The State government has taken decisions on 25,500 out of the 32,000 petitions received from tribespeople relating to their various grievances, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy says.
Inaugurating ‘Kaananasangamom,’ a six-day festival here on Friday, Mr. Chandy said the government could distribute 36,000 acres of land to the Adivasis based on their petitions. Now only 7,000 petitions from the Adivasis remained to be acted upon, he said.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Forest Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said the State government was committed to finding solutions to the grievances of the tribes.
The problems of the forest areas should become matters of serious concern for the mainstream society, he added.
Poet Sugathakumari inaugurated ‘Oorumithra’ project, Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Chandrika launched ‘Oorinunarv Kaadinunarv’ project, and district panchayat president Ansajitha Russel inaugurated the exhibition being organised as part of the festival. Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson, Forest Principal Secretary Marapandian, and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests B.S. Corrie, among others, spoke.