Tribals fail to get rights on lands

Adilabad, Nov. 22: Tribals’ hopes were shattered as far as rights on forest lands under the Recognition of Forest Rights Act, 2006 are concerned, due to the huge delay in issuing of pattas for forest lands they have been cultivating for a long time.

Tribals are not getting benefits under various government schemes as they do not have pattadar passbooks for their lands.

The tribal organisations are planning to launch a state-wide agitation to mount pressure on state government for issuing pattas immediately to forest lands.

Taking advantage of the delay in the issue of title deeds, middlemen have entered the scene and are exploiting gullible tribals, promising them of pattadar passbooks.

Adilabad was the first in the state where the highest acreage of forest land was identified for issue pattas under the new Act.

District officials had identified nearly 1.20 lakh acres of forest land but pattas have not been issued even to half of the total identified land so far in the district.

There are allegation that some revenue and forest staff are demanding bribes from tribals for issuing pattas.

The state government took the initiative to develop tribal lands under the National Rural Employment Scheme (NREGS) and is spending Rs 90,000 for each family for the purpose but tribals are not in a position to avail this because they did not have pattas for the lands.

There are also allegations that forest officials are deliberately creating hurdles in issuing pattas to forest lands.

It is learnt that forest officials are placing a condition on tribals that they raise plantations for issuing pattas under the new Act in Srikakulam and Vijayanagaram districts.

Speaking to this correspondent, Sidam Shambu, district president of the Adivasi Ikya Porata Committee, regretted that triabals were losing benefits from government due to lack of pattadar passbooks for their lands. He added that they could not even get compensation for crop failure though the state government had declared Adilabad as drought-hit.