Khammam: Lack of a clear cut policy on podu cultivation in the state, greed of some tribals who had already taken lands under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, and some tribals who are acting as puppets in the hands of the politicians are the reasons for the ongoing attacks on forest personnel in various places in Telangana.
The TRS president and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao opened a pandora’s box on podu before the Assembly elections while addressing a public meeting, as part of poll campaigning in Mahabubabad. The CM promised to the tribals that the podu issue would be resolved after the elections.
The CM’s statement was understood differently by various sections of the tribals.
Genuine adivasis who were seeking rights on lands pinned hopes on getting pattas on the forest land.
Greedy tribals, coming under the BC category in Maharashtra, eyed vast stretches of forest land in the name of their family members.
The original adivasis were not given lands under the Forest Rights Act due to their ignorance and lack of awareness. They sought right on their land very late. Issuing pattas to this section of adivasis is not being objected by even the forest department officials.
The greedy tribals, already in possession of the land under the Act and enjoying the benefits, want to take more from the government by claiming that they were tribals and belong to a backward section of the community.
They had already applied for land under the Forest Act in the name of their sons, daughters, sons-in-law and
daughters-in-law.
For example, Madakam Kanakaiah got patta on 10 acres of land under Rorest Rights Act. However, he applied for more land in the name of his son and daughter when they were at the age of 10 and 12 respectively.
Now, they are majors and are seeking allotment of land to them. There are hundreds of such cases in the mandals.
A majority of the tribals falling in this category have migrated to the district from other areas.
Such people can be seen in Allapalli, Gundala, Mulakalapalli, Tekula-palli, Enkoor and Julurpad mandals in Kothagudem district.
The third category of tribals, namely those acting as puppets in the hands of politicians and landlords, are encroaching the forest lands and ploughing them.
These politicians and landlords have ownership on thousands of acres. A forest official, on condition of anonymity, said, “The lands in the name of politicians and landlords would be between 2,000 acres to 2,500 acres in various mandals.
The landlords will put the tribals in the fore, in case of raids by the forest officials. Maize and cotton are raised in these fields and crores of rupees are earned.”
The Left parties, spearheading the stirs on behalf of the tribals, know all the three sections. However, the Left leaders maintain stragegic silence on the issue as they get party funds from them.
It is for these reasons that even after 13 years of formulating the historic law to give forest dwellers legal ownership of their land, the issue still hangs in balance.
K. Ramnarayana, an activist of forest lands, said, “The government should take all the issues into consideration and try to end the confusion by checking the greedy tribals and politicians and doing justice to the genuine adivasis.”
