Around 60 Dalits from Kuravakudi village in Usilampatti alleged that they had been unable to access patta lands given to them by the district administration in 1999 and assembled at the Collectorate here on Monday.
S. Tamilselvi, a resident said that 66 beneficiaries had been given individual patta lands in the village by the district administration in 1999. “We were shown the patta lands and given documents, but ever since we have been waging a battle with a few farmers who have been doing agriculture there,” she said.
The villagers said that despite repeated attempts, they were not able to evict the encroachers and retrieve their lands.
“In the last 16 years, 6 of the beneficiaries have even passed away and none of us have got the chance to live in our lands till date. Earlier last month, we approached the district administration to retrieve our lands and knowing this, the encroachers began plantation activities on the lands,” Pochammal, a resident alleged.
