NCST Intervenes in Sahariya Tribal Displacement: Balancing Development and Indigenous Rights in the Ken-Betwa Link Project
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The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has issued a notice to the Ministry of Jal Shakti regarding the rehabilitation of the Sahariya tribe displaced by the Ken-Betwa Link Project. This intervention highlights the critical tension between large-scale infrastructure development and the protection of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has recently sought a detailed report from the Ministry of Jal Shakti concerning the displacement and rehabilitation of the Sahariya tribe in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna district. This move comes in response to the Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP), India's first major river-interlinking initiative, which threatens to submerge several tribal villages and significant portions of the Panna Tiger Reserve.
The Sahariya tribe is recognized as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), characterized by their deep-rooted dependence on forest resources and traditional livelihoods. The KBLP, while aimed at solving the water crisis in the drought-prone Bundelkhand region, poses a severe threat to the socio-cultural fabric of these communities. Displacement often leads to the loss of the 'Nature-Man-Spirit Complex,' where tribal identity is inextricably linked to their ancestral lands and local deities.
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