Displacement without rehabilitation: adivasis of Alirajpur Tehsil, Jhabua Dist., Madhya Pradesh – a report and survey of eight villages

The villages of Alirajpur are the first in Madhya Pradesh to be affected by the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP). They are all Adivasi communities with a mixed economy based on agriculture (on titled land as well as forest encroachments), forest produce, herding, and fishing. The cash component of the economy is relatively minor and these communities have strong cultural ties with the forest and river. As tribal communities they have a social system marked by egalitarianism (there are no landless people in these villages) and a strong sense of community. They have their own religious beliefs, cultural practices, and an independent language. Being Adivasis, one of the most vulnerable sections of our society, they have been granted special protection through the Schedule V of the Constitution, the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act 1996, various protective national and State legislation, and several International Treaties including the ILO 107 that has been ratified by the Indian government.