New Delhi, Apr 5 (PTI) Over 100 tribals displaced from Chhattisgarh due to Left-wing extremism will stage a protest at Jantar Mantar here on Wednesday to demand the Centre rehabilitate them at the place of their choice.

Tribal rights activist Shubhranshu Chaudhary said the symbolic protest at Jantar Mantar is aimed at drawing the government's attention to the plight of around 5,000 tribal families displaced from Chhattisgarh during the Salwa Judum movement.

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"While the nation is debating the displacement of Hindus from Kashmir, internally displaced tribal people from Central India are coming to Delhi to remind the nation of their displacement and demanding rehabilitation," he said.

The delegation of tribals has also sought time for a meeting from Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda to discuss their problems and demands, Chaudhary said.

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"We met Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday. He has promised all support to rehabilitate the displaced tribals. He, however, said since their security is a concern, the tribals will be given land near paramilitary camps," Chaudhary told PTI.

"The IDPs do not want to take the risk of living next to a camp. The Centre should lead a multi-state effort to grant them rights over forest land they have living on in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and other states," he said.

The Chhattisgarh government created the Salwa Judum in 2005 by mobilizing members of local tribes as fighters against the Maoists.

"The state government trained these fighters in armed struggle and provided them with weapons. They would vandalize the homes and shops of suspected Maoist supporters, while Maoists would kill those suspected of being government informers," Chaudhary said.

"The Salwa Judum movement drew criticism from human rights observers as people found themselves caught in the crossfire between the two sides. It led to the mass displacement of an estimated 50,000 tribals from Chhattisgarh to neighbouring states," he said.

The Supreme Court had banned the Chhattisgarh government-sponsored vigilante movement in 2011.

The tribals, who fled Chhattisgarh due to Maoist violence, are living in 248 settlements in the forests of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra.

"They are living in deplorable conditions without any access to drinking water and electricity. They get lower wages, and most of them do not have ration cards or voter IDs and cannot prove their citizenship," Chaudhary said.

Rights activists claim these states do not recognise them as tribals. They have no rights over forest land and remain excluded from all social security benefits.

"While the world was in lockdown, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have taken back around half the forest land of these IDPs in the last two years where they were cultivating crops since their eviction from Chhattisgarh. They have started taking the rest of the land and are doing plantations," he said.

Chaudhary said IDPs have applied under clause 3.1.m of the Forest Rights Act to get ownership of these forest lands but no decision has been taken on those applications in many years.

"They would also like to highlight that in similar situations the Central government has facilitated a rehabilitation plan for Bru tribals of Mizoram who were forced to flee to Tripura due to political violence there.

"In a symbolic dharna in Jantar Mantar, they will urge the central government to get a similar rehabilitation plan for them too so their future generations can be safe," he said.

According to the Home Ministry, a "large number of minority Bru (Reang) families migrated to North Tripura in 1997-1998 due to ethnic violence in the western part of Mizoram in October 1997".

Approximately 30,000 (5,000 families) Bru migrants were given shelter in six relief camps set up in the Kanchanpur district of North Tripura.

In July 2018, an agreement was signed by the Centre and the governments of Mizoram and Tripura and the Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Forum for the repatriation of 5,407 Bru families comprising 32,876 people residing in temporary camps in Tripura.

The Centre helped a number of these families settle down in Tripura, considering the apprehensions about their security.

Section 3 (1) (m) of the Act states: "Right to in situ rehabilitation including alternative land in cases where the Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers have been illegally evicted or displaced from forest land of any description without receiving their legal entitlement to rehabilitation before the 13th day of December 2005."

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)