SIR: Residents Of 12 Disputed Border Villages Filled Enumeration Forms For Two States

Now, they are expecting notices from the Election Commission for filling enumeration forms for votes in two states. They are likely to be asked to retain their votes in one of the two states.

The residents say they will retain their votes in the state that issues pattas to their lands when the EC ask them to retain their votes in only one state.

Resident Kamble Pragna of Parandholi said, “She filled the enumeration form for two states and will retain her vote in the state that issues pattas to their lands.”

Parandholi Gram Panchayat member Kamble Laxman, who was elected as sarpanch in the past for both the states, said the revenue officials of Komaram Bheem Asifabad district had visited the disputed villages and asked about their demands when they refused to fill the enumeration forms.

The forest department, he said, made efforts to plant trees in the lands they have been cultivating for the last 50 years, but residents opposed this. Laxman said the revenue officials promised the residents that they would take their demand to the notice of the Telangana government and ensure pattas are issued to their lands.

Laxman said the Telangana government has stopped issuing pahanis to their lands after 2014. Earlier they used to get crop loans from the banks with the pahani certificates.

The residents of disputed villages want that at least the two states take a final decision on the disputed villages in this critical time when EC says that a voter should have only one voter identity card and is likely to remove duplicate votes.

Till now, the residents of 12 villages are getting welfare benefits and development works from both states and have voter ID cards from both; and exercise their votes in both states. The situation may change in the future since they can't retain votes in both states and are eliminated as part of mapping.

Ramdas Ranveer of Mukhaddamguda, who recently met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, said, “The Maharashtra government has conducted a land survey in the disputed villages after a section of residents of disputed villages met the CM and brought the issue to his notice.”

Ramdas said the revenue officials who conducted the survey promised to issue pattas soon to the lands that are being cultivated by the local residents and added that most of the Cs and Dalits do not have pattas to their lands. He said there was pressure on residents of disputed villages from the revenue officials of Telangana to fill the enumeration forms.

Soon, he said, the residents are going to have only one vote, whether it is in Telangana or Maharashtra, following the EC rules and opined that it’s high time for the residents of the disputed villages to stop the misuse of having ‘double votes’.

The Maharashtra government has constituted a committee to look into the issue of disputed lands and issuing pattas, with Chandrapur collector Vasumana Pant as its secretary and revenue and lands department commissioner as chairman.