TRIBAL UP IN ARMS FOR LAND

By Our Staff Reporter

The Hindu, Nov 24, 1997

Aswaropet (Khammam dist), Nov, 23 :

Tribals have been organising themselves in a big way in a cluster of villages in the remote Aswaropet and Dammapet mandals of Khammam to stake claim for the lands under the illegal occupation of non-Tribals. They have started parading large groups from village to village besides claiming as their own the lush green orchards and tobacco farms, thus sounding an alarm to big farmers who have developed them over the years. Backed by a Rampachodavaram planning to take recourse to agitation methods also to mount pressure on the administration for restoration of their lands.

Centre stage of face off

Kesappagudem, a tiny hamlet, eight km from here, has become the centre stage of the tribal and non-tribal face off ever since the volunteers of Sakti, the Organisation that has spearheaded the tribal protests on the neighbouring jeelugumilli mandal (West Godavari), has taken up an exercise to identify the tribal lands under the occupation of different farmers.

The Tribals who have so far been eking out their living on bamboo-cutting and firewood collection have pinned their hopes now on the standing crops ready for harvest around the village. About ten acres of land has already been occupied by them in the village.

The organisation has for the past few weeks been thoroughly in touch with every family in the village an trying to motive them for the land struggle. The police, obviously as a precautionary measure, arrested 11 volunteers, including two women all from West and East Godavari districts, on Wednesday night and let them off immediately. The Tribals appeared to be annoyed by the police action. The Tribals armed with bows and arrows, were seen closely guarding the volunteers at survey work.

A majority of the tribal families have lost their lands to the landlords over a period of time because of the illegal occupation. Bethu Veeraswamy, a tribal farm worker, complained that the two acres of land assigned in favour of his wife in occupation of a non-tribal farmer, Bethu Seeramulu, another tribal farmer, is in possession of the pattas for the five acres of land assigned to him. But the revenue authorities, he alleged, were yet to show him where the land was. He had regularly been paying the revenue in hope of taking possession of the land one day or the other.

Similarly, another resident claimed to be owning 10 acres of land in survey no. 297/66. Though he has pattas in support of his claim, he has never been allowed to till the land by the land owner during the past 27 years. So was the case with Behtu Raulmma. She was allotted 1.75 acres of a land in the neighbouring Jammigudem village without being allowed to enjoy it. The case of Bethu Nageswar Rao is different from all others. He was assigned five acres of land and asked to develop it by clearing the jungle growth in it. He spent thousands of rupees on the land before he was asked to abandon it on the plea that it fell in forest limits.

'Landless are in better position'

The volunteers are of the view that the landless are in a better position than those having lands merely on paper. The landless families could at lest be considered for assignment of some land, the latter would not be eligible for it. Villagers are now ready to occupy more land unless they are meted out justice by the administration. Revenue officials have been frequenting the village as part of their effort to find out an amicable solution to the land issue.

In Rajanagaram village of Aswaraopet mandal, a group of Tribals had a field day in the 12-acre coconut plantation owned by a non-tribal farmer recently. Mistaking it as on occupied land, they wreaked vengeance and quenched their thirst plucking a few hundred coconuts. In vutalapalli and Aladivarimakam village the Tribals occupied a few acres of lands and marked the boundaries with palmyra twigs.

In Maddikonda village the Tribals took recourse to forcible methods to occupy lands. Tension prevailed in the village as the non-tribal farmers tried to defend and the revenue authorities rushed to the village to defuse tension.

Responding immediately to the situation, the Revenue Department has taken up the enjoyment survey to find out the extent of land under illegal occupation in Kesappagudem, Vedantapuram and Ramannagudem villages. Mandal revenue officials have said that over 3, 500 acres of land is available for distribution to the landless in the 19 scheduled area villages and 1 non-scheduled area villages in the mandal.

In Kesappagudem, a non-scheduled village, as much as 120 acres of land is in the occupation of different farmers in survey no 297. If the cases of illegal occupation are proved in the survey the land would be restored to legitimate owner immediately, they said.

In Dammapet mandal revenue officials have acted promptly and restored to the tribal farmers 42 acres of land which has for long been under the illegal occupation of non-tribal farmers. A cashew nut garden extending over 28 acres in lachapuram village was taken over from a non-tribal formerly the department. It would be given back to the Tribals.

NON-TRIBAL FARMERS LOCK UP REVENUE OFFICES

By Our Staff Reporter

The Hindu. Dec 16, 1997

KHAMMAM Dec 15

The week long revenue sadassus, planned by the administration to sort out land disputes in the scheduled areas of Khammam district, began on a stormy note with the non-tribal farmers laying slege to the offices of the MRO and MDO at Dammapet on Monday. More than 1000 farmers are protesting in front of the newly constructed office complex, raising slogans against political parties and the non-government Organisation (NGOs) backing the Tribals who are up in arms for the sale of land. Though tension is palpable in the village, the situation is under control.

Additional forces have been deployed in the mandal centre and the revenue machinery of the Palvancha division has been put on alert. All precautionary measures were taken to protect the Government employees besides public and private properties. The Superintendent of Police, Mr. P.S.R. Anjaneyulu, has issued orders for reopening the police station at Dammapet. The police Station, which was not adequately staffed, has been shifted to Aswaraopet a few months ago as part of the measures initiated in the district to counter the threat of naxalites.

The protest of the non-Tribals started at 7.30 a.m. as all the farmers. Who reached the village in the early hours, walked to the mandal complex in a procession and locked up both the MRO and MDO offices after forcing the watchmen to leave the place? The mandal revenue officer of Dammapet, Mr. Hiralal, and some of his field staff, were away in neighbouring village to were raided. The protest continued almost peacefully till late in the evening. The police personnel, led by the Aswaraopet circle inspector, Mr. Narsaiah, showed restraint in handling the situation. A series of raids conducted by the Tribals on the farms of some landlords in the area ultimately paved the way for he counter activity of the no-Tribals. About 160 bags of paddy were allegedly lotted by the Tribals of the Rachurupalli area from the farms of Mr. Pannada Lakshminarayana and his three brothers at jammigududem village on Friday list. Though the non-tribal farmers wanted steps for recovery of the paddy, the administration could not take any action against the Tribals.

The Tribals in turn sought restoration of 192.29 acres in the illegal occupation of non0tribals in the village. Backed by SAKTI, a non-government Organisation, the Tribals forcibly took away 70 bags of paddy from another farmer in Alladivarimakam.

Similarly, the Tribals looted about 25 bags of paddy in Jaggaram village on December 9 and 60 bags at Malkaram village after two days. They also indulged in harvesting the paddy crop in an area of 6.5 acres at Madepalli of Velairpadu mandal on December 8. Added to this, the revenue department has taken up an exercise of reading out the 'kasra pahani' in the villages by orgainsing the revenue sadassus so as to confirm the legal ownership o the land in each survey number. The exercise was much against the wishes of the farmers who were enjoying land acquired in violation of the scheduled area Regulation 1 of 1970. Immediate amendment to the scheduled area regulation was one of the demands made by the protesters squatting in front of Dammapet MRO office.

The administration had constituted peace committees in the scheduled areas besides holding meeting with the representatives of Tribals and non-Tribals for an amicable solution to the problem. The peace committee members who had a meeting at Aswaraopet recently agreed to go by the decision of the revenue and the police officials in resolving the land related cases. The authorities also assured the Tribals of steps to provide land to the landless and to restore to the Tribals the lands in the illegal possession of the non-Tribals after conduction a survey of enjoyment, however, the peace process was scuttled by the continued raids of the Tribals on the non-tribal farms.

The tribal struggle for land which was hither to spearheaded by the SAKTI, is now backed by organizations such as Tudumbebba and AWARE. The CPI (M), which had been fighting for the restoration of the Tribals land and implementation of the Regulation 1 of 1970, is, how ever, operating on its own to organize the Tribals.