Stop distribution of Podu land pattas, FGG urges CM KCR

Hyderabad: Pointing out that a defective list of beneficiaries was prepared for the distribution of Podu lands, the Forum for Good Governance (FGG) on Thursday urged the Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to stop the distribution of Pattas and follow the RoFR Act in deciding eligibility.

The FGG sent a representation to the Chief Minister requesting stopping of the distribution of Pattas. The FGG Secretary M Padmanabha Reddy said that with the podu cultivation had become pan-India level, Parliament enacted the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights RoFR) Act 2006.

The Act stipulated that people who have occupied and in position of forest land on or before December 2005 will be granted pattas. As per the rules Grama Sabha, sub divisional level committee and district committee headed by district Collector were constituted to verify the claims and assign pattas.

In pursuance of RoFR Act applications from claimants were received, examined in accordance to the rules and 3.08 lakh Acres of encroached forest land was assigned as pattas to about one lakh claimants. In this way three times illegal occupation of forest was regularized with a fond hope that further encroachment will stop.

As there were procedural laps in some states in deciding the claims, some NGOs filed PIL (WP No 109/2008) in Supreme Court. The Supreme Court in its order dated February 13, 2019 issued specific direction to states to evict the person's whose claims were rejected earlier. After the formation of Telangana, there were lot of statements by politicians regarding further regularisation of Podu cultivations. This gave a signal to encroachers and large scale encroachments started. The forest staff when tried to prevent encroachments were assaulted resulting in serious injuries and death.

The Tribals have rights on forest produce that is undeniable, but the forest land of Telangana belongs to four crores people of Telangana.

These forest lands were given to us by our ancestors and this generation has a responsibility to safely handover them to posterity.

The value of 11.5 lakh acres which is planned to be distributed and made pattas will come to Rs 2 lakh 30 thousand crores, which is equal to state Annual Budget, said the FGG secretary.

The FGG Secretary said that the Forum was not against helping the Tribals. As per Supreme Court orders whose applications (claims) were rejected earlier may be considered following the RoFR Act and pattas can be given but not fresh encroachments that took place after the cutoff date of 2005, said the FGG secretary.