NHRC asks Odisha CS to respond to notice on displacement of people in Basudevpur area of Keonjhar district

Kendrapada : The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today issued notice to Odisha Chief Secretary over largescale displacement of poor, ST, SC and other villagers in Murusuan, Chamakpur and other villagers in Basudevpur area of Keonjhar district.
Acting on the petition filed by Human Rights Activist Radhakanta Tripathy, the NHRC sought response from the Chief Secretary within four weeks.
Mr Tripathy in his petition alleged that the villagers were shelterless and living under open sky during the rainy season after the state administration demolished the houses of Saheb Naik, Padma Mahanta and other villagers in Murusuan and other villages.
Earlier acting on a petition filed by Mr Tripathy, the NHRC had investigated the issue by its Special Rapporteur.
Mr Tripathy requested the NHRC to depute a team of officials or the Special Rapporteur to visit the area and submit a comprehensive report with recommendation with regard to the Current Land Acquisition as per applicable Law, Rehabilitation and Resettlement of the villagers.
He further stated that the actual displaced families will be more than five thousand. Most of them belonged to poor ST and SC Communities. Proper Survey has not been conducted by the government citing petty reasons like lack of staff, he added.
” Thousands of poor villagers may become landless. Lack of livelihood for these displaced families create serious human rights problems and force them to die without remedies,” he added.
Due to apathy of the government officials the basic necessities of life are denied to thousands of villagers living in the fully-merged area as per their estimation without conducting proper survey. The babies are also treated differently in the Anganwadi centers leaving thousand of malnourished children in the area.
The bare necessities of life and the benefits of social welfare schemes are also denied to these poor ST villagers. Aadhar Card, Rashtriya Swasthy Bima Cards BPL Cards, Job Cards under MGNREGS for Livelihood and other benefits like IAY, Food, Ration under the Social welfare Schemes are denied to these victims , Mr Tripathy alleged.