Sir,

Sub:-Mines and Quarries – Viskhapatnam District – Quarry – Lease for colour Granite – Extent Hec.4.00 in S.No.65/2 in Madigunta village – Chintapalli mandal – Application of M/s Gallop Granites Ltd. – Classification and availability of the Area – Inspection the site – Report sent – Regarding.

Ref: Lr.No.1381/Q4/93 of A.P. of Geology, Visakhapatnam dt.6.5.95

I invite attention to the reference cited. I have inspected the site in S.No.65/2 of Madigunta village. The total area of the Survey and Sub Division 65-2 is Hec.3.55 ars. The land was classified as A.W.D. Gayal and it was rocky hill with GRANITE. The rate of land assessed at 2.91 Hector and classified as CST VII S.No.

Yours faithfully,

Mandal Revenue Officer,
Chintapally

Copy to M/s Gallop Granite Ltd.
C/o.Reddy Rajulu D/No.7-8-17, Harbour port, Kesturba

4 January 1995

Sir,

Sub: Proceedings of Assistant Director Mines and Geology, Visakhapatnam, sanctioning a lease for quarrying granite in the Madigunta village of Chintapally mandal Survey No. 65/2 extent 3.55 hectares for a period of 15 years with effect from dated 20.9.1993.- Action requested for cancellation of lease - reg.

Ref: Proceedings No. 1381/9/93, dated 20.9.1993 of Assistant Director of Mines and Geology, Visakhapatnam.

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I am glad to introduce our organisation SAKTI working for the welfare of tribals based at Rampachodavaram. Recently we have extended our activities to the Koyyuru and adjacent mandals of Visakha agency area.

I came to know about above referred lease and consequent attempts of the company to start the quarrying of the granite in the Madigunta village during my field visits.

I am of the opinion that the lessee one Reddi Rajulu who is proprietor of M/s. Gallop Granites acting through a general power of Attorney Holder Sri C.H. Hanumantha Rao is a benami for the non-tribal partners in the company.

Reddi Rajulu is a poor tribal of Puligommulapadu village of Addateegala mandal, East Godavari District who has neither financial nor managerial capabilities to take up the quarrying business operations.

I think the Assistant Director Mines and Geology, Visakhapatnam did not enquire into the details and the legal positions before sanctioning quarry lease in the Scheduled Areas.

Sanctioning lease to the firms having non-tribals members or power of Attorney Holder is violative of A.P. Schedule Area Land Transfer Regulation Act, 1/59. At our instance, the High Court of A.P. has quashed the leases issued to non-tribals in the judgement delivered in the Writ Petition 3734 of 1993. As a result of this judgement mining leases issued to non-tribals all over the scheduled areas have been cancelled by the Department of Mines and Industries .

I request you to conduct a detailed enquiry into the schedule tribes status of Reddi Rajulu and the bylaws and the members of the Gallop Granites for which he is the proprietor and take up the necessary action in this regard.

I came to know that the local tribals of these villages have represented to you and to the Project Officer ITDA to help them in forming a Labour Cooperative to extract the granite.

I request you to help the local tribals in benefiting with the resources available in their areas, by initiating an enquiry and suitable action against the lease sanctioned by the Assistant Director of Mines and Geology.

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely,

P. Sivarama Krishna

SAKTI

Copies to:
1. Director Mines and Geology, Government of Andhra Pradesh,
2. The Project Officer, ITDA, Paderu, Visakhapatnam Dist.
3. The Divisional Forest Officer, Narsipatnam, Visakhapatnam.
4. Shri A.L. Narsimha murthy, Visakha Zilla Navanirmana Samithi, Narsipatnam, Visakha Dt.

THE LEASE WAS CANCELLED BY THE SUB-COLLECTOR, PADERU

- The Times of India August 2 - C Lokeswara Rao

The Times of India News Serivce

HYDERABAD, August 2.

The Andhra Pradesh high court has granted interim orders staying a state government move to privatise exploitation of Sundra trees. "Kattha", an ingredient of pan masala, is produced form Sundra wood.

Mr Justice Upendralal Waghray issued the interim orders on a petition filed by Dr Sivaramakrishna of Sakti, a voluntary agency. The orders said that sundra trees in Karimnagar and Khammam districts should not be leased to anyone except tribals.

The move to privatise exploitation of sundra trees is viewed as a typical example of the way government takes steps detrimental to lip service to the goal of tribal welfare. The injustices suffered by tribals provide a ready plank for Naxalites. Extremists also get to collect donations from traders and contractors. Thus, in more ways that one, the government’s move mocks at the strategy of adopting a holistic approach towards the Naxalite problem.

In the case of sundra trees, the present move for privatisation seeks to reverse the commendable steps to reverse the commendable steps taken by the very same state government a few years ago. Thanks to the co-operatives promoted by it since 1988, the tribals who used to work for wages to produce "kattha" , graduated to the status of members

of co-operatives who get wages for work done and can also look forward to their share of profits from the sale of finished "katha" to merchants. If the government were to go ahead with privatisation, these tribals would have had to revert to the status of labourers working for wages with privately owned "katha" units.

The Andhra Pradesh government issued orders in 1988 to limit lease of sundra trees in Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam and Warangal districts to co-operatives of tribals. The integrated tribal development agency took the initiative to promote such co-operatives and teach them "Kattha" making with the help of labourers from Madhya Pradesh. In the past, local tribals used to work with contractors form M.P. for wages.

The government’s initiative worked well, going by the experience of tribal families selected for training in remote areas like Utnoor in Adilabad district or Eturu Nagaram in Warangal district. Trainee families picked up stipend wages of Rs 1050 per month and also earned profits of about Rs 7000 per family, after deducting expenses like payments to skilled labour from M.P. and royalty payable to forest department.

What merits admiration is the fact that poor tribals were imparted skills and enabled to secure a just share in the profits earned by producing a value added product from forest produce. Kattha produced from sundra wood fetched Rs 134 per kg in an auction held in June 1991. Twenty one traders from different states took part in the sale.

The orders issued in 1988 for granting sundra leases only to tribals were valid for three years. This year there were moves to bring in private parties. Non-tribal parties from Chhatharpur in Madhya Pradesh, Kota in Rajasthan and Hyderabad were reportedly in the running for lease of trees.

However, when orders were issued in June 1991, it was mentioned that sundra trees in Karimnagar and Khammam districts would be leased to other parties. This meant that the laudable venture of promoting tribal cooperatives was to be continued in Adilabad and Warangal districts.

This partial move for privatisation also evoked protests. Since cooperatives had worked well in some places there was no reason why private traders should be brought in other districts. There were also fears that once private traders entered the field on some pretext or the other, it would be difficult to control their activities. They may hold permits for cutting and transporting specific sundra trees to katha units, but they may misuse the permits for cutting other trees and transport them elsewhere. These fears were mostly based on past experience.

Ownership of Minor Forest Produce
Staying eviction of tribals from ‘forests’
EVICTING 10 MILLIONS TRIBALS FROM FORESTS
STATUS QUO ON TRIBALS’ EVICTION ORDERED

-The Hindu : October 25, 2002

By our Legal Correspondent

HYDERABAD, OCT 24, A Division Bench of the A.P. High Court, comprising two judges, on Thursday directed the State Government to maintain status quo regarding the proposals to evict tribals from forest lands.

These orders of far-reaching consequences were passed in a writ petition filed by P.Sivaramakrishna on behalf of SAKTI, a tribal voluntary organisation. The petitioner complained to the court that in the name of a circular from the Central Government and observations of the Supreme Court, the State Government and its officers were terrorising tribal people to evict them from the forest lands.

The judges – Motilal B.Naik and Dalva Subramanyam – enquired with Government pleaders as to how such action was taken.

The petitioner traced the history of the action of the Government to push the tribals out of the forests since 1855 and lamented that present constitutional governments were pursuing the same policies. Counsel for the petitioner, Ramalingeswara Rao, brought to the notice of the court that the Government wanted to create rights under Telugu Girijana Magani Samaradhana. He said that in 1987, directions were issued not to evict the tribals from the possession of forest lands occupied prior to October, 1980.

The Central Government asked the State Government to submit proposals for regularisation of encroachment prior to 1980 and the State Government had not yet submitted such proposals.

Mr.Ramalingeswara Rao said that there were 77661 acres of land under cultivation in reserved forests prior to 1980 and they were eligible for regularisation as per the scheme formulated by the Central Government. It was averred that the tribals could not be evicted from the forests in a brutal manner.

REHABILITATION OF THE DISPLACED 
BY COAL MINES IN A.P

Singareni Collieries Company Limited in Andhra Pradesh is a company under public sector excavating coal predominately in the scheduled areas (Tribal areas) of Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) since 1889. The coal belt is spread over Khammam, Warangal, Karimnagar and Adilabad districts of A.P. The company identified 19 Coal and Lignite deposits. At present the company is operating 13 mines and in the year 2000, it started acquiring lands in Thiryani mandal of Adilabad district to start 'Khairguda project'.

In 1989, the Tribal Welfare Department proposed a plan for the ?Development of Tribals in coal belt of A.P.?. In 1990 the Social Welfare Department of State Government issued a Government Order (G.O.) on the rehabilitation of tribals displaced by mines, wild life sanctuaries and development project. The order directed the company to provide appropriate employment to the displaced. But the company secured exemption from this order from E.F.E.S.S.T (G.O.Ms.No. 310 dt 11-11-99) from providing employment.

The company in one of the affidavits, stated that there are 5000 land losers and 800 writ petitions are pending seeking employment. It claims that it is providing funds to purchase lands to rehabilitate the displaced.

The Tribal Welfare Department in their report ?Development of Tribals of coal belt areas of A.P.?, identified 55 mandals as effected by the presence of collieries and its various operations. The total area is 11078 Sq.kms. The total population in these mandals is 19.48 lakhs (1981 census) out of which tribal population is 4.06 lakhs i.e. 38.4% in the total population.

The Tribals of Thiryani mandal of Adilabad District, effected by Khairguda project approached the High Court for initiating land acquisition without consulting Gram sabha as per PESA. The Collieries obtained the approval of Gram sabha and Project Officer (P.O.), Integrated Tribal Development Agency (I.T.D.A.) convened a land purchasing committee and approved the R.R. plan prepared the Collieries.

It is interesting to note that both the parties, tribals referred to Samatha judgment. The tribals claimed that according to the judgement, a body governed by tribals only should acquire lands. The Collieries rebutted citing the same judgment that State and Central Government companies are allowed to operate. But both parties did not refer to the directions of the judgement prescribing criteria for rehabilitation. In April 2001 the tribals approached SAKTI to do the needful. SAKTI informed the Government and Company to revise their rehabilitation plan not only according to the Court direction and also following the rehabilitation policy 2004. There in no response. The High Court issued notice to the Company and the Government.

SAKTI informed the tribals that the Government of Orissa directed the companies to provide 5% share and take up responsibility of developing the area and Tribals upto 50 Kms around the mines. Undoing the concession allowed to the States and Central Government institutions, the tribals of Khammam forced the government to distribute 1600 acres of cashew plantations owned by APFDC in Khammam district. Let us see to what extent the tribals and their organisations extract benefits for their improvement and how Govt. responds to the Writ Petition.

Between:

‘SAKTI’ a Voluntary social organisation
for the upliftment of Tribal people
(Regd.No.76/85) Rampachodavaram,
East Godavari District,
Represented by its Director, Dr.P.Sivaramakrishna … Petitioner

And
1. Union of India
Represented by its Secretary to Govt.
Ministry of Rural Dev. (Department of
Land Resources), New Delhi. 
and 6 others … Respondents

For the reasons stated in the acccompanying affidavit, the above named petitioner prays that this Hon’ble court may be pleased to issue any appropriate Writ, order or Direction more particularly one in the nature of a Writ of Mandamus directing the respondents to prepare a Resettlement and Rehabilitation Package for the Project Affected Families of Khairguda Open Cast Project of Bellampalli region of Adilabad District of the 7th respondent in the light of the National Policy of Resettlement and Rehabilitation for project Affected Families 2003 and the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court reported in AIR 1997 SC 3297 and implement the same within a time frame and pass such other orders as this Hon’ble court deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case.

Hyderabad

08-07-2004 COUNSEL FOR PETITIONER