The Human Rights Protection Foundation (HRPF) has demanded that the government provide basic facilities to the 2.16 acres of land provided to 23 Koraga families and six Marathi Naik families, both Scheduled Tribes (STs), at Kondady near Hiriyadka in Udupi district.
Addressing presspersons here on Saturday, Ravindranath Shanbhag, president, HRPF, said that basic facilities should include making a layout, constructing a road and providing water and electricity to the area. It was a travesty that even the layout had not been marked for these 29 families despite sites having been sanctioned seven years ago.
These families living in different parts of the district including Athrady, Ambagilu-Puttur, Alevoor and Yellur had learnt that the State government had drawn a scheme to allot lands to them. Consequently, in 2010, they submitted their applications for sites to the authorities concerned. After overcoming lot of obstacles owing to official apathy, the 29 applicants were given sites of eight cents each in 2.61 acres of land in Survey No. 229 of Kondady area in Bommarbettu village near Hiriyadka.
The title deeds were handed over to them on the Independence Day in 2011. To their dismay, however, they found it hard to trace the sites allotted to them. Finally, they traced them in a semi-forest type of area through the Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) Department.
They then received information that the government had sanctioned ₹1.5 lakh for the levelling of the land allotted to them. Of this ₹1.5 lakh, an amount of ₹97,000 was released. Again in 2013-14, ₹3 lakh was sanctioned for the same project. But how the amount was used in both cases remained a mystery as the land was never levelled.
When they approached the then Deputy Commissioner, M.T. Reju, the latter told them to do the levelling works themselves. Accordingly, the 29 beneficiaries then pooled ₹5,000 each to level the land and did the work themselves. But the land being sloppy, their efforts were in vain.
SHRC informed of plight
After two years, the beneficiaries approached the State Human Rights Commission and explained their plight. On a directive from the State Human Rights Commission in 2015, the then Deputy Commissioner, R. Vishal, visited the area and directed the officers to take action on the matter. However, nothing was done.
The beneficiaries approached the HRPF a few months ago and explained their plight. Instead waiting for government action, the HRPF approached some donors and got the land levelled at Kondady.
The HRPF will take up cleaning of the land with the help of members of Volunteer Service Organisation (VSO) of Manipal University on Sunday. “But the District Administration should explain why these beneficiaries had to wait for seven long years to get the land levelled for their sites. Where have the funds allotted for land levelling gone?” Dr. Shanbhag asked.
