Status of Adivasis/Indigenous People Land Series-2: Orissa

Description

Access to land and land based resources has been a critical issue for the Adivasi communities in forested landscapes of Central India, including Orissa. Though land and land based resources are central to the livelihoods of Adivasis, they have poor acess to land and forests. The loss of private landholdings by Adivasis has been a cause of concern. However, as this paper shows, poor access to land is not only the outcome of land alienation to non-Adivasis, but is also the outcome of land and forest policies followed by the State. The paper identifies some of the main processes which have led to poor access to land for the Adivasis.