Hundreds of tribal people from across the district marched through the main streets as part of a huge rally organised by the CPI (ML-New Democracy) here on Monday demanding pattas for “podu lands” and denouncing alleged acts of coercion against “podu cultivators”. Artistes of Arunodaya Samskrithika Samakya performed cultural programmes en route the rally in an effort to draw the attention of the government to the woes of tribal farmers dependent on podu cultivation for their livelihood.
The rally culminated in a public meeting at the Pavilion Grounds later. Speaking on the occasion, the CPI (ML-ND) district secretary P. Ranga Rao alleged that the lackadaisical implementation of the Forest Rights Act has deprived thousands of tribal people of their right over podu lands in various parts of the district.
Around 1.6 lakh tribal families are entitled for pattas in lands to an extent of 7 lakh acres as per the provisions of the Forest Rights Act in the district. However, the departments concerned have issued pattas to only 60,454 families for only 2.11 lakh acres so far, he alleged.
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Vigorous efforts are underway to dislodge tribal people from their podu lands through acts of coercion on the pretext of expanding the green cover, he said.
The party State secretariat member V. Venkataramaiah alleged that the government was toeing the line of the corporate forces. The speakers demanded that the government drop cases allegedly registered against tribal people by the Forest Department personnel in the district, uphold the rights of tribal people over “podu lands”, sanction of three acres of land to each SC and ST family, set up steel plant in public sector at Bayyaram. The CPI district secretary B. Hemantha Rao, the CPI (M) district secretary P. Sudarshan Rao and others spoke.