Speak Out!

May 2008
Communities
Asserting
Their Rights to
Food Sovereignty

PCFS People’s Coalition on

Food Sovereignty PAN AP Pesticide Action Network
Asia and the Pacific May 2008

SEZ Expansion in
Andhra Pradesh:
Undermining the Rights of the Poor

By Dr. Ujjaini Halim & Dr. Madhabi Roy

“We are losing everything”

“We are losing everything. We had everything. We were happy. Now we are losing control.” These are the words of
Raulamma, a fisherwoman from Midderevu village in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.

What is the cause of Raulamma’s distress?

Some time ago, the state government decided to expand the nearby port of Krishnapatnam, as a support to the
huge, bustling port at Chennai, one of India’s largest cities. As a result, over a dozen nearby villages are being
evacuated, common property resources like grazing lands are becoming off-limits for the locals, the fishing grounds
are getting depleted and the subsequent pollution is vitiating the atmosphere. The entire lives of thousands of
people are forcibly being changed, beyond recognition.

And yet, the people themselves appear to have little say in the matter. No wonder, they feel they have no one to
turn to for help.

The same sense of helplessness and despair is pervading a cluster of villages in the nearby Tada mandal in the
same district. A government-sponsored SEZ (Special Economic Zone) has recently come up in the area, where

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Writers
Dr. Ujjaini Halim
Dr. Madhabi Roy

Editor-in-chief
Sarojeni Rengam (PAN AP)

Editor and Project Coordinator

Gilbert Sape (PAN AP)

Associate Editor
Norly Grace Mercado (PCFS)
Biju Negi (PANAP)

Production Staff
Teh Chun Hong (PAN AP)

Photos
Gilbert Sape (PAN AP)

Lay-out and Cover Design

Dennis Longid

This publication of PAN AP and PCFS aims to provide in-depth stories

from communities asserting their food sovereignty. It is a tool for margin-
alised communities to speak out on issues that affect their lives and liveli-
hood. It hopes to raise awareness and seek solidarity actions from the read-
ers. If you have comments or have taken solidarity actions as a result of this
publication, please share them to us at panap@panap.net or to secretariat@
foodsov.org.
 May 2008
multinational companies are moving in and the local people are being squeezed out to make room for them.
Consequently, the people are losing their homes, livelihoods and their whole way of life.

Development and the SEZ debate

The two cases mentioned above are not isolated instances, but representative of a larger malaise that is sweeping
the country and indeed much of the developing world. Neo-liberal economic and social theories being promoted
by developed countries as part of globalisation, are driving the thoughts, policies and actions of governments of
developing countries towards greater privatisation and fast-paced industrialisation. The issue of SEZ falls squarely
within this framework.

In India, the Central and State governments across the country are wooing multinational and national companies
to set up their business in their states and are, in fact, setting aside large swathes of land for them at throwaway
prices, besides offering them a multitude of lucrative tax incentives and tax holidays. These areas are termed SEZ,
because of the special and unprecendented benefits being accorded to them by the respective state and central
governments. Unfortunately, SEZs are being set up largely at the expense of the poor and the powerless. The people
are forcibly being evicted from such earmarked land, without any or with only meager compensatory measures.

Of course, this process of development being followed by the government is not going through unchallenged.
There are popular protests taking place against such development processes throughout the country, and these are
rising sharply in frequency and intensity. Singur and Nandigram in West Bengal are cases in point. There is strong
dissent in Andhra Pradesh as well.

P. Chennaiah of APVVU talks to the residents on the looming eviction.

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 Speak Out! Communities Asserting Their Rights To Food Sovereignty
Fact Finding Mission - Two Case Studies
It was against this background that an International Fact Finding Mission (FFM), composed of eminent civil
society members from Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and India, visited the Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh
to investigate the two cases - (a) The expansion of the port in Krishnapatnam, and (b) The setting-up of an Apache
Footwear production unit as part of a SEZ in Tada mandal.

Over an extended period of four days (from 19 to 23 February 2008) the FFM visited several villages in the area
and had an intensive interaction with the people - public meetings as well as individual, face-to-face interviews.
While assessing the concerns of the community as a whole, the FFM paid particular attention to special groups
such as women and the youth. The people’s narratives and responses were scrupulously documented, and after due
analyses, the FFM came up with a set of its observations and recommendations.

The Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vruthidarula Union (APVVU), a trade union federation for social change, was the
main contact group for the FFM. APVVU has long been working with the vulnerable groups in the society, such
as women, dalits and tribals. It has been particularly active on the Krishnapatnam port issue for the last two years
now and has also been involved with the tribal people’s movement on land rights issue in Tada mandal against the
SEZ.

Case I: Expansion of the port in Midderevu and Ramalingapuram, Nellore district

The Backdrop
Due to the proposed expansion of the port in Krishnapatnam, a total of 15 villages with over 4500 people are
facing major challenges and changes to their lives and livelihood resources. Residents of three (3) of these villages

Queuing for load. Trucks line up at the port area to dump the ore from elsewhere.

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 May 2008
are being evacuated while the inhabitants of the rest of the villages are confronted with loss of livelihood, pollution
and cultural erosion.

It may be stressed these villages were severe victims of the tsunami in 2005, who even then, were barely helped by the
government. Coming close on the heels of that calamity, the villagers are now faced with an even bigger catastrophe!
The inhabitants, belonging mainly to the fisher and other Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe communities, are very
poor with bare assets and no land titles. Fishing in the sea and the backwaters is their chief livelihood and means for
survival. But most of the families do not even own fishing boats and are therefore forced to work on a wage basis.
Some families jointly own boats and nets. The villagers also depend greatly on the Common Property Resources
(CPR) in the area. Access to facilities and services such as clean drinking water, health and education is limited, to
say the least.

Two years ago, the government took a unilateral decision to expand the port at Krishnapatnam in order to support
the increasing volume of activities at the nearby Chennai harbour and also develop a SEZ focusing on export and
import. The government did not consult the villagers and straightaway offered them a compensation package.

According to this package, the inhabitants of the four (4) villages to be evacuated would be provided an alternative
site to resettle. The package also includes a monetary compensation amounting to Rs. 1,06,000 or roughly USD
$2,600.00, corresponding to the income of one person per family for 865 days. In fact, some of the families have
already received this financial compensation, even though so far, notices have been served at only a few places but
nothing has been put down in writing.

The people in the other 10 villages are not slated to receive any compensation whatsoever. The villagers are
deeply unhappy and distressed with the entire scenario, especially the compensation package, and have organised
several demonstrations and protests and submitted petitions to the government. However, their voices have gone
unheeded.

Among the reasons for the villagers’ discontent is the fact that the relocation site for the four (4) villages is about
seven (7) kilometers inland, which does not offer any scope for fishing. In a single stroke, this would deprive
the entire community of their means for livelihood since they have no skill other than fishing. There has been
no training in skill enhancement envisaged either. The port itself would not provide much employment for the
fisherfolk, since it would be highly mechanised. On the other hand, the villagers fear that the activities in the port,
such as dredging, would pollute the water and destroy breeding grounds, thereby adversely affecting the availability
of fish in the area. In fact, this has already begun to happen and the people are seeing smaller catches and poor
quality of fish.

Even the people in the villages not earmarked for eviction will suffer greatly since their access to the fishing areas
will get blocked and diverted. And, not the least, the expansion of the port will usher in alien customs and practices,
eroding local culture and traditional ways of life. No less than the loss of livelihood, this is a matter of great agony
and distress for the people living in established communities for long periods of time, like for instance, the people
of Ramalingpuram, which is said to be in existence for the last two hundred years.

The People speak out

The FFM called a general meeting in Midderevu village, in order to get an idea of how the communities, families
and individuals were being affected by this entire process. The meeting was attended by around 55 people, of which
22 were women.

Midderevu is an island. Normally, it takes an hour to reach there. But with the port expansion work underway,
it took the FFM team almost two (2) hours to reach. The village comprises 160 households with about one

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 Speak Out! Communities Asserting Their Rights To Food Sovereignty
Ravadee Prasertchorensoek of SDF of Thailand, member of the
fact finding team, listens and documents the stories of community
members.
Young and old listen to the stories of other villagers on the threat
of eviction.
When asked how many have gone to school, only few people
raised their hand. But with or without education, they know they
have the right to live with dignity.
6
thousand people. There is a primary school, a temple
and a cultural/festival ground in the village.
The people informed the team that the government
had already conducted a primary survey, including
assessment of property and served notice to the villagers
about two and a half years back. Since the land was
being acquired for a public purpose, a public hearing
had also been hastily organised but no villager had
attended the hearing. In fact, from the very beginning,
the entire process was devoid of any participation by
the villagers, who should have been involved as clearly
they were the ones having the most at stake.
Mr. Govindaya, one of the village chiefs, spoke
eloquently about the terrible shock the entire
community felt when the eviction notice was served
to them. The community, at the time, was barely
recovering from the effects of the tsunami. As it is, in
the aftermath of that disaster, there had been little by
way of government support in rebuilding their lives
and livelihoods. The villagers have been compelled
to buy boats by taking out loans at very high interest
rates, in cash and kind (50% of the catch) which they
were still paying off. The average income ranges from
Rs. 500 to Rs. 1000/day/boat or USD $12 to 24
(with 5 people) on sea and about Rs. 200/day/boat
(USD $5) in the backwaters. Each boat requires 10
to 15 litres of fuel per day. Dry fish business, with
most of the sorting and drying being done by women,
brings in approximately Rs 70 (less than USD $2)
a day to a family. One of the women interviewed,
Nandini, put it trenchantly when she said: “Here we
know our work related to fishing but what will we do
outside? We do not know any other way of earning
our livelihood. What should we do?” But they are
left with few alternatives. All the ten women-headed
families in Midderevu have reluctantly accepted the
compensation offered by the government and signed
the official papers.
The same story is unfolding in Ramalingapuram where
too the FFM held a meeting and interviewed the
locals. The residents of Ramalingapuram are as poor
as their counterparts in Midderevu. The daily income
of three people per boat amounts to Rs. 500–1000.
Most have taken loans from middlemen, to be repaid
at the usual high rate of 50% of the catch, even though
as a consequence of the ongoing port expansion, fish
catches in the backwaters have dwindled dramatically
 May 2008
over the last six (6) months, iron ore dust has been polluting the atmosphere and reports of respiratory trouble have
started coming in. The Government has served notices and the villagers have signed the papers as their livelihoods
have already been destroyed and relocation is inevitable. Although the area has been settled for two hundred years,
all the land is owned by the government and villagers have no option but to move. But the sense of loss material,
psychological and cultural is immense. As one of the locals put it: “Once displaced, always displaced. We will
become vulnerable for ever.”

What are the demands of the villagers and the responses of the government?

A sum of six lakh (hundred thousand) rupees or USD $15,000 is being demanded. The Government has provided
Rs. 1,06,000 (USD $2,600) only and that too for evacuee families only. One hectare of land per family is being
asked for but not given. The demand for a separate fishing harbour with good roads and bus connections has met
with the same negative response. The Government is unwilling to provide compensation for boats and nets, neither
is it going to double the compensation for existing houses. A demand for providing livelihood loss compensation
for two years and for two persons for every family, since men and women share the work equally, has met with
limited success. Finally, no provision has been made for training the people in new skills.

In all, the Government is providing Rs. 1,06,000 to each evacuee family towards loss of livelihood, and is
constructing new and pucca (permanent) houses for them besides providing two acres of land for burial ground.
The new settlement site is expected to be completed and ready in two months’ time, by when the people must also
move out of their old settlement as well.

As the FFM sees it

Background research, alongwith intensive interaction with the community led the FFM team to come up with
a series of observations and recommendations about the ongoing port expansion in Krishnapatnam. It may
be mentioned here that despite their best efforts, the team was unable to secure interviews with the concerned
authorities and so there have been no inputs from the Government.

The FFM concluded that the expansion of the port at Krishnapatnam was violating the Right to Food (RTF) of the
people as well as their food sovereignty in the 14 villages by cutting off or restricting their access to food as well as
by corrupting and polluting their food producing sources. Further, there would be little for the people in the port
project by way of alternative employment opportunities due to their lack of relevant skills and the absence of any
training programs towards this by the Government. The steady erosion of culture and the loss of moorings both
physical and psychological are adding to the sufferings of the communities thereby creating a profound sense of
helplessness and grief.

The FFM recommends that the following steps be taken without delay:

• Violation of villagers’ RTF and food sovereignty should be immediately stopped by restricting any further
expansion of the port in Krishnapatnam.
• The rights of the landless tribal and traditional families over the Common Property Resources (CPR)
should be duly recognised and reinstated.
• The victims of violations of rights in all 14 villages should be properly and adequately compensated and
rehabilitated. Rehabilitation should be comprehensive in economic, social and cultural terms.
• The government should take immediate steps to provide the fisher-folk with a separate harbour to ensure
their food security.
• All current and future development planning in the area must ensure timely and total involvement of the
locals, particularly the marginalised and vulnerable groups such as the tribals and dalits.

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 Speak Out! Communities Asserting Their Rights To Food Sovereignty
Case II: Establishment of SEZ and Apache Footwear unit in NM Kandriga and Peeda
Mambattu, in Tada, Nellore district
Apache sets up shop
In Tada mandal of Nellore district, a SEZ is being set up by the state. Spread over 13 villages, it measures a total of
2450 acres, of which about 365 acres is temple land. Apache Footwear, a multinational shoes and assorted accessories
manufacturer has already started a production unit here, covering an area of 450 acres. Apache Footwear Ltd is
an authorised manufacturer of the Adidas sports shoes, and already has two (2) manufacturing facilities in China.

There are nearly 800 families with over 3200 people inhabiting the 13 villages, who are facing serious consequences
arising from the construction of the SEZ. The villagers largely belong to Schedule Caste, Schedule Tribe and
Backward Caste, and are poor with few assets. They are mainly engaged in fishing, firewood selling and coolie work
for their livelihood. The FFM team visited NM Kandriga ST Colony village where it interacted extensively with
the locals as well as representatives from other affected villages.

The first and the most significant point raised by the villagers was their “settler” status. For example, NM Kandriga
is mainly a tribal village of 34 families with approximately 200 people, who have been cultivating the land for more
than 30 years. And still, most of them do not possess any title to the land, making it easier for the government to
acquire the land by compensating only the few landowners and moving the people as a whole. The Chief Minister
of the state has promised employment to one person from each family in the SEZ, but the people do not trust
his verbal promise. Apache Footwear has not made any commitment towards giving jobs to the affected villagers,
though it has currently employed 18–20 youth from several villages on a salary of Rs. 1800/month (USD $45/
month). The situation is similar in the other villages.

Here are the stories of some of the villages and their people.

NM Kandriga ST Colony village

A predominantly Scheduled Tribe village, NM Kandriga has only 34 families. The people were originally a nomadic
community but were settled here at the initiative of the state government. However, the people do not possess any
agricultural land. Majority of the villagers do agricultural labour on a casual basis. Men earn Rs. 100 (USD 2.50)
and women Rs. 80 (USD $2.00). The main crop is groundnuts. But now with their land being acquired for the
SEZ, sharecropping is no longer practiced and so, even this meager income has been lost. Besides, the villagers
would also collect firewood and graze animals, mainly goats and buffaloes, depending entirely for this on the
common property resources which have become inaccessible, with the coming up of the factory. Moreover, the
disposal of industrial waste has resulted in pollution and an unhealthy, foul smelling atmosphere in the village and
its environs.

The villagers have organised rallies and demonstrations at the district headquarters, and submitted petitions to
the government. Their key demand is land – 2 acres of patta (lease) land for each family. They also want the
government to give them boats and nets. Responding to the agitation mounted by the locals, representatives from
ITDA (Integrated Tribal Development Agency which is a government agency) visited the village and discussions
were held with the people. Subsequently, a few families received loans for buying sheep, but the talks failed to
resolve the central issue of land. The people want land while the authorities are only willing to give loans.

In protest, the villagers have collectively, forcibly acquired 30 acres of land close to their villages and have started
cultivating the same. The villagers vow to continue the fight and are demanding a complete rehabilitation package,
with land as the principal point on the agenda. Another key demand is the recognition of the tribal community’s

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 May 2008
access to the CPR on a priority basis by the state
government. However, opinion is somewhat varied
on how to handle the government pressure. Dalits
generally feel that they would not be able to keep up
their resistance if the state chose to apply force. The
tribals, on the other hand, are adamant and refuse
to move, even if the government accedes to their
demands.

A conversation with some of the youth in the village

brought out a clearer picture of the villagers’ plight and
their expectations. Assured, long-term employment
is a top priority for them. At the moment, they are
only able to get casual work as agricultural workers
or manual labourers in the Apache complex. Lack of Apache, surrounded by barb wires, manufactures shoes for
education and training is hampering their efforts to Adidas.
be taken in as regular workers in the factory. Also, no
woman has got an employment in the factory as yet.
At no point, has there been a sincere and sustained
initiative on the part of the government to inform the
public about the SEZ, and no attempt has been made
to take the people’s views into consideration. Promises
have been only verbal and perfunctory.

Chinnamambattu
There are 20 Schedule Tribe households in the
village, who survive by fishing in Pulicat Lake and
other inland waterbodies during the rainy season
and by working as labourers in salt panes during the
summers. To supplement their scanty income from
fishing, about Rs 50-100 (USD $1.25 to $2.50) per Villagers narrate how they have been out of work as Apache
family per day, they collect and sell firewood, making built walls and fences around their village preventing them from
planting and fishing.
additional Rs 40 (USD $1) or so. Somewhat nomadic
in nature, there have been efforts by the state to settle
them. Educational and other facilities are meager with
only one girl from among the 20 families currently
studying in the 10th standard (High school). As land
acquisition for the SEZ picks up further steam and
Apache starts production, the villagers are going to be
confronted with serious challenges to their livelihood
and lifestyle. Inland fishing has all but stopped due
to increasing unavailability of fish as a result of the
pollution caused by the factory. Land is getting
sequestered and fenced off for the SEZ, leaving the
villagers without a chance to collect firewood. To top
of it all, no systematic, informative and participatory
process has been initiated by the state, which has
only served to add to the villagers’ sense of confusion The giant shoe factory, Apache, is surrounded by fence. Ironically,
and predicament. They strongly feel that it is the the factory also fenced most part of its location, preventing
villagers to access their farms and fishing grounds.

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 Speak Out! Communities Asserting Their Rights To Food Sovereignty
Women suffer the most in this village. They narrate how they only
eat 2 times a day as they have no source of income.
FFM members Ravadee Prasertchorenseok (SDF Thailand)
Ujjaini Halim (IMSE West Bengal) listen to stories of community
members.
10
bounden duty of the government to let them pursue
their traditional livelihood without obstruction and
interference.
Kundur
Kundur is a small Scheduled Tribe village consisting
of 13 families, making a living through fishing and
agricultural labour. Although the government has
constructed houses for them, the land around their
homes belongs to an absentee landlord. Of the 120
acres of land in and around the village, 80 acres have
already been sold off by their private owners for the
SEZ while the rest is slated to be acquired in the
near future. This has created all-round problem for
the villagers, who have lost their jobs as agricultural
labourers due to the land use change, who have now
to take a circuitous route to reach their fishing areas,
and find that their fishing ponds and lakes have been
denuded of fish due to pollution. In this situation,
they hope and expect that the government will protect
the waterbodies and help them with boats and nets
and so that they can pursue their traditional livelihood
without hindrance or problem.
Kasimkhankhandiga
Of the 58 households in this Schedule Tribe village,
only 14 have house titles. Just like other villagers in their
neighbourhood, inhabitants of Kasimkhankhandiga
eke out a meager existence by fishing, collecting
firewood and working as agricultural labourers. Fishing
for three months in the year fetches about Rs. 80/day/
family (USD $2) , while Rs 40 rupees /day (USD $1)
can be made by selling firewood. Their agricultural
wages amount to Rs. 60 (USD $1.50) a day for men
and Rs. 40 for women, which compares poorly with
the minimum wage of Rs. 80/day stipulated in Andhra
Pradesh itself. Pollution, loss of agricultural land and
CPR have posed for these people the same problems
as their counterparts in other villages. To date, not a
soul from the village has found employment with the
Apache Footwear.
Anda Gundala
There are 67 families, all semi-nomadic, in this
Scheduled Tribe village. The state has constructed
houses for all of them. One woman works in an NGO
as a teacher and there is one male teacher as well. But
 May 2008
the main sources of livelihood for the people from this village are agricultural labour and fishing in Pulicat Lake,
which is 7-8 km away. Cordoning off the land for the SEZ has forced them to take an even longer route to their
fishing grounds. They want the government to give them boats and nets and remove obstructions.

FFM steps in
The FFM team concluded that the creation of the SEZ has restricted the access of the villagers to CPR such as
grazing grounds and the waterbodies thereby significantly limiting their income opportunities and pushing them
on to a state of hunger and starvation. But the restrictions are a violation of the Right to Food and Livelihood
as well as food sovereignty of all the villagers who live in the above villages. No tribal family has so far received
any compensation from the government for the loss of livelihood. Additionally, since the entire process is being
planned and executed without any meaningful participation by the local people, they have virtually remained
“invisible” and mere pawns in the “game of development.”

The FFM advocates the following measures to be implemented with immediate effect:

• The violation of the Right to Food and food sovereignty of the people must be stopped forthwith and each
family be allotted two acres of land for cultivation.
• The rights of the landless families to receive compensation/rehabilitation for the loss of livelihoods must be
duly acknowledged and appropriate steps taken.
• Landless families be given top priority in land redistribution. The state should cease to act as the intermediary
between landowners and big companies in the land market.

Conclusion: Development for Everyone, Rights for All

Grounded in their focus on human rights and enriched by their experience on the field, the FFM team came
up with a series of thoughts and strategies at the end of their visit to Nellore. The group felt that in any project
undertaken by the state, the interests of the most marginalised groups and least empowered communities should
be especially safeguarded, at all times. The government should actively invite and promote public participation
in its policies and their implementation throughout. Clarity, fairness, transparency and effective delivery should
be the hallmarks of all government dealings with the general public at large. Capacity building, especially of the
poor, should receive greater emphasis. The macro economic policies of the state should by no means jeopardize the
livelihoods of individuals and communities at the micro, grassroots level.

With regard to the two cases discussed above, the FFM team was of the opinion that in such situations, collective
management of land by the people concerned would be the best option. The state must adequately consider the
impact of an SEZ on livelihoods and the food sovereignty of the communities living in the surrounding areas
before sanctioning any such project. The right to livelihood and food sovereignty of the people should first be
ensured before paving way for corporate profits. The people’s rights over common land and common property
resources should be duly acknowledged, respected and protected by the state.

The FFM team urges the state government of Andhra Pradesh as well as the central government of India to
reconsider SEZ policy in an inclusive manner. Accordingly, SEZ projects should be scrapped or curtailed.

The FFM team also thinks that steps need to be taken at the local level to organise the poor and to undertake policy
level advocacy and land rights campaigns.

Finally, The FFM team unanimously agreed to revisit the villages in the future and further strengthen their bonds
with the people.

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 Speak Out! Communities Asserting Their Rights To Food Sovereignty

PETITION LETTER: ANDHRA PRADESH STATE GOVERNMENT

To:

Justice Shri B. Subhashan Reddy

Chairperson
Andhra Pradesh State Human Rights Commission
Tele(o):24601574 Tele(r):23223381
Fax:24601573
E-Mail:aphumanrights@ap.nic.in

Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy

The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh,
‘C’ Block, 6th Floor, AP Secretariat
Office Phone: 23456698,23451805,23455205
Residence Phone: 23410333, 23410555, 23410666
Fax: (Off)23452498,23454828
E-Mail: cmap@ap.gov.in

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am highly concerned to know about the fate of the poor tribal and landless people of Midderevu, Ramalin-
gapuram and N. M.Kandiga ST Colony in Nellore (in Tada) district of Andhra Pradesh, India, who are facing
threats of imminent eviction and loss of livelihoods due to expansion of a port in Krishnapatnam and construction
of a SEZ in Tada.

It is very alarming to note that 14 villages in Krishnapatnam are facing threats of imminent eviction and thousands
of villagers are exposed to the threats of livelihood losses. These villages were mainly inhabited by poor landless
tribal and traditional fisher folks who had poor assets and no land title. They depended largely on Common
Property Resources (CPR) and fishing in back water and sea for survival. The eviction would result into complete
destruction of their livelihoods and would expose them to extreme vulnerable conditions.

The state government had proposed a relocation site for four villages far away from the back water and sea which
would jeopardise their livelihoods as fisher folks. Moreover, the landless fisher families, who would be victims of
marine & back water pollution would not receive any compensation and/or rehabilitation. These poor villagers
were largely uninformed about the expansion of the port during the planning and initial phase of allotment of land
and no consultation took place at grassroots to enable them to voice their opinions.

I am aware that the new port would create very little employment opportunities for the local people as this would be
highly mechanised and the activities in the port would result into large-scale pollution of surrounding environments.
The dredging done by the authorities for expansion of the port had already destroyed the breeding ground of the
fishes in the backwater and the fisher folks were suffering from poor catches. Expansion of port in Krishnapatnam has
undermined food sovereignty of the villagers in that area.

I am further very much concerned about the violation of right to food and food sovereignty of 12 tribal and Dalit
villages in Tada due to the construction of a SEZ in their locality. The Apache Company, which manufactured
shoes for national & international markets, like Adidas, set-up a production unit in this SEZ. The Government
provided 450 acres of land to this company in this SEZ and another 2000 acres of land would be gradually handed
over to other companies for developing production units in this SEZ.

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 May 2008

Due to the construction of this SEZ and fencing of nearby lands, the tribal people from 12 villages had no access
to nearby grazing grounds, fields and water bodies, which resulted into chronic hunger and malnutrition. These
tribal families were landless and had very poor assets for pursuing a safe and sustainable livelihood. They are en-
titled to receive government land on a priority basis as per land reform programme but in reality the reverse process
is taking place as vast tracts of lands, surrounding their villages, are given to SEZ by the government, making it
impossible for these tribal families to derive their livelihoods from CPR. The tribal families also lost employment
as agricultural labourers when the government turned over the agricultural lands to the SEZ. I am also aware that
there are very limited employment opportunities for these unskilled tribal people in the newly constructed SEZ.

In brief these landless tribal families remained invisible in the ‘development’ planning of the state government in
this area but they became helpless victims of such development process.

On the basis of these information and in order to uphold rights and justice I would like to request you to take
following measures immediately:

In Krishnapatnam:
• The violation of Right to Food (RTF) should be immediately stopped in and around Krishnapatnam port by
restricting further expansion of the port
• The rights of these landless tribal and traditional families over CPR should be duly acknowledged and rein-
stated.
• The victims of violations of rights in the above villages should be adequately compensated and rehabilitated.
Rehabilitation should be adequate in economic, social and cultural terms.
• The government should immediately take steps to provide these fisher folks with a separate fishing harbour
so as to ensure their food security.
• All development planning in this region should ensure effective participation of the villagers with a focus on
participation of marginalised communities like the tribal and Dalit groups.

In Tada
• The violation of right to food of these tribal people should be immediately stopped and the government
should allot two acres of land to each tribal family for cultivation with an immediate effect.
• The rights of these landless families to receive adequate compensation/rehabilitation for the loss of liveli-
hoods should be duly acknowledged and enforced by the state without further delay.
• The land should be given to landless families on a priority basis and the state should refrain from playing
the role of intermediary in the land market between the big companies and the land owners for developing
SEZ.

In the context of these two cases, I would like to highlight the states’ human rights obligations which include
strengthening the capacity of the poor to pursue livelihoods by providing them with resources, assistance and by
facilitating their access to productive resources/environment. The macro economic policy of the state should not
jeopardise the livelihoods of millions at micro level. I hope that the steps taken by you in these two cases would
respect protect and fulfil the rights of the poor tribal and Dalits in krishnapatnam and Tada and would ensure
their food sovereignty in a long run.

I would very much appreciate if you keep me informed about the future developments regarding these two cases
in Nellore district.

Yours sincerely

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 Speak Out! Communities Asserting Their Rights To Food Sovereignty

PETITION LETTER: ADIDAS

To

The Global Director

Adidas Social and Environmental Affairs Team (SEA)
Social & Environmental Affairs
Adidas
World of Sports
Adi-Dassler-Straße 1
91074 Herzogenaurach, Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 9132 / 84 - 0
Fax: +49 (0) 9132 / 84 - 3242
Email: sustainability@adidas-group.com

Dear Sir/Madam,

I would like to draw your kind attention to a matter of great concern in Andhra Pradesh India. I am highly con-
cerned to know about the fate of the poor tribal and landless people of 12 tribal and Dalit villages in Tada, who
are facing threats of imminent starvation due to the establishment of a shoe manufacturing unit of the Apache
Footwear Ltd., which is an authorised manufacturer of the Adidas sports shoes, inside a Special Economic Zone
close to these villages. The Government provided 450 acres of land to this company in this SEZ for the production
of shoes to be exported mainly to international markets.

Due to the construction of this shoe production unit in this SEZ and fencing of nearby lands the tribal people
from 12 villages had no access to nearby grazing grounds, fields and water bodies, which resulted into chronic
hunger and malnutrition. These tribal families were landless and had very poor assets for pursuing a safe and sus-
tainable livelihood. They are entitled to receive government land on a priority basis as per land reform programme
but in reality the reverse process is taking place as vast tracts of lands, surrounding their villages, are given to the
Apache Footwear Ltd in the SEZ by the government, making it impossible for these tribal families to derive their
livelihoods from Common Property Resources. The tribal families also lost employment as agricultural labour-
ers when the government turned over the agricultural lands to the Apache Footwear Ltd. I am further aware that
there are very limited employment opportunities for these unskilled tribal people in the newly constructed shoe
manufacturing unit of Apache Footwear.

As a well reputed and responsible company I am sure Adidas upholds the basic human rights principles and the
rights of poor to have access to food and/or food producing resources. The activities of the Apache Footwear Ltd
in the SEZ near Tada have seriously undermined the food sovereignty of tribal people and Dalits. In the circum-
stances, referring to your corporate commitments to human rights and your commitments to corporate social
responsibilities I would request you to take following steps immediately:
• Take immediate steps against the Apache footwear Ltd. which is violating right to food of hundreds of vil-
lagers in Tada
• Inspect the depth and dimension of the livelihood losses in that area due to the shoe productions of the
Apache Company and compensate the villagers adequately for their losses
• Emphasise on respecting human rights principles and upholding the food sovereignty of the local people in
all your future cooperation with the Apache Footwear Ltd. in Andhra Pradesh and elsewhere in India.

In the context of this case, I would like to draw your attention to the states’ human rights obligations, which in-
clude taking steps against those ‘third parties’ which destroy right to food of the people. I hope that the steps taken

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 May 2008

by you in this case would secure the rights of the poor tribal and Dalits and would ensure their food sovereignty
in a long run. Your proactive role in safeguarding the food sovereignty of poor tribal and Dalits in Tada would be
highly appreciated by all and would increase the good reputation of Adidas, world-wide.

I would very much appreciate if you keep me informed about the future developments regarding this case in
Andhra Pradesh

Yours sincerely,

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 Speak Out! Communities Asserting Their Rights To Food Sovereignty

People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS) is a growing

network of various grassroots groups of small food producers
particularly of peasant-farmer organisations and their support
NGOs, working towards a People’s Convention on Food
Sovereignty.

Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP) is

one of five regional centres of PAN, a global network working to
eliminate the human and environmental harm caused by pesticides,
and to promote biodiversity-based ecological agriculture.

“Our vision is a society that is truly democratic, equal, just,

culturally diverse, and based on food sovereignty, gender justice
and environmental sustainability”. Thus PAN AP asserts people’s
food sovereignty based on the right to food for all, founded
on the right to land and productive resources and the right of
communities to decide on our own food and agriculture policies.
We are committed to protect the safety and health of people and
the environment from pesticide use, and genetic engineering in
food and agriculture. We strive to protect and promote the rights,
equality and dignity of women. We will promote and protect
biodiversity based ecological agriculture. Our goal is to strengthen
people’s movements to eliminate hunger and achieve food
sovereignty. We endeavour to achieve these goals by empowering
people within effective networks at the Asia and the Pacific, and
global levels.

Based in Penang, Malaysia, Pesticide Action Network Asia and the

Pacific is linked to more than 150 groups in 18 countries in the
Asia Pacific region.

Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific

P.O. Box 1170, 10850 Penang, Malaysia People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty
Tel: 604-657 0271/656 0381 c/o PAN AP
Fax: 604-658 3960 E-mail: secretariat@foodsov.org
Email: panap@panap.net http://www.foodsov.org
http://www.panap.net

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