Policy on Indigenous Peoples does not state that all ethnic minorities are to be treated as indigenous people, but it does relate the concept of indigenous peoples to ethnic minorities-illustrate and explain.
Introduction
Bangladesh has ratified all major international human rights treaties and conventions. Bangladesh is legally bound to comply with these international human rights treaties. But it does not comply with them so far as the indigenous peoples are concerned. The situation of implementation of the provisions of the aforesaid treaties is far from good. The National Parliament passed the National Human Rights Commission Act on 9 July 2009. Investigation of human rights violation on indigenous/ Adivasi and ethnic minorities by the army and law enforcement agencies was remained out of jurisdiction of the National Human Rights Commission.
The Indigenous people
The Indigenous Peoples of Bangladesh are one of the most deprived groups in many aspects of economic, social, cultural and political rights mainly due to their status of ethnic minority. Evidences show that the indigenous people of the country have very limited access to basic human rights including right to basic public services.
Identity of Indigenous Peoples
Government perspectives on the identity of indigenous peoples, however, are varied. It prefers the terms “tribe” and “tribal” and is opposed to the use of the words “indigenous” and “adivasi”. The government’s reluctance to recognize indigenous peoples is largely politically motivated and has its roots in Bengali nationalism. The legal situation, on the other hand, is quite pluralistic, and reflects, in its totality, the currency of all the terms preferred by government officials and indigenous peoples combined. Following the 29 August 2005 High Court verdict that declared the Constitution Act, 1979 ultra vires and illegal, the government of Bangladesh took initiative to amend the constitution. To pursue the government of Bangladesh for constitutional recognition of indigenous peoples, the leaders of indigenous peoples raised their voices for recognition of their rights to existence, identities, culture, participation and consent, self-government, land and territories in the constitution.
Land Rights and Land Dispossession
The lands of the indigenous peoples are still forcibly being taken away basically for establishment of eco-park and national parks, protected and reserved forest, mining, settlement of government-sponsored non-indigenous migrants and establishment of military bases and training centers, and development projects. In Bandarban district alone, around 50,000 acres of land for lease, 118,000 acres of land for protected and reserved forest and 71,711 acres of land for military purposes were grabbed. The indigenous Jumma peoples in CHT are on the verge of total eviction from their ancestral land where they have been living and cultivating Jum from generation to generation.
Gross Human Rights Issues
State machineries continue to violate the civil and political rights and collective rights of indigenous peoples with impunity and there is no effective mechanism available for redress in addressing these violations. Numerous cases of human rights violations committed by State Forces are contrary to its national laws and its international human rights obligations. Further, the government being a member of the Human Rights Council should make itself more transparent and accountable to its international human rights obligations. While the Government publicly supported freedom of religion, attacks on religious and ethnic minorities continued to be a problem during the reporting period. There were reports of discrimination based on religious belief or practice during the period of 2009-2010. State Minister for Home Shamsul Haq Tuku has given a broad hint of deploying special unit of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in the CHT in view of deteriorating law and order situation.
Women and Children Rights
In the third Upazila Parishad election held on 22 January 2010, no indigenous women was elected in the post of the chair. However, in 25 Upazila Parishads under the three hill districts of CHT 15 indigenous women have been elected as the vice-chairs. Among them 10 are Chakma, two Marma, two Tripura and one from Tanchangya community. Indigenous women in the country are victims not only of repression and negligence for centuries, but also of violence like rape, kidnap and murder by the mainstream Bengali people. The main reasons that female victims do not receive effective justice are the general barriers to accessing the justice system, police corruption, mismanagement of evidence, ignorance of the law and a lack of proper medical report. During the period of 2009-2010, at least 5 Jumma women have been killed by the security forces and Bengali settlers while 14 indigenous Jumma women have been raped or molested. Besides, two Jumma women have been kidnapped by Bengalis. On the other, 4 indigenous women in plain lands have been killed after brutally raped while more 5 indigenous women raped or molested. Besides, 1 indigenous woman was kidnapped. On the other hand, Indigenous children are still deprived of education through mother tongue. 16 indigenous children were rescued from a hotel and arrested a man on charges of child trafficking from Bandarban town.
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Annual Development Programme (ADP) projects can not be categorized as Adivasi Focused as Government has no explicit allocation for indigenous peoples. Even there is no allocation directly for education in mother tongue and empowerment of indigenous women. Although indigenous peoples are 1.13% of total population of the country, only 0.32% Annual Development Programme (ADP) has been allocated for them in fiscal year 2009-2010. In fiscal year 2009-2010, per capita ADP allocation for overall Bangladesh has been taka 1,996.98; whereas indigenous peoples of CHT received per capita ADP of taka 1652.67 and for indigenous peoples of plain land the amount was taka 83.64 only. In average, per capita ADP allocation for overall Bangladesh has been nearly 3 times higher than the allocation for indigenous peoples. Allocation for plain land’s indigenous peoples increased a little in 2008-09, but decreased for CHT.With regard to the admission quota for indigenous students, there is no coherent policy and the entire issue is often embroiled with bureaucratic interventions. In some cases, it is totally dependent on the discretion of the authority of the concerned educational institutions. Newly formulated Education Policy has included a few recommendations on indigenous peoples. It mentioned in the aims and objectives of the education of chapter-I that one of the objectives of education is to develop cultures and languages of all small ethnic groups including indigenous peoples of the country.
An Audit on the Implementation of CHT Accord
Though the then government led by Sheikh Hasina signed the CHT Accord with the PCJSS to resolve the CHT problem through political and peaceful means in 1997, but only a little of the Accord was implemented during her tenure in 1996-2001. This extent was not enough at all to develop the post-Accord situation. The main issues which help introduce self-rule government system in CHT and help resolve the problem through political means were not implemented at all.So far there have not been any official steps by the government to preserve the characteristics of the “tribal inhabited region” by keeping their life and living undisturbed and attain the overall development thereof as embodied in the Accord.
The implementation of the CHT Accord is crucial for unhindered development of the country. For the peace to thrive and stability to continue in a developing country like Bangladesh, it is the call of the hour to press for all the good will at the disposal of the state to materialise everything that the Accord stands for. For good governance and rule of law to prevail in the CHT, there is no option but to ensure that CHT Accord is honored and is given a fair play.
RELEVANT CONSTITUTIONAL PROVSIONS IN BANGLADESH AND SAFEGUARDS ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHT IN OTHER LAWS
The Constitution of Bangladesh does not directly acknowledge the identity of indigenous peoples nor otherwise directly address the issues of indigenous peoples. However, it addresses the matter indirectly, under the rubric of backward section of citizens, as mentioned hereunder.
1. Emancipation of Backward Sections from Exploitation
The Fundamental Principles section, provides that it shall be a fundamental responsibility of the State to emancipate toiling masses from all forms of exploitation.
2. Special Provisions for the Advancement of Backward Section of Citizens
The Equality and Non-Discrimination clauses (articles 27 and 28) by stating that the state may nevertheless take special provisions for the advancement of any “backward section of citizens”, a phrase that is meant to refer to the indigenous peoples.
3. Special Provisions for Adequate Representation of Backward Section of Citizens in the Service of the Republic
In the spirit of the aforesaid provision provides further that the State may reserve governmental posts in favour of of any “backward section of citizens”.favour of “backward section of citizens”.
SAFEGUARDS ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS IN OTHER LAWS
1. Consultative Prerogatives of Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council & Hill District Councils, Bangladesh concerning Legislation
In the partially autonomous Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region in Bangladesh, there are a number of safeguards concerning legislation affecting the region. These include the prerogative of the CHT Regional Council31 and the Hill District Councils32 to be consulted by the Government of Bangladesh concerning any legislation on the CHT or on any of the hill districts.
2. Consultative Prerogatives of Traditional Chiefs and Headmen in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh
The three traditional chiefs of the CHT have a general prerogative of consultation on matters affecting their territories.33 These include consultative prerogatives involving the district administration, hill district councils, the statutory development authority known as the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board and the Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts.
3. Indigenous Native Courts & Customary Law in Sabah, Malaysia
Legal, procedural and juridical autonomy of the indigenous peoples of Sabah state in Malaysia:34 At the community levels, the headmen dispense justice, but at the tier above it the Native Courts, consisting of indigenous chiefs and headmen, exercise judicial authority. At mid-levels judicial authority is shared between indigenous chiefs and headmen with state judicial officers. Finally, at the higher levels, judicial authority vests upon the concerned High Court. 35
4. Administration of Justice by Traditional Chiefs and Headmen in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh
The system of administration of justice in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region has parallels with the justice administration systems in the Autonomous District Council areas (Sixth Schedule areas) of Northeast India, and with the Native Courts in Sabah, Malaysia. Civil and criminal courts under the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs exercise jurisdiction over general civil and criminal matters, but they must only do so in a qualified manner. For example, the civil courts are obliged to dispense justice in accordance with “laws, customs and usages of the district concerned”.36 Moreover, the law clarifies that the civil courts shall not interfere with the autonomous jurisdiction of the traditional chiefs and headmen.
5. Titling of Ancestral Domains and Ancestral Lands of in the Philippines
The landmark piece of legislation in the Philippines, the Indigenous peoples Rights Act, 1997 (Republic Act 8371), while recognizing the rights of the indigenous peoples of the country, provides among others, a unique system of recognition of the land and natural resource rights of these peoples (also called “indigenous cultural communities”). The Act sets up a National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (“NCIP”), which is mandated to provide written titles to genuine claims of indigenous communities over Ancestral Lands and Ancestral Domains. Although the process is laborious and time-consuming, the Commission can provide specialized and focused attention to the formal recognition of the land rights of indigenous communities, which would be even more difficult and complicated, were the usual Land Administration bodies of the Government of the Philippines entrusted to do such work.
6. Identification of Sami land Rights in Norway
In 2005, the national parliament of Norway adopted the Finnmark Act, which recognizes that the indigenous Sami people have, through immemorial usage of land and natural resources, acquired ownership and usufruct rights to lands in Finnmark County.38 The Act establishes a special mechanism for the identification and protection of rights which the Sami have acquired through immemorial usage.39 The immediate consequence of the adoption of the Finnmark Act was that approximately 95 per cent of the land in Finnmark County (about 46,000 sq. km – an area approximately the size of Denmark) was transferred from State ownership to a new entity called the Finnmark Estate – a joint body of the Sami Parliament and the County Council of Finnmark.
Indigenous Peoples Development Planning Document
Objective of the IPDP
The general objective of the Indigenous Peoples Development Plan of the
Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Project is to ensure that the project process
recognizes the individual needs of all tribal groups and to equally ensure that, if any negative impacts occur, they are quickly identified and mitigation measures are immediately put in place.
Tribal Structure and their socio-economic profile
Until very recently, the majority of the population in the CHT have been tribal people that since British times, have been identified in three circles (i) the Chakma circle consists of most of Rangamati district and one or two Thana in Khagrachari (ii) the Bomong circle includes all of Bandarban and one Thana in Rangamati (iii) the Mong Circle includes the balance of the Khagrachari district. The circles are divided into Mouzas and the Mouzas into hamlets. There are 11 hill communities and they have their own language and culture and tradition and there are around 5 languages. Most of the Chakmas, Marmas, Tanchangya and Murangs are Bhuddists, the Tripuras are Hindus and the rest have individual religions including some Christian. The other tribal groups are Bawn, Pankhua, Khyang, Chal/Sak, Khumi and Lushai. The changing composition of the population in the CHT is shown below.
Government Policy towards Tribal Minorities and the responsible
Administrative Structure in the CHT
The principal policy document that set outs the Government’s strategy for
redressing past social injustices, creating productive economic conditions and
establishing a tribally responsive administration in the Hill Tracts, is the 1997 Peace Accord. The main features of the agreement are (i) the re-establishment in Bangladesh of tribal refugees who had fled to Tripura State in India during the insurgency war, 1 Quoted in Roy R.D. (1997) The Population Transfer Programme of 1980s and the Land Rights of the Indigenous Peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. In Subir Bhaumik et al (eds).Living on the Edge: Essays
from the Chittagong Hill Tracts. South Asia Forum for Human rights, Kathmandu.
2 Raja Devasish Roy (1999) Administrative Structure, Socio-Political and Development Institutions in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. In Search of Insights of the Civil Society on CHT Peace Treaty and Development Strategy. ADAB, Dhak
(ii) the restructuring of the local government agencies to allow for an equal
representation of the indigenous people, (iii) the creation of a Regional Council which includes circle chiefs in its membership, and gives the Council overall responsibility for development in the area, (iv) the revision of the composition of the three Hill Tract Districts Councils which provide for a stronger representation of tribals and women and extends the authority of District Councils to cover land and land management, local police and tribal law and social justice (v) extension of the revenue base of the District Councils and an increase their development funds and (vi) the creation of a Land Commission to resolve the disputed land titles which inpart led to the civil unrest. (vii) the establishment of a Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tract Affairs
Implementation status of the Peace Accord
The Peace Accord was formally signed on December 2, 1997 between the
Government and the Parbattya Chattagram Jana Sanghanti Samity (PCJSS), although some actions such as the repatriation of refugees had already begun. Over two years on from the Accord signing a start has been made to the most of its proscribed actions, but their impact on the lives and livelihoods of the general population has been minimal. During the extensive community discussions carried out under the Project many people expressed frustration that the Peace Accord had not led to an improvement in their prosperity or resolved the outstanding land issues. However, there remained a generally positive attitude that their economic situation would improve if development funds were made available to rebuild the rural infrastructure and provide job opportunities/
The Regional Council has been established and its mandate has been legally
secured in the Regional Council Act of 1998[1]. Although the tribal and gender
representation on the Council is specified in the Peace Accord and its Act, its actual membership is to be elected by the elected members of the Hill Tract Districts Councils.
This has not taken place as District Councils elections are awaiting the compilation of a new voters list of land owners, which is being delayed by the large number of outstanding disputed land titles. Membership of both the Regional Council and the three District Councils is presently through Government nomination. There has been an inadequate administrative budget provision for the Regional Council and this has restricted staff recruitment and the Council’s ability to carry out its development and supervisory functions.
The general amnesty for former tribal combatants has been apparently been satisfactorily executed although there is a small group of tribals who remain vigorously opposed to the Peace Accord. There have been sporadic clashes with the armed forces but these are generally recognised to be with groups of criminals. The proposed reduction in army facilities is disputed by the PCJSS. No official figures are available from the army or the Government but the PCJSS report that only about 30 army camps out of the estimate 500 camps have been closed down. There are regular newspaper articles on the harassment of tribals by the army and the PCJSS claim that the army is still protecting and promoting the settlement of Bengalis on tribal land.
15. The repatriation of refugees was started in March 1997 and is now said by the Government to be completed. About 12,000 families have been re-established in the Khagrachari District with each family receiving about 2 acres of land and Tk. 50,000 in cash. However, the Peace Accord clause providing 2 acres for every landless tribal family has not been fulfilled and there is a large number of internally displaced families (up to 50% of the total families in several thanas surveyed under the Project) who remain severely disadvantaged. These families are either squatting on government land or living with relatives and friends.
16. The Land Commission has been established but yet to become operational. The
reasons for its inaction are unclear although in its short life there have been three
changes in the Judge Chairmanship and the post is presently vacant. It is probable that
the task of resolving the estimated 6000 disputed land titles is professionally unattractive
and the Government has had real difficulty in finding a willing Chairman to initiate the disputes process. The Peace Accord proposes a concurrent new land survey of the CHT area and this also has yet to begin.
A Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tract Affairs has been established and a tribal Minister has been appointed. However, the Ministry is based in Dhaka and has no outreach staff in the CHT area. It also has no database on the CHT or any professional social, economic or technical staff. Its activities appear to be confined to general administrative matters arising from the presence of other ministries in the area.
Indigenous Peoples Development Plan
The Indigenous Peoples Development Plan will comprise a set of achievements to be obtained from within the Project Framework. These are represented by the following targets for all tribal groups in the project area.
• The rehabilitation of the road and market network will improve travel and marketing conditions.
• Transportation costs will be reduced and this will lead to lowering the costs of consumer goods and farm and business inputs while at the same time raising the prices of farm produce and other outputs.
• Access to health and education facilities will be substantially improved.
• For the seven year project period, local community groups will be continuously involved in the road and market construction programme and this will significantly increase household incomes.
• The improved road and market network will improve the investment environment and through the Project’s microfinance component, target beneficiaries will be able to expand existing enterprises and undertake new ventures.
Supplementary Appendix E, page 6
• The Community Development Activities component will provide for small scale infrastructure investment in all 112 union parishad area and all ethnic groups will
be represented on the committees which select and manage the sub-projects.
• The Project’s training program will train and then use local NGOs and other
community groups to provide a beneficiary training program aimed at expanding
income generating opportunities.
19. Additionally, two specific concerns which were raised by various tribal people over the project will form part of the Plan’s monitoring process. These concerns are,
• an improved road network may allow Bengali settlers and Army units to gain better access into some of the remote areas. This could lead to further pressures on land use and provide aggressive settlers with development opportunities at the expense of tribal minorities. Similarly, some of the smaller tribal groupings could be threatened by an influx of the larger Chakma and Marma tribes.
• the national NGOs who provide microfinance may not recognize the inherent tribal cultures and practices in their group lending programs and this could lead to destabilizing the traditional way of life.
Implementation
Beneficiary Participation – the Project has been developed through a wide-ranging interactive discussion process with the potential beneficiaries from all tribal groups During Project implementation a similar interactive process will be followed with beneficiaries and for such a process to be meaningful, the quantitative component activities should be regarded as indicative.
Family
The ethnic communities value family and community. The family size is comparable to the national situation – this removes the traditional idea that the family size in the CHT is large compared to rest of the country. Ratio of male and female is 100 females for 105 males that is just comparable to national situation of 100 females for 106 males .
Occupation
Agriculture occupies the main source of income of majority of the population. Farming using plain and jhum cultivation account for 29 per cent and 19 per cent respectively. Indeed, there are families that are involved in both and this tendency is increasing. Agricultural labour occupies 16 per cent followed by service 9 per cent, trade and shop keeping and business 7 per cent. People involved in occupation that uses higher skills and vocational trades are almost absent.
Education
Though the literacy rate among the head of families surveyed was 54 per cent that well compares with national situation of 56 per cent (Table 6) the rate of literacy of all members of the surveyed households is 47.24 per cent which is low compared to national situation. The CHT is behind in education. Further, literacy among the female is alarmingly low not only compared to the national situation of female literacy rate but also compared to rate of literacy of the male. People above 7 years of age and have never attended schools and those can only sign have been considered illiterate. Besides, about 19 per cent people read between grade 1 and 5 that account for large number of people who attended lower grades for 1-2 years and had little practice of what they learnt – they are functionally illiterate. Nevertheless, they have been included among the literate.
Literacy in General by Ethnic Tribes
Access to schools is a major constraint to expansion of education. The access is constrained by financial causes due to low income of parents, poor communication and lack of transport system, non-availability of schools, involuntary involved in household and or income generating activities to supplement family income, non-availability of local teachers, and lack of inspiration, etc. Though there exist primary and secondary schools within 2-3 kilometers from the home yet the inaccessibility stands as a major constraint to most of the students in the rural areas especially during monsoon. Female students suffer more due to difficulty of communication. Some children face more than one constraint Access to sanitary facilities in CHT is deplorable – only 4 per cent people use sanitary latrines in the rural areas while another 15 per cent use pit that is not sound on environmental and health pinot of view. About 47 per cent and 33 per cent people in the rural areas use open latrines and open spaces respectively that depict a horrible picture Scarcity of water and adequate promotion of the technology and efforts to raising awareness have caused slow progress of providing access to sanitation. Since paucity of water is a major factor that can not be removed easily in some areas special type of sanitary latrines may be popularized that do not require enough water for flushing and sealing. During survey and also at the time of PRA exercise it was reported that students of schools generally use open spaces, as enough water for large number of students can not be made available for use in the latrines. This indicates appalling condition of sanitation system. The findings of recently completed by CARE, Bangladesh study support the feedback.
Health
Health status is poor in CHT. Besides low level of awareness on the backdrop of high rate of illiteracy lack of adequate facilities and difficulty getting access to the available health care facilities are main reasons for poor health status. Most of the people are used to availing traditional and indigenous treatment from quacks and village doctors Survey indicated that about 96 per cent people avail allopathic treatment, 37 per cent indigenous or traditional treatment, 20 per cent village quacks, and 5 per cent homeopath. A similar study recently conducted by CARE, Bangladesh also found that people go to allopathic (86 per cent), indigenous doctors/quacks (38 per cent) and faith.
Food and Nutrition
Consumption of food by children and others were reported to be at par with the national situation in terms of frequency of intake. About 77 per cent children take 3 meals a day and another 17 per cent four meals and fewer (6 per cent) take 6 meals a day that is considered adequate irrespective of quantity and probably nutrition. On the contrary 72 per cent people (above the age of 6 years) take 3 meals a day 28 per cent take 2 meals a day In regards to food sufficiency and food security 44 per cent households are sufficient in food while 56 per cent are not. Among households 56 per cent are deficient in food 26 per cent are subsistence and only 18 per cent surplus. The cropping patterns and farm sizes have been changing consequently the concept of food security has also changed.
While adequate food is not available with most of the houses, food is available with most of the houses round the year except for short period in between the harvesting season. The situation is comparable with the rest of the country.
Availability of Food – Food Security
Extent of food shortage in terms of months varies – 33 households are deficient for 1-3 months, 19 per cent for 4-6 months and 2 per cent each for 7-9 months and 10-12 months. This reflects the poor food condition of the people in the area. The recently completed CARE, Bangladesh also found that 33 per cent households suffer food shortage for 1-3 months.
Land Resources
The survey and PRA indicated an immediate need for land reforms in terms of tenancy and ownership. Land related disputes occupy the major source of unrest among the inter and intra communities. Survey indicated that 63 per cent of homestead land are owned by the household – out of the remaining 27 per cent are khas.
Land Use
Cropping Intensities: Though overall cropping intensities in the CHT is low, there is excessive pressure on plain agricultural land that are cultivated unto three times a year continuously without any gap. On the other hand 70 per cent of the jhum lands are used once a year. The respondents reported that the Jhum cultivation cycle has been remarkably reduced.
Crop Production
Regarding major crops grown paddy, cotton, maize, banana, pineapple, jack-fruit, melon, guava, papaya, turmeric, zinger, chilly, bean, brinjal, cumber, sweet potato, gourd, ladies finger, arum etc. are reported to be grown by the farmers.
Livelihood Activities
Majority of the people is engaged in farming and involvement in non-farm activities is very limited. Survey noted that there is substantial child labor in CHT in general and agriculture activities in particular. Table 21& 22 show the major occupations of the children (below 14 years) and the others (above 14 years) respectively.
Major Occupations – People above 14 years (incidence –per cent)
Survey observed the women and children have high rate of participation in income generation of the households there exists a high dependency ratio between the working and non-working population.
Migration and involuntary Settlement
A considerable number of people are migratory in the region. Thirty one percent respondents migrated once from their place and 2 per cent twice and 1 per cent more than twice. The survey identified various reasons for migration.
After analysing this survey we can say that the indigenious people of bangladesh are totally deprived from their rights.we should aware about these rights and take steps about their rights.
Conclusion
The Bank’s Policy on Indigenous Peoples does not state that all ethnic minorities
are to be treated as indigenous people, but it does relate the concept of indigenous peoples to ethnic minorities, among others. An Indigenous Peoples Development Plan (IPDP) is necessary for this Project, because (i) about one-half of the population of the Project Area is made up of minority tribal groups; and (ii) while there is significant diversity among the tribal groups, there are traditional patterns of resource use and of social organization which are distinct from the mainstream.
The participatory process undertaken during Project Preparation highlighted the
following positive impacts of the indicative project design. It will: (i) improve the living conditions of all the tribal groups through the improvement of the road, small infrastructure and market network which will give better access to education, health andtrading centers and decrease the costs of transportation and consumables; (ii) create job opportunities in construction and road development works; (iii) offer skill development and credit to develop income generating micro enterprises; and (iv) assist with the submission of claims to the newly formed Land Commission.
The Project provides a framework for the full participation of all tribal groups in
the detailed planning and implementation of the Project and these mechanisms have been developed through extensive consultations with the communities and their representatives in the Project area. The specific implementation requirements of the IPDP have been incorporated into the Project’s detailed planning and implementation framework and these are: (i) comprehensive consultations with the involved individual communities and villages will be a precursor to the development of each annual plan for the roads and markets component; (ii) the Community Development Committees formed under the Project to identify, implement and manage small infrastructure projects will
have all local tribal groups represented in their membership; (iii) where possible local NGOs representing specific tribal groups will be contracted to carry out the skill development and training activities in their tribal groups; (iv) similarly, local tribal NGOs will be employed to work with the NGO credit providers; (v) where roads are built in a particular area, those tribal groups in that area will be given priority in benefiting from the job opportunities associated with the construction; and (vi) legal literacy assistance will be provided for tribal groups.The monitoring and evaluation of the IPDP will be the responsibility of the Project Management Unit (PMU). The data gathered during the Benchmark and Socio-economic Survey on each of the tribal groups will be used as base line indicators to monitor the Project’s impact each group and a preliminary evaluation will be included in the periodic project reviews.
The target beneficiaries will be (a) poor shifting cultivators defined as unable to
meet their basic consumption needs and dependent on the sale of manual labour as the main source of income, (b) poor landless farmers defined as having less than 0.5 acres of cereal production land, including homesteads, and dependent on the sale of manual labour as the main source of income and (c) the absolutely poor marginal farmers with 0.5-1.0 acres of cereal production land. Data in the CHT on the household calorific uptake is generally inadequate and target beneficiaries have been further defined as those who have a family income of less than Tk30,000 per annum and fall below the food poverty line in the Government’s poverty index. It is estimated that the primary project beneficiaries will be about 60,000 rural families, which represent about 40 per cent of the total rural farm families in the CHT.
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[1] Discussions with indigenous leaders from Rajshahi, Dinajpur and Patuakhali districts in 1997-98.