The Hindu : Front Page : Villagers want Dinakaran’s surplus land holdings redistributed to them

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Tuesday, Oct 13, 2009
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Villagers want Dinakaran’s surplus land holdings redistributed to them

Staff Reporter

— Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam

THEIR PLEA: Tiruvallur District Revenue Officer G. Mohanasundaram with villagers of Kaverirajapuram panchayat on Monday, after receiving a memorandum.

Tiruvallur: A large number of landless farmers and the poor in Kaverirajapuram panchayat in Tiruvallur district on Monday urged the district administration to distribute to them the government lands in the area that are now allegedly in the possession of P.D. Dinakaran, Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court.

The villagers said they had approached the government after receiving information that the Collector had identified 197 acres in the panchayat that had been encroached upon. They wanted the government to distribute the land to them under the scheme of providing two acres of land for landless farmers.

“We want the government to reclaim the lands and distribute them to us. We are eking out a living as agricultural labourers and daily-wage earners,” said Sarala from the panchayat. Jayarani, Maria, Sanjeevi and Ekambaram concurred with her.

They alleged that while a majority of the villagers were not able to get pattas even for the land on which their houses stand, rich and influential persons had encroached large areas of poramboke lands. “Let the government take back the land and use the same for providing house sites for the poor,” one of them said.

A team of villagers led by V.M. Raman, founder of the Thalam Charitable Trust, submitted a memorandum to District Revenue Officer (DRO) G. Mohanasundaram, detailing their grievances and demands. The villagers alleged that Mr. Dinakaran had encroached upon grazing lands and waterbodies used by them.

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