Member of Parliament Pratap Simha on Monday said tribal families evicted from Diddalli in Devamachi Reserve Forest in Kodagu — which comes under Mysuru Parliamentary constituency — will be suitably rehabilitated. However, he ruled out the possibility of their resettlement in the same place, as is being demanded by activists.
Mr. Simha told reporters that the government was aware of the problems plaguing the tribals and was committed to addressing them, but the law of the land does not provide for their resettlement inside the forest. “Even a court will take strong objection to any violation as Devamachi was declared a reserve forest way back in 1891,” he said.
“But there is adequate land for the construction of houses and resettlement of the tribes in the region, and the government has identified nearly 253 acres of land in Somwarpet and 53 acres near Dubare where the resettlement plans can be implemented,” Mr. Simha said.
Tribal rights will be met under the Tribal Sub-Plan, under which the communities can be provided with housing, other amenities and three acres of land. Even the Scheduled Caste groups living in the vicinity could be rehabilitated under the Ambedkar Abhivrudhi Nigam, the MP said.
However, he hinted that not all the protesters at Diddalli were locals and that outsiders from coffee estates as well might have pitched their camps in order to claim three acres of land. Mr. Simha said according to State government statistics, 2,703 applications were received for rehabilitation from Scheduled Tribes under the Forest Rights Act, of which 1,467 had been processed and deeds distributed, and 1,174 rejected.
He said the Diddalli issue was not an overnight development and some of the tribes were misled into believing that they were eligible for three acres of land, which had resulted in mass encampment in the reserve forest about six months ago. “Forest Department personnel brought it to the notice of the administration and sought permission to get them evacuated, but it was put off owing to the Cauvery agitation, Tipu Jayanti, etc. Even Forest Minister Ramanath Rai is aware of the problem. The genuine demands of the affected people will be met,” Mr. Simha said.
