The tribals of the hill areas in the State are stepping up their campaign against cornering of resources, constitutional and other statutory benefits by migrants and non-locals.
A mining lease in Sitampeta Agency was given to a tribal from the plains in gross violation of law which prohibits any non-local from taking up such an activity.
The contractor abandoned the project after prolonged agitation by the local tribals.
A petrol bunk was allotted in Paderu to another tribal from the plains area.
All these are going on unquestioned because of the disinterest of the Government in the welfare of the members of hill tribes, speakers said at a round table here on Sunday.
Representatives of different tribal employee welfare organisations gathered here under the aegis of Girijana Aikya Vedika (GAV) to take up a united fight for the rights of the tribals of the region.
Further, the Government by appointing non-tribal officers or non-IAS officers to head the ITDAs is showing how much it cares for the welfare of the tribals, they said. Non-tribal or non-IAS officers are not able to address the needs of the tribals and are more bothered about feathering their own nests, they said.
‘A blind eye’
The Government is turning a blind eye to the mass migration of Banjaras from neighbouring states to get the benefit of reservation here. Banjaras are treated as Scheduled Tribes only in AP and in the neighbouring states they are categorised either as OCs or BCs.
These migrants have not only managed to corner the seats in colleges but also jobs at the cost of other tribals in the State, president of Adivasi Reservation Porata Samiti R S Dora said.
The Government should take steps to stop the migrants from cornering the benefits.
It should appoint a committee to identify the tribals from the State to ensure that locals are not deprived of the benefits they are guaranteed by the Constitution, president of GAV Visakhapatnam district L Chitti Babu said. There is a need for a thorough enquiry into the migrants issue, he added.
In Vizianagaram district the Savaras, Gadabas, Jatapus and Konda Doras are being ignored and tribals from outside are being appointed, member of Adivasi Reservation Porata Samiti (ARPS) Vempatapu Bharati said. It is unfortunate that the Government is not appointing a tribal to head the ITDAs, she added.
Also the Government is ignoring the rules that make it compulsory to appoint only people from the region to posts in the Agency areas, Secretary Girijana Aikya Vedika Vivek Vinayak said.
The speakers also demanded that all the political parties give ticket to local tribals or face a boycott. They wanted the issue to be raised in Assembly during the discussion on Tribal Sub-Plan.
