 An immediate survey of all public land in Karnataka should be taken up and a clear policy for their management and disposal should be evolved keeping in view the future requirement of government land for various public purposes and the ecological and economic importance of common land resources. The recommendations made by V. Balasubramanian Committee in this regard should be implemented forthwith.

 The State should expedite the presidential clearance for the Karnataka Land Grabbing (Prohibition Bill) 2011, which provides for setting up of special courts to try land grabbing cases.

 While transferring public land to private purposes, people who are dependent on such land for their livelihood should be consulted and when the transfer takes place, the dependent people should be appropriately compensated.

 A mechanism should be evolved to monitor whether the land acquired and transferred to various purposes is actually used for the destined use.

 The departments charged with the responsibility of managing the public land should systematically identify public land and maintain a data-base which should be publicly accessible and updated from time to time. A portal can be created to make this information available to the public.

 All public land should be surveyed, fenced and protected not only to identify them but also to ensure that any encroachment on them is publicly visible.

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 The practice of periodic regularization of unauthorized occupation of public land by the poor should be reviewed and a policy should be evolved keeping in mind the need to protect public land and the livelihood and residential needs of the poor.

 Measures should be taken to maintain a minimum stock of public land under each gram panchayat for unforeseen public uses in the future.

The disposal of public land has become a very controversial issue as often such land is allocated in violation of rules. The recent controversy over the allocation of over 10000 acres of Amrit Mahal Kaval Land (grazing) in Challakere Taluk of Chitradurga district exemplifies this issue. Although there are restrictions on diverting grazing land for any other purpose, public or private, this land was handed over to various agencies of the union government by the state government, prompting some non-governmental organizations to move the Green Tribunal against this decision. The case has since been pending before the National Green Tribunal.

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTLGA/Resources/Karnataka_Final_Report_Oct2014.pdf

Challakere nuclear facility fuels villagers’ health fears

Chethan Kumar, Times of India

19 December 2015

ULLARATHI KAVAL (CHITRADURGA DIST): That a nuclear facility is coming up in their midst is no secret to the villagers of Challakere taluk in Chitradurga district, about 200 km from Bengaluru. They have been protesting against the facility for five years on fears that uranium is harmful to the villagers, crops and the environment.

The issue is back in the spotlight after key niche American journal Foreign Policy carried an article this week about India building a top-secret nuclear city to produce weapons which would upgrade the country to a nuclear power and unsettle neighbours Pakistan and China. Ullarathi Kaval is an agglomeration of 22 villages and is 18 km from Challakere.

Challekere’s residents strongly believe - without conclusive evidence, though - that the nuclear plant of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre may be used to make bombs. The Department of Atomic Energy and senior officials in New Delhi have said the Challakere campus is a ’special material enrichment’ facility meant for civilian nuclear plants.

Villagers believe the bomb theory because Barc claimed it had secured clearance from the ministry of environment, forest and climate change, but didn’t share its contents saying it’s a secret document. When villagers didn’t relent, Barc pasted an unsigned notice saying the clearances had, indeed, been granted, but couldn’t be disclosed.

Atomic scientists privy to the developments told TOI enriched uranium will also have military use. Every nation has to take care of its military needs and the research will also be to enhance military capabilities, a scientist said, without confirming if Challakere will be used for military purposes.

A retired officer of the armed forces said: Whether weaponization happens in Challakere or in the Andaman Islands, it is not something that’s disclosed. Challakere is considered a strategic location as it’s at a safe distance from Pakistan and China. Besides, Karnataka and its neighbours have huge deposits of uranium. Villagers’ immediate concern is their safety, not the national security.

During a visit on Friday, TOI found the road leading to Barc’s proposed plant had a lot of land on either side with little of agriculture. Dodda Ullarathi, Chikka Ullarathi, Chitranayakanahalli, Valase - the names of villages change, but not the activity. The groundnuts are barely helping the farmers, corn isn’t growing well, barring some small patches of isolated land, farmers, a majority of whom belong to backward classes, are heavily dependent on sheep and cattle. We had drought in 70 of the past 100 years. What else do you expect to see here, asks Doddaullarathi Kariappa, a farmer leading the protest. Other farmers gather around him and echo his voice in a signal that the fight is collective.

We are not against development. We are proud if India develops scientifically. We’ve people who have gone on to study medicine or gained employment in top offices in Delhi. Our primary concern is farmers’ safety and livelihood, G Hanumantharaya, general secretary, Challakere Amrut Mahal Kaval Horata Samithi, says. These grasslands meant for grazing are ecologically sensitive, and the use of uranium is hazardous for us. We know what happened in Japan, he says. T Basavaraju, another farmer, says it’s the Barc’s duty apprise the locals of the facility, gain our confidence and take care of our livelihood. Hanumantharaya says: They have provided us scientific evidence that our lives will not be harmed and our children will not be born with deformity. Many media reports say how this can impact us, but none states it is safe!

What ’foreign policy’ says

(When completed in 2017, Challakere facility would be) the subcontinent’s largest military-run complex of nuclear centrifuges, atomic-research laboratories, and weapons- and aircraft-testing facilities. But another, more controversial ambition, according to retired Indian government officials and independent experts in London and Washington, is to give India an extra stockpile of enriched uranium fuel that could be used in new hydrogen bombs, also known as thermonuclear weapons, substantially increasing the explosive force of those in its existing nuclear arsenal.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/Challakere-nuclear-facility-fuels-villagers-health-fears/articleshow/50240899.cms

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