On 1 May 2019, the Madhya Pradesh government began the process of re-examining the cases of several forest dwellers whose claims over forestland had been rejected. The state notified all district collectors not to carry out any evictions till the cases had been reviewed. Despite this, on 9 July, around 50 forest department officials and police arrived in Siwal village in Nepanagar block of Burhanpur district with excavators and began razing down farms in the name of carrying out a plantation drive. The forest officials tried to run JCBs (excavators) over farms in which farmers had just sown seeds. When the farmers protested, the police fired pellets at them. Four farmers were injured and one had to be taken to a hospital in Indore.
The police claim that three forest officials were also injured when the villagers pelted stones at them. According to a junior police official at Nepanagar police station, the villagers attacked first.
On 14 July 2019, tribals of Burhanpur gathered at the Burhanpur District Collector's office to protest against the forest department's illegal firing and its constant violations of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and government orders.
The Nepanagar Police registered two First Information Reports (FIRs) in the case. In the first FIR, three unidentified forest officials were booked for rash and negligent actions that cause hurt and endanger human life. In the second FIR, 150 unidentified tribespeople were charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code dealing with unlawful assembly, rioting and obstruction of duty by public servants.
Following the FIR, villagers from Nepanagar staged a sit-in outside the local police station. They alleged that the FIRs were wrongly filed and called for all false cases against the tribal farmers of Siwal to be dropped. They also demanded that the rights accorded to the Village Assembly (gram sabha) under the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, and the FRA should be protected from violations by government officials. Additionally, in accordance with the state government's order of 1 May 2019, and Section 4(5) of the FRA, no claimant of forest rights should be evicted or acted against until the legal processing and verification of their claims are completed.
The then Chief Minister Kamal Nath ordered an investigation into the incident after several political leaders demanded action against those responsible. The matter has been reported to the local Nepanagar police station. Many villagers filed for FRA claims again in January 2020.
The review exercise for rejected claims had been initiated by the Madhya Pradesh government through an online portal called MP Van Mitra. The portal was launched with the objective of facilitating review of rejected claims. However, activists working for the rights of tribals expressed that Van Mitra has become a tool to fraudulently reject claims anew. For Siwal village, the place which was the centre stage of violence, it was reported that there were procedural lapses in verification process.
In January 2023, a group of over 4000 tribals picketed Burhanpur Collector’s office in a strong display of resentment towards poor implementation of FRA 2006. The tribals alleged everyday harassment by Forest Police and Officials stating that they demand money from tribal farmers whose land applications are pending.
As per a report, verification process of claims made under FRA got delayed on account of Covid-19 lockdown. However, the villagers involved in agitation stated that the verification process had been pending even after 15 years. As on July 2023, Burhanpur District had over 10,000 claim applications pending. The portal was also reported to have been frozen for Burhanpur as the number of applications exceeded the number of rejected claims. It was also reported that in some instances, land rights applications were rejected without Gram Sabha’s consent.
Along with FRA implementation, the villagers have also been demanding better education infrastructure, electricity and jobs in the tribal-populated Nepanagar town of the district.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand for legal recognition of land rights
Complaint against procedural violations
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand for stopping illegal felling of trees and destruction to forestland.
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Common
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
Indian Penal Code 1860
IPC - 147,148,149,353, 332, 427
Indian Forest Act 1927
Section 26
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?
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
Agricultural land
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
Type of investment:
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, Forest and Scheduled Area Governance Laws, Other, 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.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
Yes
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-implementation/violation of FRA
Lack of legal protection over land rights
Forced evictions/dispossession of land
Violation of free prior informed consent
Non-implementation/violation of PESA
Legal Status:
In Court
Status of Case In Court
Pending
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Madhya Pradesh High Court
Case Number
WRIT PETITION No. 37725 of 2024
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Physical attack
Arrest/detention/imprisonment
Lathicharge/teargas/pellets
Judicial harassment
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Reported Details of the Violation:
Tribal farmers in Burhanpur clashed with police forces when the latter marched into their fields and tried to damage their farms with excavators. Four farmers were injured when the police fired pellets. The farmers claim that the police filed wrongful FIRs against 150 tribespeople following the incident.
Date of Violation
July 8, 2019
Location of Violation
Nepanagar, Burhanpur
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Forest Department
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?
No
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan
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
Indian Penal Code 1860
IPC - 147,148,149,353, 332, 427
Indian Forest Act 1927
Section 26
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?
Aditi is a freelance development researcher. She has a Master’s in Development Studies from the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India. She has previously worked with WWF India on forest-based livelihoods and international wildlife trade. She has also worked on the Forest Rights Act in Dangs district in Gujarat. Her paper, “Forest-based livelihoods, Malki practice and Forest Rights Act in Gujarat: The case of Adivasis in the Dangs,” has been published in the book, Adivasis in India: Livelihoods, Resources and Institutions, by Bloomsbury India.
