People's Democracy

(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)

Vol. XXIX

No. 48

November 27, 2005

JHARKHAND

 

Famine-Like Situation In The State: CPI(M)

 

Following is the text of the memorandum submitted by the CPI(M) Jharkhand state committee secretary J S Majumdar to the governor of Jharkhand regarding the near famine situation in the state and consequent absence of food security and work security for affected people in rural areas. The memorandum also dealt with holding of panchayat elections in Jharkhand.

 

 

The Jharkhand state committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) would like to draw your attention on the following:

  1. An all party meeting, convened by the chief minister on drought situation in the state in September 2005, inter alia concluded on the following points and on which the chief minister gave assurance of implementation:

(a) that, in every village food grains would be stored so that hunger deaths did not take place

(b) that, all pending and new rural development plans would be taken up on a war footing so that work could be provided in every village to ensure that there was no migration of rural poor in search of work; and

(c) that, all party committees would be constituted to monitor work.

Unfortunately, none of the above decisions and assurance of the chief minister has been implemented so far despite reports of hunger deaths coming from rural areas of Jharkhand, a famine like situation developing in the state and already large number of rural poor migrating in search of food and work.

  1. In Jharkhand, rural people are deprived of their Constitutional, legal and democratic rights; their right of participation in developmental activities and also deprived of central assistance as state government of Jharkhand is not holding panchayat election in the state.

 

The state government of Jharkhand is not even prepared to file a petition before the Supreme Court against Ranchi High Court’s order of September 2, 2005 for protection of several provisions of the Jharkhand Panchayat Raj Act, 2001, which are in accordance with the Central PESA Act.

 

The CPI(M)’s Jharkhand state committee, therefore, demands the following measures immediately:

(a) the state government should immediately take initiative to hold panchayat election in the state at the earliest, as held in other states, including and similar to eight other states in India where PESA Act is applicable, and

(b) The state government of Jharkhand should immediately, for the reasons stated above, file a petition before the Supreme Court against certain orders of the Ranchi High Court to protect Jharkhand Act which are related to PESA.

 

We hope that you will personally take initiative in this regard.