity and 
culture of the tribes.  In government, NGO, and academic circles 
there is increasing interest in the experiences of tribal people. 
There should be greater efforts to assess the environmental value of 
India's remaining forests, to educate tribal peoples in their 
rights, and to plan development strategies to minimize disruption to 
their lives and livelihoods.  (Note: REO did not have a chance to 
discuss dislocation issues with representatives of mining 
concerns.) 
 
¶14. This cable has been cleared by Consulates General Kolkata and 
Hyderabad. 
POWELL