Experts
working on just transition to renewable energy believe that specific
laws are needed to protect these communities.
Business
Standard : The
parched brown of the land in Charanka village in north-west Gujarat,
around 50 km from India’s border with Pakistan, seemed endless. In
peak summer, during one of the worst droughts to hit the region in 30
years, it seems devoid of all life--even doughty bush plants have
lost most leaves. Cyclone
Vayu, that hit the Gujarat coast in June 2019, did little to
revive the district of Patan.
This
perhaps explains why the official website of the Gujarat Power
Corporation Limited describes the 5,384 acres across which the
Charanka solar park is spread as “unused” land. A project map
available at the park’s office differs from this assessment--of the
5,417 acres, close to 2,000 acres are under cultivation, it showed.
The rest, as per the map, is “government land”.
The
villagers were livid at these labels. “What do they mean that the
land is unused and that it belongs to the government?” asked Raku
Ben, a livestock rearer. “We use it for grazing livestock, and our
livelihood depends on this land. It doesn’t belong to anyone, it
belongs to everyone.”
The
solar park project launched in December 2010, has been functional
since April 2012. It sits on what used to be the pasture for the
region’s livestock herders, called maldharis. They have
traditionally never owned the land where their animals graze but it
is critical for their livelihood. The maldharis were once a nomadic
community but some have opted to settle down.
These
factors are not reflected in the state’s latest solar
power policy of 2015 or the Gujarat Wind-Solar Hybrid Power
Policy of 2018. The words “compensation” or “livelihoods” do
not figure anywhere in the solar power policy.
Having
lost access to the grazing lands, maldharis can no longer rear goats,
sheep, cows or buffaloes. And the forest department denies them entry
to other fertile patches in the region.
