Mangaluru: The longstanding demand of the people living in Thandas (unrecorded habitations) in North Karnataka districts will be fulfilled with Prime Minister Narendra Modi distributing title deeds to them at a program in Kalaburagi district on Jan 19.
This will help about 50,000 Thanda dwellers in Vijayapura (partial), Kalaburagi, Yadgiri, Raichur, and Bidar districts.
In line with the Prime Minister’s vision of 100 percent saturation of government schemes, about 1475 unrecorded habitations have been declared as new revenue villages in five districts.
Modi will distribute title deeds to the eligible beneficiaries of these newly declared revenue villages during a program at Sedam in Kalaburagi district on Thursday.
“This will help about fifty thousand families. Most of these are from the Lambani community,” Karnataka Thanda Development Corporation Ltd Chairman P Rajeev told Deccan Chronicle.
“Within a month we will hold a similar program in Davangere and provide title deeds to about 45,000 families in Davangere, Chitradurga, Shivamogga, Tumakuru, and Haveri. Later we will do it in Vijayapura for the people of Bagalkot, Gadag, Koppal, and Vijayapura (partial). With this we will be able to meet the longstanding demand of the people living in Thanda,” he said.
“When I took charge as the Chairman, my first proposal was to provide title deeds for the people living in these Thandas. Former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, president Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, and Revenue Minister R Ashoka have helped in fulfilling this demand,” he added.
“British wanted the Lambani community to work for them in transporting their goods and army supplies. As the community did not agree because of nationalism, the British declared them a criminal tribe. As a result to evade the British the community settled in forests and away from cities. Their settlement came to be known as Thanda. These Thanda are on private land, government land, and forest land. They did not have ownership of the land. As the Thanda was not mentioned in official documents, they were deprived of all facilities like education, health, road, and water. Their longstanding demand has been fulfilled now,” Rajeev narrated.
The beneficiaries are mostly from the marginalized and vulnerable communities from the SC, ST, and OBC.
The Prime Minister will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for various projects during his visit on Thursday.
He will lay the foundation stone of the Yadgiri multi-village drinking water supply scheme under the Jal Jeevan Mission, inaugurate Narayanpur Left Bank Canal – Extension Renovation and Modernisation Project (NLBC – ERM), and lay the foundation stone of the 65.5 km section of NH-150C.
