However, the Xaxa Committee, which was constituted in 2013 to study the conditions of tribals and suggest policy initiatives for their upliftment, reported that the Government circumvents the Constitutional safeguards, and exploits tribals by notifying rural areas or potential scheduled areas as ‘urban areas’ to keep them out of the scope of protection.
The Xaxa Committee report adds that:
- The Government acquires forest or tribal land for “public purpose” but later transfers it to private companies at throwaway prices.
- The Government signs MoUs with companies for the land, making Government officials “dealers and negotiators” of tribal land, forgetting the concept of “neutrality of State,” and even actively violating the rights of the tribals.
- Those protesting many of these violations of land use and welfare laws, are arrested, resulting in the law being perverted to oppress the already marginalised.
