Vijayawada: ‘Give us back our lands!’ was the impassioned plea of tribal farmers from LK Thanda village as they submitted a representation to the managing director of Greenco Energy Development Corporation Limited here on Thursday. The farmers, supported by the Girijana Praja Samakhya (GPS), alleged illegal occupation of their lands by Greenco for a solar project.

Vaditya Sankar Naik, former ST Commission member and founder national president of Girijana Praja Samakhya, demanded that the state government provide justice and compensation to the tribal farmers who lost their lands to the solar project in Gadi Vemula mandal.

Sankar Naik, accompanied by GPS state president Raju Naik and affected farmers from LK Thanda village in Nandyal district’s Gadi Vemula mandal, met the MD of Greenco at their Tadepalli office. They voiced their grievances and submitted a formal petition.

Speaking on the occasion, Vaditya Sankar Naik said that in 1972, the government granted pattas to tribal farmers in LK Thanda for lands in survey numbers 795, 797, and 802, which fall under the Chanikapalle village outskirts. He emphasised that the 1B Adangal and patta passbooks are all in the farmers’ names, and these tribal families have been cultivating these lands for generations, depending on them for their livelihood.

Sankar Naik alleged that in 2023, the then tahsildar, Srinivasulu, handed over the tribal farmers’ lands to Greenco Project Solar Power Generation Company. “Since 2023, the farmers have not received any compensation, and instead, they are being subjected to harassment and illegal activities,” he lamented. He further accused Greenco of illegally transferring 25 acres of land, registered in the farmers’ names, into the company’s name without their permission. When the farmers approached officials about this injustice, they were reportedly told to ”complain wherever you want,” which Sankar Naik deemed highly inappropriate.

Sankar Naik pointed out that the High Court, considering the patta passbooks and 1B Adangal, issued a stay order prohibiting any constructions, structures, or work on the tribal lands. However, he stated that the solar management and officials are disregarding these court orders, continuing solar work on the fields, and engaging in aggressive behavior, claiming ‘High Court orders mean nothing to us.’