Friday to mark milestone in Telangana’s tribal welfare initiatives
Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao will formally launch the distribution of land titles (pattas) for podu lands in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district on Friday
Published Date - 28 June 2023, 07:30 PM
Hyderabad: Ending decades of struggle and misery, nearly 1.5 lakh tribals across Telangana will now have legal rights to cultivate on more than four lakh acres of podu land in the forest areas of the State. Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao will formally launch the distribution of land titles (pattas) for podu lands in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district on Friday.
Ministers and MLAs also will distribute the podu land pattas to tribal farmers in their respective districts and Assembly constituencies across the State the same day.
The initiative aims to provide legal ownership of forest lands to eligible tribal farmers.
Though the launching ceremony was scheduled to be held on June 24, it got delayed due to the ongoing decennial celebrations of Telangana State formation. As Thursday happens to be a holiday due to Bakrid, the State government deferred the ceremony.
For the past several years, tribals have been taking up podu cultivation in the forest lands unauthorisedly. This has been resulting in illegal occupation of forest lands, leading to frequent altercations between tribals and non-tribals as well as with Forest officials. Ever since Telangana State was formed, the BRS government took a soft stand on the issue and assured to give pattas to tribal farmers.
Accordingly, the State government has undertaken an extensive exercise to grant the podu land pattas in strict adherence to the Forest Rights Act. Forest committees were constituted in all districts with officials from the Forest, Revenue and Tribal Welfare departments. The officials invited claims from the forest dwellers seeking land rights.
The committee conducted a thorough evaluation at the field level across 2,845 gram panchayats in 295 mandals of 28 districts.
After reviewing 4,14,353 claims covering 12,49,296 acres, the committees identified 1,50,012 beneficiaries eligible to receive forest land titles spanning 4,05,601 acres across the 28 districts.
To prevent any unauthorised occupation of forest lands in the future, the State government has implemented a robust system using latest technology. The POLYGON platform has been utilised to create the podu land pattas, incorporating crucial details such as land survey numbers, land area, latitude and longitude coordinates, relevant land boundaries, and Google mapping information. These ownership documents also feature holograms, ensuring accurate identification and minimising potential land disputes with neighboring properties.
Further, the forest land ownership right documents will bear the signatures of officials from the three relevant departments, as well as the beneficiary. Tribal, forest, and revenue officials have been carefully involved in signing the land ownership documents, which also include the photograph of the beneficiary.
In addition, tribal farmers receiving land ownership right documents will be entitled to the Rythu Bandhu scheme, which provides financial support during the monsoon season. Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has instructed District Collectors to make necessary arrangements, leading to the opening of bank accounts for the beneficiaries.
The Tribal Welfare department has provided the Agriculture department with a district-wise list of eligible podu farmers, facilitating the process of opening bank accounts and collecting required details.
As part of the programme’s inauguration, the Chief Minister will also unveil the Integrated District Offices Complex constructed in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district. He will also inaugurate the District SP office within the Collectorate premises. The day’s events will culminate in a public meeting, providing an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss and celebrate this significant milestone in tribal welfare and land rights in Telangana.
More details:
• Number of claims filed – 4,14,353
• Number of claims approved – 1,50,012
• Extent of land sought – 12,49,296 acres
• Extent of land to be distributed – 4,05,601
• The move is expected to benefit tribal farmers across 2,845 gram panchayats in 295 mandals of 28 districts