Telangana: 8 lakh acres of Podu land earmarked for allotment

The District Coordination Committees (DCCs), recently constituted by the State government, will scrutinise more than five lakh applications submitted by tribals and non-tribals.

Hyderabad: Nearly eight lakh acres of dispute-free forest land have reportedly been identified for allotment to its occupants who have taken up Podu cultivation in the area for the last few decades.

For this, the District Coordination Committees (DCCs), recently constituted by the State government, will scrutinise more than five lakh applications submitted by tribals and non-tribals.

According to sources in the Forest Department, about 7,29,654 acres of forest land was illegally occupied by 2,05,971 people. However, the claims were made for 13,18,507 acres based on representations submitted by 5,03,469 people.

The State government constituted the DCCs under GO 140 to examine and resolve the Podu land issue across the State. Accordingly, the officials concerned started to identify dispute-free forest land. The DCCs were directed to resolve the Podu land issue and, if needed, issue pattas at the earliest.

However, further action has been kept pending following the High Court’s directions to the State government against convening DCC meetings to confirm the rights over Podu land on long-time cultivators till further orders.

Recently, a writ petition filed by three persons of the Scheduled Tribes community from Bhadradri Kothagudem district sought a direction to suspend GO 140 which facilitates the inclusion of public representatives in DCCs which oversee the disposal of claims over Podu cultivation land.

“Based on the High Court orders, the applications will be scrutinised to weed out duplicate and false representations. As land has been already identified for issuing pattas, the process will be initiated upon receiving necessary directions from the government,” a senior officer in the Tribal Welfare Department said.

It may be noted that Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao promised to extend Rythu Bandhu support to the pattadars of Podu land as well. Upon completing the land allotment, the DCCs would enforce strict measures and prevent further encroachment of forest land.