Rahul Gandhi gets Himachal govt to withdraw case against tribal rights

HP govt said tribals are incapable of taking a technical decision; NGT order was not practicable and should be annulled

A direct intervention by Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi made Himachal Pradesh government on Thursday withdraw its petition before Supreme Court which directly challenged tribal rights and their consent powers over traditional forestlands.

The Himachal Pradesh government, through its state power corporation, had filed an appeal before the Supreme Court challenging a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order which required consent from the effected 19 tribal gram sabhas (village councils) to set up the 130 Mw Keshang Hydroelectric Project. It had contended that the tribals were unskilled and incapable of taking a technical decision. It contended that the NGT order was not practicable and should be annulled.

But on Thursday as senior Congress lawyer Salman Khan appeared for Himachal Pradesh to withdraw the petition. He said, “It was an unnecessary diversion from our commitment to forest rights. No notices had been issued yet (in the petition) so there was not much to be done except withdraw it. The court was gracious to allow us to do so.”

After the withdrawal, Congress in a statement said, "We have an indelible faith in right of gram sabhas and gram panchayats as constitutionally recognised entities for protection and preservation of forests rights as also rights of forestdwellers. Himachal government's decision to withdraw its petition is a testament to this commitment espoused by Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi." 

The petition had promised to chip away at the pro-tribal image the Congress vice-president has tried to build for himself and the party since the Supreme Court judgement upheld the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's decision to prevent mining by Vedanta of Niyamgiri hills based on rejection by all gram sabhas of the Dongriya Kondh tribe. Gandhi was slated to go on an eight-state tour soon to protest against attempted and committed dilution of tribal rights by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government when the petition by the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh came as a bolt for the central party leadership.

But the central leadership of the party failed to act in time to stop the Himachal government from defending their petition during the first hearing that took place on Monday. However, multiple sources in the party confirmed, that it only got Gandhi and his team more seriously activated to prevent the public relations disaster as well as damage to the Forest Rights Act.

   

Party-affiliated lawyers were drafted in to assess the legal consequences of the Himachal government’s petition on tribal rights as currently reinforced by the Vedanta judgement. The internal assessment, multiple sources confirmed, showed that the petition held potential to undo the gains made under UPA on restoring traditional rights to tribals over their forests. The legal eyes for the party also assessed that the Himachal petition assailed the powers of gram sabhas to give consent for projects that divert their forests after the rights are settled. These powers were granted under the UPA regime and the environment ministry under NDA has tried repeatedly to dilute them and on most occasions failed. Publicly, the NDA it has denied making any such attempt.

Salman Khurshid was deployed by the party to formulate a plea before the Supreme Court for withdrawal of the case even as the Congress leadership convinced the state government and leadership about the legal and political pitfalls of pursuing their case. Coordination at the highest level got the Himachal government on board and a withdrawal plea was agreed upon mutually by the state, the central leadership and the involved lawyers.

  

On Thursday morning, Khurshid moved the petition committing to the apex court that the Himachal government would comply with the NGT judgement and seek the consent of the 19 gram sabhas under the Forest Rights Act’s statutory obligations for the state. The plea was accepted by the court and the case dismissed as withdrawn.