Stop eviction of forest dwellers, it’s against the law, decry activists
Civil rights activists submitted a representation to the forest department to stop eviction of Adivasis from forests, which is against the law.
Telangana Praja Front (TPF), which submitted the representation, alleged that forest officials were harassing Chenchus by forcing them to leave the land they were cultivating, violating the norms stipulated in Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.
K. Ravi Chander, president of TPF, said, “The forest staff, along with large contingent of police, are creating panic in Adivasi habitations by threatening them and telling them not to cultivate the lands on which they are dependent for three to five decades. By conniving with the police, the forest officials are foisting false cases on Adivasis and putting them in jail. Especially, Chenchus are forcibly evicted and shifted at midnight and their houses are demolished.”
Some incidents reported last month cited in their representation were: 22 families residing for 100 years in Rayaletipenta, Domalapenta range, Amrabad mandal; 20 Adivasi families residing at Macharam for 50 years, and 42 Adivasi families living at Madhavanipalle for 90 years were forcefully evicted by forest officials in Nagarkurnool district. Sometimes these evictions were leading to violence between both parties, added Chander.
He said the families in these three cases were cultivating forest lands for 50 years and more.
Title pattas have to be given to them as they were in possession of teh land as on December 13,
2005. Moreover, they should not be evicted since the verification procedure is not completed at various levels i.e. gram sabha, sub divisional committee and district level committee, duly following the norms of
FRA,2006, said TPF president.
Speaking to this newspaper, Prof Gaddam Laxman, president of the Civil Liberties Committee, Telangana, said, "We have been preparing a comprehensive report on this issue by visiting several districts and will soon make it public. As per the Forest Rights Act, brought in 2006, there are clear instructions that all persons who have been cultivating forest land as on 13th December 2005, should be given pattas.
However, the government, ignoring their order, has been harassing Adivasis. The government should immediately take cognizance of the issue and strive to arrive at a solution for this brewing problem."
The Forest Rights Act,
2006, states in chapter ll, Section 4 and sub-section
(5): "No member of a forest dwelling Scheduled Tribe or other traditional forest dwellers shall be evicted or removed from forest land under his occupation till the recognition and verification procedure is complete."
Civil rights activists demanded that the eviction of tribal farmers from forest lands should be stopped and the cases against the Adivasis should be withdrawn. They also demanded that the houses which were demolished in Adivasi habitations should be rebuilt.