Dalit farmers raise voice against land usurpers
“Dunne vaadide bhoomi,” a famous Communist slogan in Telugu which translates to English as “He who tills, owns the land,” seems to be working in favour of land encroachers these days.
Jogipet (Medak): “Dunne vaadide bhoomi,” a famous Communist slogan in Telugu which translates to English as “He who tills, owns the land,” seems to be working in favour of land encroachers these days. Landless farmers from marginalised communities who were given lands by the government find their lands being tilled by encroachers, who have been persistent in getting unofficial support from the officials for more than three decades.
Eighty families of Dalits and BCs of Chintakunta village of Andole mandal were made owners of land by the then Congress government when Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister. The lands were then just barren with no irrigation facility. Some more land was distributed to weaker sections again in 2007, when Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister.
During the past years, a few of them cultivated their lands while the others left those just barren. As time passed by, irrigation methods improved and the land rates shot up. Today, these lands sell for anywhere between Rs 6 lakh to Rs 10 lakh per acre, depending on the nature of soil and cultivability of the land.
About 15 farmers, who previously owned just 42 acres in the village, have encroached into the lands of 80 families who were the beneficiaries of land distribution. Today, these 80 families are not able to cultivate their own lands, even though they have genuine pass books. Akula Sattamma, whose husband Manayya was the beneficiary of 3 acres 20 guntas of land, had lost her husband 8 years ago. She doesn’t even know the position of her land.
Similarly, Kishtamma and Shantabai are Dalit women from the village, who had given their land for lease to someone from Jogipet. Now, when they try to enter their lands, they are threatened and driven away from their own lands. The Dalits in the village claim that Tammali Ramulu, a farmer from the village, along with his wife, owned 8 acres of land. Today, he is cultivating almost 60 acres of land.
They also claim that Ramulu, along with his four brothers and an army of family members, had illegally encroached not only into their lands, but also that of others. There are other farmers who are not from the village, have planted mango groves in the assigned lands. “We just want the authorities to show lands to farmers who are having pass books, by ensuring recovery of the lands from those who have encroached into others’ lands and distribute the lands to the real beneficiaries and landless farmers in the village,” demands Neerudi Yadagiri, a farmer in Chintakunta.
Yadagiri had previously served 134 notices to the illegal occupants, but no action was taken in this regard. No survey has been done till now. A month ago, the farmers had approached the District Collector also, but no action was initiated in this respect. As per revenue records, around 210 acres have been distributed to landless poor in the past in survey numbers 638 and 572 in Chintakunta village.
Today, none of the beneficiaries are in the possession of their lands and encroachers have somehow been able to possess pass books illegally by manipulating the Revenue Department. The villagers are now demanding a survey to be done directly under the supervision of the District Revenue Officer and ensure rightful owners with possession of their lands.
