The Mudumalai Tiger Reserve spans an area of 321 square kilometres and is located in the Nilgiris district. In an attempt to conserve the diminishing tiger population, in April 2007, the state government declared Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary a tiger reserve as per the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972. Subsequently, in December 2007, it was notified as a Critical Tiger Habitat (CTH). The demarcated area for the tiger reserve subsumed seven villages (28 hamlets) that consisted of nearly 449 families. These villages include Bennai, Nellikarai, Mandakarai, Nagampalli, Pulliyalam, Mudugulli and Gundital and are mainly inhabited by the Mountadan Chetty communities and landless members of the Kattunayakar and Paniya communities. After the declaration of the CTH in 2007, the Madras High Court directed the state to relocate the families from the seven villages. Meanwhile, the movement of people within the core area of the reserve became restricted, which hindered the normal lives and livelihoods of the forest dwellers. Seeing this, other communities reconsidered the relocation plan. While some of them wanted to relocate, many tribal communities who had lived around these forest areas and depended on its resources wanted to continue living in the reserve. In 2008, nearly 15,000 people gathered together to protest against the declaration of the tiger reserve, citing nonimplementation of the Forest Rights Act. In 2015, a parliamentary committee asked the Centre to look into the implementation of the relocation programme, pointing out that it had been delayed for years. As part of the relocation process, families have the option of choosing appropriate monetary compensation for land or land for land. But tribal people without land titles asking for land in place of the land they are giving up was not considered; the relocation did not take place according to the Critical Wildlife Habitat Provisions under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. According to a media report, relocation of the families happened in three phases. In 201617, the first phase of relocation involved 58 tribal and 177 nontribal families from Bennai and Nellikarai villages. In 201718, this was followed by the relocation of 55 tribal and 200 nontribal families from Mandakarai, Nagampalli and Pulliyalam village. The last phase involves 25 tribal and 186 nontribal families from Mudugulli and Gundital villages. The tribal families were promised a compensation of INR 10 lakh in 3 instalments. As registered by the Adivasi Munetra Kazhagam (a triballed nonprofit) to the National Commission of Scheduled Castes, around 93 families have not been given INR 6.7 lakh each of the promised compensation. The report also states that some families have been duped by the authorities by misguiding them to buy illegal land. A case had been registered against forest department officials on September 3, 2019, under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. As per reports dated November 2019, a section of the tribespeople living in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve are still unwilling to move out of the park.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand for promised compensation
Demand for rehabilitation
Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources
Refusal to give up land for the project
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Provide compensation (Monetary or land) as promised
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Both
Forest
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
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
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
Forest and Scheduled Area Governance Laws, Other
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.
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:
Non-payment of compensation/promised compensation
Forced evictions/dispossession of land
Non-implementation/violation of FRA
Violation of free prior informed consent
Non-rehabilitation of displaced people
Legal Status:
In Court
Status of Case In Court
Disposed
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Madras High Court
Case Number
Writ Petition No. 18531 of 1998
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Displacement
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Reported Details of the Violation:
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Forest Department, National Commission of Schedules Castes, National Tiger Conversation Authority
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
No
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
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?
Neerajha has completed a post graduate programme in Development Leadership and is currently working as a development researcher. She is based out of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Her major interest areas include participatory development and human rights.
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