NCST to ask Chhattisgarh to probe if refugee resettlement led to demographic changes in tribal areas

The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) will ask the Chhattisgarh government to probe if the resettlement of Bangladeshi refugees has led to demographic changes in tribal areas, according to officials.

It will also ask the Chhattisgarh government to probe complaints of the refugees "displacing" a large number of tribals from their land in the Bastar region and "inflicting atrocities" on them, an NCST official told PTI.

A number of tribal representatives raised these issues during the commission's visit to the state last month, the official said.

"The government resettled a large number of Bengali refugees, who came to India from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) after Partition, in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and the Northeast under the Dandakaranya project that started in 1958. Many more came after the 1971 India-Pakistan War," the official said.

In Chhattisgarh, the Bengali refugees were resettled in the Bastar region, especially Kanker district.

"During our visit to Chhattisgarh, tribal representatives claimed that the influx of refugees over the years has led to demographic changes in tribal areas," the official said.

The commission has also received complaints about the refugees "displacing a large number of tribals from their land and inflicting atrocities on them", he said.

NCST chairman Nand Kumar Sai said, "The matter pertains to the Bastar region. We have told the Chhattisgarh government that it is a serious issue and a thorough investigation is needed."