PROJECTS

Tree Plantation in Sellipet-Gingee River Bunds

Project objectives:

Short term Goal:

The purpose of the tree plantation is to increase the ground water level, protect the drinking water, provide shelter to the domestic animals, get more rain, protect the traditional trees, plant trees of important cultural and medicine values, protect the environment and help to secure food security for the Dalit Population.

Long term Goal:

Reducing the Carbon Emission; Lowering the Temperature locally; and contributing to arrest Global Warming.

Activities carried out:

64,102 trees planted; the species are Banyan Tree, Papal Tree, Neem Tree, Aloe Vera, Tulsi Plant, Amla Plant, Ashwagandha, Teak Tree.

85 acres have been covered under tree plantation; 3000 people were given awareness through public meeting and awareness materials.

This plantation of 64,102 trees in an area spread over 85 acres of land will lead to rising of the water table and increase in the forest coverage area. In the long run it will also serve as the source of country medicine.

On the Human Rights Day and the Community Forest Handing over day, we shared the results and the lessons learned with the local community and also the local NGOs. We will also share our experiences wherever we are invited as the Resource Person for the climate change.

We partnered with the Local Government Representatives and the Public Works Department (Irrigation & Forest Division) for carrying out the task. This cooperation and joint-efforts facilitated the easy implementation of the project; and ownership by different stakeholders.
The community forest has been handed over to the Local Body Members in the Villages; The Irrigation Wing of Public Works Department has also undertaken the responsibility to preserve the forest.

Conference on Climate change:

We organized one day Conference on Climate Change for the rural population at RISE’s field office in Villianur. Local Community (Women & Youth), Community Based Organisations, Non Government Organisations participated; totally 110 were participated.

We published 1000 books with information on Global Warming and distributed to the Local Community (Women & Youth), Community Based Organisations, Non Government Organisations.

We organised a programme for school going children about forest and water through drawing competition. 150 children participated from 5 Government Schools. During this programme we explained to them Clean Air and Clean water are product of Forests.

We have organised one day seminar for the Children on tobacco and our Health. 

We taught them about the tobacco & Spit use among teens and pre-teens in our target population.

We observed World Earth Day on 22^nd April 2012 and also we observed World Environment Day on 5^th June 2012 & International Human Rights day.

Campaign Against Child Labour:

RISE is hosting the Secretariat of Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL) for Puducherry for a three year term from 2010 to 2013, we prepared the Manifesto for Eradication of Child  Labour and Enforcement of Right to Education; the major points are given below:

1. Preamble :

• Recognize all persons upto the age of 18 years as children and guarantee children’s rights to survival, development, protection and participation.
• Prohibit all forms of child labour upto 18 years.
• Ensure free, compulsory, quality, equitable education for all children upto 18 years.

2. A child means every human being below the age of eighteen years.

 

• A child means every human being below the age of eighteen years according to United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was adopted by UN General Assembly in 1989 and ratified by India in 1992. But even today different Legislations quote different age for the definition of child. Tamil Nadu should define the age of child as 18 in all its Legislations and also inspire the Centre to for such uniform definition.

3. Eradicate all forms of Child Labour up-to 18 Years

• Child labour is a gross violation of children’s rights. It denies children quality education, destroys their health and childhood and makes them vulnerable to discrimination and abuse. Children are used not because of poverty but because the exploitation of poverty to reap enormous profits by the propertied classes.

• Child Labour exists in Tamil Nadu especially in Hotel Industries, Brick Kilns, Silver Anklet Units, Match Works, Fireworks and Mills. Girls are mostly employed as Domestic Child Labour. Though exploitation is prevalent in all these sectors, it is rampant in Sumangali Thittam i.e. Camp Coolie System i.e. Hostel Scheme. Low wages, long working hours, inhuman working conditions, inability to associate, vulnerability to torture and abuse characterize this workforce. This Scheme has to be abolished immediately.

• Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986 has not been effective in abolishihg child labour in the State or the country. Out of the 12,32,050 Inspections conducted by the Labour Department in Tamil Nadu between 1997 and 2006, only 6122 violations have been identified, out of which only 1054 have been convicted. Hence the State Government should ban all forms of Child labour in Tamil Nadu; and also pressurize the Centre to repeal CLPRA and enact a comprehensive Legislation to eradicate all forms of Child Labour in all processes, occupations and establishments  upto 18 years

4. Ensure Right to free, compulsory, quality, equitable Education for all Children upto 18 years:

• The fathers who made our Constitution promised to ensure Elementary Education for all the children of India up to the age 14 within a time frame of ten years i.e. before 1960. But it took another 50 years to enact the Rights of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. Though this Act has come into force from 1st April 2010, the provisions of the Legislations such as
  • All Schools should admit the children belonging to weaker section and disadvantaged group, to the extent of 25% in Class I;
  • No School shall collect any capitation fee and subject the child or the parents to any screening procedure;
  • No child shall be subjected to physical punishment or mental harassment;
  • All Schools shall constitute a School Management Committee, with atleast three-fourth membership of parents

have not been put into practice yet. Your party should support the enforcement of this Legislation in its letter and spirit; and should also strive for amending the Legislation to ensure free, compulsory, quality, equitable Education for all Children upto 18 years.

This manifesto was presented to all the political parties in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Awareness Programme on People’s protest in Koodankulam

RISE Organised an Awareness Programme for the local NGOs about the People’s Protest in Koodankulam. We mentioned that people’s protest in Koodankulam is intensifying with every passing day. The sheer energy of this non-violent movement – with huge participation of women, transparent and innovative ways of horizontal mobilisation, campaigning and resource-generation has forced the governments, the political leadership of all colors and the media to admit the genuine concerns of people. The blatant attempts to malign the movement as ‘foreign-funded’, church-driven etc. have started sounding ridiculous and totally unconvincing even in the most distant and indifferent corners of the country.

Even while opening dialogue with the protesters, the government kept beefing up police cases on them – including charges of sedition – to intimidate them. The govt agencies and its supportive media raked up malicious stories about funding, motives and leadership of the movement.

Instead of replying to peoples wide-ranging questions, govt relied on the persona of techno-patriarchs to assure people about the safety of the Koodankulam reactors. The Central Govt expert committee’s report clearly avoided all important questions on some or other technical/legal/procedural grounds. In a well-attended seminar in Kanyakumari on Dec 29, the People’s Expert Panel again raised these questions with the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister through its memorandum.

Now that even the mischievous attempts to malign the movement for being ‘foreign-funded’ and church-dominated have fallen flat due to sustained struggle of people in large numbers, people have apprehensions that the government might resort to naked violence and state-repression. We must stand with them strongly. Its a struggle to save people’s lives and livelihoods and an alternative vision of a sustainable and equitable society.

We demanded to:

1. Scrap the Koodankulam nuclear power project
2. Stop all efforts by the Home Ministry to hound people’s organisations and NGOs
3. Convene a national level consultation on nuclear energy in a democratic and transparent manner.

NREGA Awareness Programme

• Any adult who is willing to do unskilled manual work at the minimum wage is entitled to being employed on local public works within 15 days of applying.
• If employment is not provided within 15 days, the applicant is entitled to an unemployment allowance:
• At least one fourth of the minimum wage for the first 30 days.
• At least one half of the minimum wage thereafter.
• 100 days employment per household per year.
• Equal wages for women and men in all circumstances.
• No gender discrimination of any kind.
• Priority for women in the allocation of work: at least 33% of labourers should be women.

Awareness on Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989

Whoever, not being a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled for offences of Tribe,-

atrocities. (i) forces a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe to drink or eat any inedible or obnoxious substance;

(ii) acts with intent to cause injury, insult or annoyance to any member of a Scheduled Caste, or a Scheduled Tribe by dumping excreta, waste matter, carcasses or any other obnoxious substance in his premises or neighbourhood;

(iii) forcibly removes clothes from the person of a member of a Schedul-ed Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or parades him naked or with painted face or body or commits any similar act which is derogatory to human dignity;

(iv) wrongfully occupies or cultivates any land owned by, or allotted to, or notified by any competent authority to be allotted to, a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or gets the land allotted to him transferred;

(v) wrongfully dispossesses a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe from his land or premises or interferes with the enjoyment of his rights over any land, premises or water;

(vi) compels or entices a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe to do ‘begar’ or other similar forms of forced or bonded labour other than any compulsory service for public purposes imposed by Government;

(vii) forces or intimidates a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Schedul-ed Tribe not to vote or to vote to a particular candidate or to vote in a manner other than that provided by law;

(viii) institutes false, malicious or vexatious suit or criminal or other legal proceedings against a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe.

(ix) gives any false or frivolous information to any public servant and thereby causes such public servant to use his lawful power to the injury or annoyance of a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe;

(x) intentionally insults or intimidates with intent to humiliate a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe in any place within public view;

(xi) assaults or uses force to any woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe with intent to dishonour or outrage her modesty;

(xii) being in a position to dominate the will of a woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe and uses that position to exploit her sexually to which she would not have otherwise agreed;

(xiii) corrupts or fouls the water of any spring, reservoir or any other source ordinarily used by members of the Scheduled Castes or a Scheduled Tribes so as to render it less fit for the purpose for which it is ordinarily used;

 (xiv) denies a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe any customary right of passage to a place of public resort or obstructs such member so as to prevent him from using or having access to a place of public resort to which other members of public or any section thereof have a right to use or access to;

(xv) forces or causes a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe to leave his house, village or other place of residence,

shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to five years and with fine.