Echoes in Borra Caves, Araku Valley

Samata

INTRODUCTION

Since the 1960s, mining leases have been given in the Eastern Ghats to private companies. Leases have been given even within Reserve Forest areas in some panchayats, in violation to the Land Transfer Regulation Act. In many cases, the local adivasi people have been denied pattas to cultivate their own lands! Even the million year old Borra Caves, which should rightly be a heritage site, were not spared: leases were given for areas directly above the caves. It was in 1993, that Samata first joined hands with the people of Borra Panchayat in their struggle to stop the destructive mining activity in their area.

THE STRUGGLE

The villagers approached and invited Samata to become a partner in their fight against injustice. Samata first did research and documentation of mining violations for five months and got a grip over the situation through regular consultations with the villagers, lawyers, government officials and social scientists. In 1993, a public interest litigation was filed in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on the grounds that the government does not have the power to grant leases in tribal areas. The court issued a stay order and, for the first time after independence, the tribal people of Borra Panchayat cultivated their own lands.

However, in 1995, the High Court vacated the stay order and dismissed the case. Samata and the people of Borra Panchayat approached the Supreme Court of India for justice. Finally, in July of 1997, the Supreme Court passed a judgment declaring that mining leases in Scheduled Areas violated landtransfer regulations and were null and void. The same judgement also included a directive which stated that 20% of profits from any development enterprise in the area must be set aside for tribal welfare.

THE TOURISM GALA

Meanwhile, another industry had slowly embedded its roots in the lands of adivasi people – tourism. In 1993, the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) took over the Borra Caves in the Panchayat. The adivasi people, who traditionally managed the caves, were forced to hand over control to APTDC. Initially the arrangement was to share the 20% profit from the cave-tourism among the 20 guides working there. However, the APTDC’s stance changed as the revenues from the caves started increasing. In 1996, the guides were asked to sign up as contract labourers under APTDC with the promise that their jobs would be regularized within a period of 3 years; they were then paid Rs.1600 a month. Samata cautioned the guides about the possible hidden agenda behind the promise, but the guides decided to go ahead with the agreement.

Over time, the guides of the Borra Caves became increasingly worried by the Corporation’s nonchalance towards its initial promises of regularization. Samata operated on the principle that self-organization would lead to better long term results; the workers organized themselves into a union and took an active part in the proceedings. The guides began to resolve some of the earlier internal conflicts too and to strengthen the movement in Borra. In a meeting organized in 2005, a new angle was introduced into the struggle to the Borra Gram Panchayat. Since the Samata Judgement’s directive clearly stated that any industry in tribal area should set aside 20% of its profits for the welfare of the local people, it was suggested that the Borra Panchayat should rightfully claim its share of profits. Meetings were regularly held to spread awareness on adivasi peoples’ rights, and Adivasi Mitra[tooltip content=”A local Community Based Organisation affiliated to SAMATA” url=”” ]Ref: 1[/tooltip] galvanized the local people into action. A delegation including the Sarpanch of the Borra Panchayat went to Hyderabad to put forward the issue to the Secretary of Tourism in Hyderabad.

In 2006, two major events took place in Borra. The guides of the Borra Caves went on strike in demand of better pay and conditions of labour. Also, the gram sabha organized a maha dharna[tooltip content=”picketing” url=”” ]Ref: 2[/tooltip] to bring the authorities attention to their claims which advocated the cause at bureaucratic and political levels. The managing director of APTDC was invited for talks with Borra team which went a long way in asserting the people’s faith in the movement.

This paved the path for an order by the Secretary of Tribal Affairs intimating APTDC to formulate an arrangement for profit-sharing with the communities of Borra Panchayat. According to theorder, 10% of the revenue from ticket sales could be considered equivalent to 20 % of profits. It also directed the formation of a committee to create the necessary sharing agreement which included the project officer of Paderu, the Anantagiri mandal president and the Borra Sarpanch. The most recent meeting regarding the sharing arrangement was conducted on September 11, 2008, a process monitored actively by Samata.

This campaign for better wages for the Borra tour guides yielded good results. The best result is that it has inspired adivasi people in APTDC establishments across the entire Araku Valley to claim their rights. Recently APTDC passed an order raising the salary of its employees; the Corporation has finally accepted a number of their demands, and a salary hike has now been cleared by the Department. The Borra Caves tour guides will now receive a salary of Rs 6000, along with a separate cave allowance of Rs 1000.

The organization that successfully contested the government to help tribal people reclaim their land had successfully negotiated better conditions of labour and profits from tourism to the same community.

FROM CAVE TO WATERFALLS

The Katiki village and its famous waterfall come under the same Borra Panchayat, the waterfall being a top tourist spot in the entire Araku Valley. The local Gadaba community is directly involved in managing and maintaining the place; the community in the nearby hamlet has taken responsibility for maintaining the waterfalls.

The villagers initiated the development and maintenance of the Katiki Waterfalls area in December 2005. Under the leadership of Adivasi Mitra, a committee to manage the area was formed having implications at the larger policy level. Samata with its partner organizations like Sanjivani and Adivasi Mitra is involved in rooting the Forest Right Act and here it shares its experiences on the issues. consisting of the Borra Sar panch, village representatives from Katiki, and Adivasi Mitra representatives. The committee, along with the gram sabha, chalked out a plan whereby 20 men were selected for the assigned tasks – five guides, five gate keepers, five security guards, and five as cleaning and maintenance workers. A toll gate was set up and the villagers started maintaining the gate and collecting money from tourists visiting the area. The workers do not take any salary as they see the work as “maintenance of their own property”.

On an average, the community earns Rs 6000 every month from the venture. The shares of the waterfalls are disbursed in the form of maintenance, supporting three members of thrift and saving groups and savings in post office. The Katiki Committee meets once a month; the Gram Panchayat members and the Adivasi Mitra continuously monitor the process and provide feedback. The Katiki Gram Sabha has the final say on matters of recruitment and sharing of profits. Samata is always with them for support and guidance.