Tribals protest against `eviction' for sanctuary, Chouhan promises them justice

Sehore (MP), Jun 28 (PTI) Hundreds of members of the tribal community on Saturday protested here in the presence of Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, claiming that they were being evicted for the proposed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sanctuary.

Chouhan, whose Vidisha Lok Sabha constituency includes Sehore, arrived here to attend a meeting of the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee.

The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister accused the state forest department of tarnishing the government's image and assured the protesters that he would discuss the issue with chief minister Mohan Yadav.

The forest department recently demolished more than 50 houses of members of the tribal community in Khivni Sanctuary in Dewas district, terming them as encroachment.

The local tribal community claimed they were being evicted from their land for the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sanctuary.

Hundreds of protesters gathered at the collector's office here and submitted a memorandum of demands to Chouhan.

"Tribal brothers and sisters came to meet me. They have narrated their problems. Our chief minister Mohan Yadav is pro-poor and pro-tribals....there has been talk of setting up a sanctuary where their villages are located and evicting them," Chouhan told reporters.

Addressing the protesters, the Union minister said, "No one can snatch the land of tribals.

" `Mama' is with the tribals," said Chouhan who is fondly called `mama-ji' (maternal uncle).

"What the forest department is doing... is an attempt to tarnish the government's image... they should not do it," he said. PTI COR MAS KRK