Skip to content Skip to navigation

Court directs states to act upon practical solution

By Daya Nath Singh |


The Gauhati High Court directed petitioners Asian Centre for Human Rights and others in PIL No.6/2011 to provide practical and workable solutions to the issue of displacement of the Rabhas and Garos as submitted before the Court pursuant to the respondents States of Assam and Meghalaya and the Union Home Ministry within a week to act upon. It had earlier directed the petitioners on January 22 last to submit practical and workable solutions. Addressing the media persons the petitioner, Suhas Chakma, Director of Asian Centre for Human Rights said that he appeared in person before the Chief Justice, Madan B Lokur. The matter is listed for May 2011 after the state governments take necessary measures,


Chakma contended that ACHR are seeking parity in terms of access to relief and rehabilitation and resettlement for the Rabhas and Garos vis-à-vis the Kashmiri Pundits, Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Tamil Nadu and the Tamil IDPs in Sri Lanka. The petitioner submitted that in the seventh session of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission on 26th November 2010, the Government of India, among others agreed to provide housing for fifty thousand houses for IDPs, supply of 7200 MT of roofing sheets for IDPs in the Northern province and supply of four lakh cement bags to IDPs. No such facilities have been provided to the displaced Rabhas and Garos and provisions of Rs10.000 for rehabilitation as provided by the Assam and Meghalaya governments is too meager that requires court’s interventions.


The practical and workable solutions submitted to the Gauhati High Court on February 7 last are the measures to protect the life, liberty, dignity and worth of an individual displaced by conflicts and residing in the temporary relief camps. Immediately vacate the educational institutions being used as relief camps and start building temporary shelters for those who are afraid to return to their original villages because of the lack of safety and security to lives and liberties.


To provide food supply of 500 grams of rice per day for an adult and 250 grams of rice per day for a minor and two kgs of dal per week for an adult and one kg of dal per minor. In addition a cash assistance of Rs 400 per head of family, Rs.288 for each additional member, who is 12 year old, Rs.180 per child below 12 years and Rs.90 to each of additional children per month as provided to the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, who are foreigners and sheltered in the camps in Tamil Nadu. It is suggested to provide cooking materials to each family and other utensils for each member of the family and adequate provision of drinking water and bathing as provided under the National Disaster Management Policy and in this regard a tube well for each 10 families be established. Cloths, towels, mats, blankets and mosquito nets for the camp dwellers and special provisions for mothers, pregnant women, elderly and children.


In context of the Garo-Rabha conflict, it is pertinent to mention that over twenty thousand Rabhas fled from Garo-dominated areas in Meghalaya while hundreds of Garos fled from Rabha dominated parts of Goalpara and other districts of Assam. Their houses have been burnt or destroyed. Return of these displaced persons to their original villages is more difficult as there are all pervasive fear.


Considering the need to take security concerns and the need to re-build lives, the petitioner suggested the respondents establish adequate temporary security camps including deployment of the Central Para-military forces in these areas to facilitate the return of the Rabhas of Meghalaya sheltered in Assam and Garos of Assam sheltered in Meghalaya. The security forces should remain at least for a period of six months. The petitioner has prayed that the respondents be directed to restore/ensure the land rights and rights over properties of the original owners and each displaced family whether currently staying in the temporary relief camps or returned to the village and whose house has been burnt or destroyed be given a grant of Rs.48,500 housing assistance to each displaced family under the Indira Awas Yojana as revised on October 4,2010.


The housing allowance be extended to all families if they are forced to stay more than six months in the temporary camps, become ordinary resident of the temporary camps and are able to prove that their houses have been destroyed or damaged during their stay in the camps. Each displaced family be given cash assistance of 41,000 as livelihood restoration as provided in the National Disaster Management Policy 2009 and considering the IDPs have been reduced to destitute, the government should provide free ration of one year to enable them to do the next harvest properly and rebuilt their lives.


The petitioner also prayed for a compensation of Rs.10 lakh as ex-gratia for those killed in the conflict and prayed for a direction to establish a grievance redressal authority consisting of the representatives of the respondents and the petitioners for implementation of the directions to be passed by the Court.




Add new comment

Random Stories

Mali, Pathak favour BPF

7 Feb 2014 - 10:45am | AT News
Independent candidate Jatin Mali and his Trinamool Congress MLA Dwipen Pathok have casted his vote in the Rajya Sabha polls which are believed to have gone in favour of the BPF candidate Biswajeet...

AMSU demands autonomous council for char areas

5 Aug 2008 - 11:33pm | Nagendra Sarma
The AMSU (Assam Minority Student Union) president Mr.Abdul Aziz in a press statement strongly demanded an Autonomous Council for the ‘Char’ areas of 23 Sub-Division of 14 districts which is being...

499.79 acres of Assam land slips to B'desh

20 Sep 2009 - 5:54am | editor
Assam Revenue Minister Bhumidhar Barman got candid with the media on saturday when he disclosed that Bangladesh has illegally occupied about 499.79 acres of land in the state. According to him, the...

Assam Rifles avert security breach

5 Oct 2012 - 11:13pm | Anup Biswas
The Assam Rifles troops averted a major security breach when they recovered and defused a grenade in Haflong town on Friday morning stated AR press release. Troops of Haflong based Assam Rifles unit...

Other Contents by Author

Umananda 'Peacock' Island in danger

Assam Government has given a work order for construction of a ropeway project over Urvashi river Island to M/s Samir Damodar Ropeway Pvt Ltd; who have constructed four big size RCC pillars in the Umananda Island to install high structure for ropeway project. Getting this information a team of a NGO, namely, Citizens’ First, consisting of Ajay Dutta, Ex- MLA, Krishna Kanto Borooah, Jagannath Das, General Secretary of the Forum and renowned archaeologist, Dr Pradip Sarma, visited the site of construction on the Umananda Island and found that the said company has already occupied a portion of the island and piled deep inside its rock bed to raise RCC pillars. By its such act, the...

Assam likely to face serious flood situation in 2012

The people of Assam are likely to face serious flood and erosion during the new-year 2012 due to reluctance of state governments to take necessary steps to tackle the situation, despite the demand of All Assam Water Resource Contractors’ Association (AAWRCA). Speaking to the media people recently, Muhi Bargohain, President of AAWRCA, alleged that the state’s water resource department has not taken any step to get last year’s damaged embankments repaired till now. It is learnt that Assam’s Revenue and Finance departments have not approved the schemes related to it. It is well known fact that the northern districts of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh and Shivsagar etc...

Sharmila’s fast may not go in vain

Protest against use of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958, has shifted from extreme northeastern part of the country to the remote northern part. Now, demands are high by the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, to withdraw at least partially, the aforesaid Act, from his state in order to bring peace in the troubled region of the country. It is alleged that in guise of the search for militants, the security personnel are misusing the Act and ‘harassing and torturing’ the innocent people of the state. The Union government is now facing an embarrassing situation due the state’s demand. Similar demand for withdrawal of the AFSP Act1958 is long...

FDI: Cabinet decision in whose interest?

History repeats itself and it seems that our Union government is trying to get it repeated as early as possible by allowing foreign investments in every sector of industries and agriculture as well. The Union Cabinet by justifying 51 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail trade has proved that it has no regards either for the poor people of the country or the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, who cherished a dream to bring ‘Ram Rajya’ in the country by his followers. Now, the country is moving head very fast to ‘Ravan Rajya’. It has to be mentioned that Mahatma’s name is being utilized by our leaders to save the ‘corrupt politicians...

Danger looms over Lokpal Bill

The anti-corruption movement launched by the Gandhian leader, Anna Hazare, has threatened a number of politicians, bureaucrats and big businessmen involved in various financial crimes against the country and the society. The issue of black money in Swiss banks and calling back the same to the country for investment and prosperity of the nation, has also threatened them of losing their unfair incomes. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led by the Congress party, has been found involved in the practices leading to great sufferings of the countrymen. The Civil Society’s proposal in respect of the Lokpal Bill, has been ‘turned down’ by the Union cabinet...

KMSS asks state power minister to ‘stop lying’

Reacting to the recent ‘blatant lies’ of the Assam Power Minister, Pradyut Bardoloi, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) leader Akhil Gogoi made it clear that he is not opposed to the demand and need of power for the state, but he wanted to know the ‘secrets of the deal’ which made the state government to ignore all the facts related to the geographical and environmental needs of Assam. Addressing the media persons in Guwahati recently, the RTI activist, Akhil Gogoi said that the power minister had given the history of Lower Subansiri Project. He said an unknown fact of this history was that the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) report of October 2001 gave rank...

Is India heading towards anarchy?

Yoga Guru Ramdeva fighting to get back the Indian’s black money in the foreign banks to the country continued his fast from June 4, had to give up on 9th on demand of millions of countrymen, who wanted his precious life to be utilized in the welfare of mankind. His tirade against the ‘unholy’ politicians and bureaucrats, who are involved in top-level corruption continued during his fast and none of high- level officials approached to solve the issues raised by him. This was interpreted by a section of the society as the government was not interested in bringing back the black money in the country. Even the government was not interested to reveal the names of such persons,...

Empower people to reject corrupt candidates

National Election Watch (NEW), a nationwide campaign comprising of more than 1200 NGOs and other citizen-led organizations working on electoral reforms, improving democracy and governance in India, has stepped up the pressure on political parties to demand accountability from them in the state of Assam as well. It announced several initiatives with the purpose of bringing transparency and accountability in the political system on February 17 last through a press conference organized in Guwahati Press Club. Addressing the media persons the coordinator of the Assam Election Watch, Tasaduk Ariful Hussain, said that different civil society organizations, eminent citizens, media, senior...

Traders fall prey to ‘tainted’ politicians

Trade is the ‘spinal cord’ of a country’s economy and the traders are its protectors. It was said at a time, when our traders were among the most trusted nationals, who scarified all their earnings of life and belongings, when the country needed it. Now, the time has changed and the national feelings in the trading community have gradually diminished. ’Honesty’ the essence of the trade has lost its value and it is no more the ‘best policy’ in the trade. Majority of the traders feel difficulty in surviving, if they try to be honest in the present political situation of the country. They have to oblige political leaders and parties, some of whom...

Rabhas and Garos facing discrimination, alleges ACHR

The Asian Centre for Human Rights in a briefing to media persons at Guwahati Press Club on Friday, alleged that about fifty thousand Garos and Rabhas displaced by conflict since January 1, 2011, are being discriminated in terms of relief and rehabilitation in comparison to assistance being provided to the Kashmiri Pandits and Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, by the Government of India. Director of Asian Centre for Human Rights, Suhas Chakma said, in terms of rations at the relief camps at Jammu and in Delhi, Kashmiri internally displaced persons are given Rs.1,000 per head per month subject to maximum of Rs.4,000 per family per month plus dry ration. The Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in India...