Live
- Over 7,600 Syrians return from Turkiye in five days after Assad's downfall: minister
- Delhi BJP leaders stay overnight in 1,194 slum clusters
- Keerthy Suresh and Anthony Thattil Tie the Knot in a Christian Ceremony
- AAP, BJP making false promises to slum dwellers for votes: Delhi Congress
- 'Vere Level Office' Review: A Refreshing Take on Corporate Life with Humor and Heart
- Libya's oil company declares force majeure at key refinery following clashes
- Illegal Rohingyas: BJP seeks Assembly session to implement NRC in Delhi
- Philippines orders full evacuation amid possible volcanic re-eruption
- Government Prioritizes Welfare of the Poor, says Dola Sri Bala Veeranjaneyaswamy
- Two Russian oil tankers with 29 on board damaged due to bad weather
Forest, revenue officials lock horns
Forest, revenue officials lock horns, Arrangements are going on at a fast pace in the district for the launch of land distribution scheme on August 15 which is meant for poor Dalit families.
- Battle over land to be distributed to Dalits on Independence Day
- Forest officials take over Dalit farmer’s land, mark new boundaries
.jpg)
Dharmapuri (Karimnagar): Arrangements are going on at a fast pace in the district for the launch of land distribution scheme on August 15 which is meant for poor Dalit families. There are 28 Dalit families in Khanampalli village of Dharmaram mandal. Officials have estimated that 40 acres of land is required for distribution as Dalits are already cultivating some portion of government land. Only one Dalit family is without land and it would get 3 acres of land from 40 acres and remaining 37 acres would be equally distributed for 27 Dalit families.
Officials have identified 25 acres in survey number 174 in the village and works were on full swing for clearing debris from the land. Another 15 acres were identified in survey number 35. But, it is under the control of the Forest Department. However, officials of Revenue and Forest Departments are claiming ownership of land located in survey number 35. Forest officials are saying that land belongs to them as per plan drawn in 1923 while revenue officials are arguing it belongs to them as per 1946 plan. For the last three days, forest officials are marking boundaries for forest lands by using global positioning system.
A Dalit farmer, Perka Narasaiah, said that forest officials forcibly took away his cultivable land. He said that his land was under the possession of his father and grandfather for the past 50 years. He said that he was raising rain-fed crops for the last several years. “I recently borrowed Rs 3 lakh and dug an open-well in my farm land,” he mentioned. Narasaiah asked as to how it was justifiable for forest officials to take away his land when he was already in debt.
“On one side, the state government was going ahead with the land distribution scheme, but on the other the forest officials are taking away cultivable lands by fixing boundaries,” he lamented. He expressed anguish over marking new boundaries by forest officials for lands while ignoring previous boundaries. Defending their act, forest officials are saying that they would not allow forest lands to be encroached.
Meanwhile, Dalits in the village expressed happiness over land distribution scheme. They said that they never anticipated we would get farm lands from the state government for the purpose of cultivation.
“We would be indebted to the Telangana government forever as no other state government in the past has taken such a decision,” they stated. Dalits are overjoyed as the officials are clearing debris to make lands useful for cultivation and also providing power connection and digging of bore wells.
