Several organisations, including the Assam unit of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and Congress, took to the streets across the state after the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government on August 8, 2023 announced its plan to allocate 3.75 lakh hectares of land across seven districts for palm oil plantations to Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Foods Limited under the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) scheme.
The Assam State Krishak Sabha (ASKS), Assam Krishi Shramik Union (AKSU), and Assam Pradesh Kishan Congress (APKC) protested outside the Department of Agriculture Office at Khanapara against the state government's plan to allocate land for palm cultivation to Patanjali in Sadiya, Assam. They also sent a memorandum to the CM.
While some farmers' organisations questioned the rationale behind promoting palm cultivation in the north-eastern states, especially when countries like Indonesia and Sri Lanka have already banned it, others raised concerns about biodiversity loss, ecological damage, and groundwater depletion.
Multiple studies have shown that countries like Indonesia, where palm oil export has existed for decades, have faced increasing land conflicts, big-scale deforestation, massive fires, and other major ecological downfalls.
Experts and environmentalists have also warned that this expansion could further increase human-elephant conflicts in many districts, home to a large population of wild elephants, and other animal species in Assam.
Meanwhile, political parties raised concerns over the state government's agenda behind allocating land to corporate bodies from outside the state.
The latest round of protests added momentum to the earlier agitations against palm oil cultivation in the state. Till September 2021, the state had 350 hectares of oil palm cultivation spread across 18 districts including Goalpara, Bongaigaon and Kamrup districts. Other companies carrying out palm cultivation in the state are 3F Palm Oil, Godrej Agrovet Private Limited and M/S Shivasais Oil Palm Private Limited.
In August 2021, the Government of India launched the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) with a focus on increasing edible oil production from oil palm. NMEO-OP is a centrally-sponsored scheme under which the cost is shared in a 60:40 ratio between the Central and the State Government for general states and in a 90:10 ratio for Northeast states and 100% for UTs and central agencies.
Currently, India is the world's largest importer and is the second largest consumer of palm oil. India's palm oil imports jumped 29.21% to 90.80 lakh tonnes in the first 11 months of the ongoing 2022–23 oil year compared to last oil year. Data available from the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) showed that India imported edible oil worth Rs 1.56 lakh crore during the oil year 2021-22 (November-October).
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Opposition against environmental degradation
Demand to cancel the project
Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Common
Non-Forest (Grazing Land), Non-Forest (Other than Grazing Land)
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Project underway despite protests
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Government or community-regulated urban commons, Grazing
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
No
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
11040
Type of investment:
Cost of Project
Year of Estimation
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Violation of environmental laws
Legal Status:
Out of Court
Status of Case In Court
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
No
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Case Number
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
No
Reported Details of the Violation:
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer's welfare
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
Yes
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Patanjali Foods Limited, 3F Palm Oil, Godrej Agrovet Private Limited, M/S Shivasais Oil Palm Private Limited
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
No
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
Assam State Kisan Sabha (ASKS), Asom Krishi Shramik Union (AKSU)
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
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