The tribal people of Chatterjipuram, small tribal hamlet in Rolugunta mandal in Visakhapatnam agency, are up in arms against the district administration, as the records of the land that they have been tilling for the last few decades have been tampered with to favour a few non-tribals.
About 11 families have been inhabiting the hamlet comprising survey numbers 131 and 139. They belong the Gadaba tribe, particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG), and have their own language and script.
According P.S. Ajay Kumar of Swaraj Abhiyan, till about a few months ago the Adangal records of Survey no 131, comprising about 14 acres, showed the name of Meesala Subana, non-tribal, as the pattadar, and the names of Neelapu Balaraju, Neelapu Nookanna, Neelapu Chinna Errakanna and Neelapu Benayya, as the enjoyer (cultivation account) of the land.
In the case of survey number 139, comprising about 10 acres, the pattadars were Varada Nookaraju, Chitikala Vijayarani and M. Venkata Kanakamahalakshmi and the enjoyers were Neelapu Rajulamma, Neelapu Appalanaidu, Neelapu Rajeswari, Neelapu Errakanna and Kadari Rajababu.
According to Benayya, they have the tilling the lands for decades now and even the Adangal records showed their names, but overnight the records have been tampered with to show one Meesala Bala as the enjoyer of the entire 14 acres in Survey number 131 and all the pattadars of survey number 139 have suddenly become the enjoyers. “We have been practically ousted out of the land that we have been tilling so long,” he said.
According to Mr. Ajay, the tribals had won the case against Meesala Subanna and others in 2013 in and 2016 in Narsipatnam sub-court, based on the Adangal records and now overnight the records have been changed in the Weblands allegedly by tehsildar Pentakota Appalanaidu.
“Now with the change in records in the Weblands the tribals have practically lost the legal footing, especially when Subanna has filed a case in the AP High Court,” said Mr. Ajay Kumar.
Bugata Bangaruraju, State secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), the tribals demand that the Collector take stock of the matter immediately and initiate action against tehsildar Appalanaidu and VRO Srinivas Rao.
“If our demands are not met, we will take up indefinite hunger strike at the MRO office in Rolugunta,” said Benayya.
