For over two years, more than 200 households at Haridvathi village on the fringes of the Sharavathi Wildlife Reserve in Shivamogga district waited for a decision on their applications to regularise their farm lands under the Forest Rights Act. A majority of them do not belong to the Scheduled Tribes; nor were they “historical” forest dwellers, making it nearly impossible for them to get land rights.
At a meeting six months ago, Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa, who is the MLA, took the officials to task for delaying a decision. By March, 65 applications were approved and the rest are in process.
“Our vote is for Ajja [grandfather, a reference to the 87-year-old MLA],” says H. Mariyappa, one of the beneficiaries. The grant of land rights can swing votes for Mr. Thimmappa from even BJP supporters.
Electoral dividends
Meeting the demand to regularise Bagair Hukum (meaning, without official consent) cultivation or houses on forest or revenue lands can pay rich electoral dividends. Over 7 lakh acres of land (with at least 4 lakh farmers involved) are “illegally” cultivated in the State. As many as 3.04 lakh applications have been received under the Forest Rights Act. Additionally, over 9.33 lakh have applied under the Akrama-Skarama scheme to regularise houses on government lands.
Around the hill districts, particularly Shivamogga, the political response to Bagair Hukum has shaped the careers of many, including former Chief Minister S. Bangarappa and the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate, B.S. Yeddyurappa, who was elected an MLA in 1983 after his involvement in rallies demanding regularisation of land. Mr. Yeddyurappa has since cemented his image as a “farmers’ leader” by taking up the issue.
In the 2018 elections, the issue is a make-or-break for many candidates. In February, the State government extended the cut-off year for regularisation from 1990 to 2005, bringing in more farmers under the scheme. In Hassan, Congress MLA A. Manju is under the scanner for granting 1,093 Bagair Hukum applications after the code of conduct was enforced. In many election rallies, MLAs across parties now tout their achievement in giving title deeds to farmers.
At Dodayya Mane village in Kadur, voters have only one question to ask candidates: will our 1,000 acres of cultivation of forest land be regularised? “Without our land being regularised, we are like half-farmers: we can’t access loans or government schemes. We have to cultivate with whatever we can save or borrow from local moneylenders ... Our vote is for those who can give us our title deeds,” says Siddappa, 68, who grows ginger and potato on three acres of “encroached” land.
However, this political thrust may be coming at the cost of forests and common lands. Around Shivamogga, rows of hastily constructed houses, often just four poles and empty vessels kept inside to show “habitation”, dot the undulating landscape.
“These colonies are coming up overnight everywhere. The only intention is to regularise it, and because of the political backing for this, they will likely get the land,” says Akhilesh Chippalli, an activist who has tracked the process of grants in Shivamogga district. “If they continue like this, there will be no forest left.”
Plunder on
Shivamogga, says the State of Forest Report of the Forest Survey of India, lost 88 sq.km of tree cover in the past decade — much of it is Soppinabettas , which are village commons and considered deemed forests.
At Chikkamatturu village inside the Sharavathi Wildlife Sanctuary, the younger lot have been cutting into the forests, little by little. Over 104 acres are now being cultivated. “We have no choice, else we can’t make a living farming,” says Annappa who grows ginger and maize for a living. “There is thousands of acres of forests, and I am only asking for three acres.”
The local political network has convinced them to submit applications for regularisation. Political pressure sees these applications pending. “It is a common modus operandi . We can’t evict them until the applications are rejected. But the local committees are run by the MLAs which keep them pending,” a forest officer says.
