Less than 150 km from Bhubaneswar, several tribals living in and around the dense Damia-Berbera teak forest in Banpur, Khurda district, found strangers fencing off their land and putting up boards with the names of plantation companies. Some have even built bungalows on the land, alleged to be illegally acquired. In the 72 villages of the two panchayats of Damia-Berbera and Niladri Prasad, with a population of 12,000, land settlement has not been done and people are still cultivating forest land, though a few own revenue land and have titles.

According to a survey by Ekta Parishad, a local organisation, land was grabbed by plantation companies in these 72 villages in Banpurblock. What's more, it accuses the government of illegally transferring large tracts of land to these plantation companies. The tribals have formed a Banpur Tribal Area Land Protection Committee led by Bishwamber Jani, who was beaten up last December. ``I have filed an affidavit with the collector saying my life is under threat,'' said Jani.

Increasingly the tribals here, having lost their land, have been reduced to a state of acute deprivation. Many have been forced to migrate or live in straitened circumstances. The tribals belong to the Kondh, Sauntia or Sabara tribes, and have been cultivating the land for generations. Ekta Parishad, which has been working in the area since 1993, found that 5,000-odd acres of land in and around the Berbera teak reserved forests, had been taken away by plantations. Of this 2,017 acres were encroached upon and the rest was tenancy land. Ekta Parishad, in a public interest litigation filed in the Orissa High Court, maintained that commercial plantation owners like RamanPlantations, Satyavadi Shabuja Vihar and Planet India, among others, were responsible.

The PIL highlights the illegal takeover of tribal land in the two panchayats of Niladriprasad and Damia-Berbera and the exploitation of the tribal communities. The land has been transferred without the permission of the revenue officers, it stated. Last October, the high court while disposing of the petition, said the collector of Khurda should hold an inquiry into the matter and, if necessary, take action. However, Purno Bhopal of Ekta Parishad, said this was ironic as the collector was a party to the case they had filed. A year later, nothing seems to have come out of this high court order. However, a few months ago, notices were issued to the plantation owners by the sub-collector of Khurda, asking them to show cause why the land should not be recovered by the government.

From Banpur block, the forests of Damia Berbera in the Balugaon forest range are a good two hours' drive on bumpy roads. No public transport evergoes to these places. Schools though sanctioned, are unheard of as no teacher can make the arduous walk to the villages, some of which are located in the mountains. These teachers collect the salaries every month but rarely show up in the appointed villages.

Thirty five km from Banpur, in Bhatapada village, next to a CRPF post set up to prevent teak smuggling, Subhasini, a tribal leader , said people from 12 villages were opposing land grabbing. Some of the land was owned by the tribals who have title deeds while the rest was under encroachment.

According to Sandhya Devi and Purno Bhopal of Ekta Parishad, the government has been transferring land from tribals to non-tribals since 1970. These are mostly plantation owners who have acquired the property through middlemen using unscrupulous methods.

Land can be transferred from a tribal only with his consent and after the collector's permission has been taken. Often the tribal is not present or he is tricked into signing away his land, Sandhya Devi said.Poverty and landlessness have forced migration from this area and Subhashini's 13-year-old son has already left for Gujarat. She, like the rest of the village is landless. Only a handful of persons own one or two acres. Their main source of income is through cultivating forest land. In summer, the people rely on roots from the forest or seasonal fruit like the mango or jackfruit. They also depend a lot on moneylenders and they have to repay the loan after the harvest. ``If we borrow five kilos of paddy then we have to repay double that amount,'' Subhasini said.

Women do not have rights over land and, according to Ani, land was taken away from her father-in-law many years ago on a false pretext. She said people depended on forests and they sold wood for Rs 3 a bundle or bartered honey and other forest produce for grain. Firewood is increasingly scarce and they have to walk ten to 15 km to collect it. ``We get the same medicines for all illnesses at the PHC at Niladri, 14 km away,'' complained Ani. Hergrandson died a few days before I met her of fever, probably cerebral malaria, which is rampant in these parts.

The movement started by Ekta has helped people oppose their lands being taken over illegally. ``When our men were jailed, some of us women held a press conference in Bhubaneswar and we even met some ministers,'' said Subhasini. ``However, plantation companies are putting pressure on the tribal leaders to expel us from the community. We are told we lose our `izzat' for leaving our village and speaking to outsiders,'' she said. Maltibai, a widow, used to farm two acres which falls between two plantations. A middleman has been harassing her though she has been in possession of the land for the last 20 years. Her daughter was threatened at gunpoint but she refuses to give up her rights to the land. ``They will continue to trouble me but I will continue to fight,'' she says. Her son has already migrated to Bombay for work.

The plantation owners are threatening the villagers and asking them toleave but that is not happening. In Kotwal village, which is higher up in the mountains and mostly inhabited by the Sabara tribe, Pandava Sabar explained how they were constantly harassed by middlemen to give up their land. ``The plantation companies used to come here for business and give loans to people at very high interest rates. If the loans could not be repaid, then their lands were taken over. Sometimes if four brothers owned land, then the companies got one brother to give up land without the rest knowing about it. In this way they have managed to take over land which we have been cultivating,'' he said. The Khurda collector, Aparajita Sarangi, passed the buck to the additional district magistrate, who was too busy to talk to this journalist and was constantly ``on tour''. If indeed there is any action from the collector, who was asked to inquire into the issue by the Orissa High Court, it is a well-guarded secret. Plantation companies have repeatedly denied that there is illegal takeover ofland.

The people are determined to fight despite constant pressure from the companies to get them to leave their land. Shrinking forest resources and increasing commercialisation of land has reduced tribals to a state of penury. Meanwhile the State remains a silent spectator to this blatant injustice.