Adilabad: Hundreds of applications of Adivasi farmers seeking corrections in forest patta passbooks and transfer of land rights to family members following the demise of the landowner are pending with forest, revenue, and ITDA officials.
Adivasis allege that officials were deliberately delaying the process so as to deny them the rights on forest lands. The officials are hoodwinking gullible adivasis by asking them to apply for Rythu Bandhu As corrections were not made in the pattas, their applications were rejected in the past too, they alleged.
Thudumdebba district president Godam Ganesh said hundreds of petitions have been submitted to ITDA officials seeking corrections in the patta passbooks (ROFR) issued to the forest lands they have cultivated over the years. He wondered how ITDA officials could pay Rythu Bandhu benefits without first clearing the pending applications of adivasi farmers.
Many adivasis say that the state government was first giving Rythu Bandhu amount through cheques and later it was deposited into the accounts online. However, cheques issued in the past served no purpose as the applications were rejected because of lack of personal details.
It is time the officials conduct a survey at the ground-level through village secretary and tahsildars to make corrections in the patta passbooks otherwise many adivasis will lose their Rythu Bandhu benefits.
