Ambegaon tribals cry Constitutional violations, point to local eco damage

Complaint to higher authorities claims revenue officials permitted huge excavation in scheduled areas during lockdown

Amid nationwide concerns that the COVID-19 lockdown period is being used by several authorities to commit excesses on the environment, tribal community members from Ambegaon have now raised a similar complaint with the Pune district collector, divisional commissioner and state mining minister, alleging that the local revenue authority has illegally allowed excavation of soil around eco-sensitive zones near Bhimashankar, which plays host to uncountable biodiversity, in recent weeks.

The plaint, forwarded on Friday last week, has further alleged that permission given to a private contractor to do so is illegal, as the work is being done in a scheduled area — and, as per provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act or PESA Act of 1996, such a nod is not allowed without the consent of tribal villages.

The locally available red (jambha) soil and stones of Ambegaon are popular in the development of lawns and nurseries in urban areas, with huge demand for them among developers across Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. The taluka houses many settlements of the Mahadeo Koli and Thakar tribal communities. Most of their villages are situated in the vicinity of the Sahyadri mountain ranges.

In his complaint on behalf of local residents, tribal activist Ravindra Talpe, president, Adivasi Vikas Va Suraksha Association (AVSA), has said, “Local revenue authorities not only allowed excavation during the lockdown, but also violated the PESA Act and provisions of the Maharashtra Minor Mineral Extraction (Development and Regulation) Rules of 2013, which prohibit such activities in forest and hilly areas of the state. Tribal gram panchayats have been excluded while giving out such permissions. Constitutional rights of gram sabhas were not considered. In the last two days, over 500 brass (100 cubic feet volume) of soil and stones have been transported from here. The officers responsible must be punished.”

Similarly, Kaluram Lohakare, a resident of Taleghar village, echoed, “Villages here come under scheduled ar-eas. By allowing such activities, the authorities are themselves inviting damage to the environment. Pokhari village is the most affected by this development, with huge excavation going on there without any supervision by revenue officers.”

He further rued, “The government has already made many plans for this area, like a tourism project, hill station, wildlife sanctuary, and more —but it has not taken its people into confidence. This is just yet another plan to evict us in the name of rampant development.”

Despite repeated attempts by Mirror, Ambegaon tehsildar Rama Joshi did not respond to queries. However, an officer of the district mining department, on condition of anonymity, refuted, “The authorities have all the right to give such permissions, following all norms. The area where excavation is taking place does not belong to the adivasi villages. The land is owned by the revenue department. We have ensured that while excavation is going on, no environmental damage is occurring.”