Tribal people on Wednesday urged Minister for Social Welfare H. Anjaneya to grant rights over forest land to communities instead of individuals.
“We are the original owners of land. If forests have survived for thousands of years, it is because of the tribal people,” said K.N. Vittal, president of the Chikkamagaluru district Tribal Agriculture Workers’ Association.
Mr. Anjaneya was in Dhannakkihara, a hamlet of tribal communities in Koove Gram Panchayat of Mudigere taluk, to spend a day with the tribal people and to listen to their problems. Hundreds belonging to different tribal groups, including Gowdla, Malekudiya, Halasaru and Medaru, gathered to meet the Minister.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Vittal said there were more than 44,000 tribal families in the district and most of them lacked basic education. “Our people do not know what benefits they are entitled for. Unless they raise their voice, officers do not listen to them. As per the recent Forest Rights Act, the tribal communities are owners of forest land. We can impose penalty on trespassers. The duty of the Forest Department is to only keep a watch of the boundaries. The officers have hardly studied the Act,” he said.
“There are no roads to many hamlets. In the wake of the Minister’s visit, the road to Dhannakkihara was improved a bit. But there are many areas where vehicles can’t reach,” Venkatesh, a youth, told The Hindu . The tribal people demanded schools with qualified teachers, opportunities for higher studies, and houses for those staying in thatched huts.
