Panel to deal Podu land issues

The Cabinet sub-committee set up to recommend to the state government a permanent solution with regard to the land issues caused by Podu, or shifting, cultivation in Telangana’s forests, held its first meeting on Saturday.

The ministerial group is headed by Satyavathi Rathod, with A. Indrakaran Reddy, and Puvvada Ajay Kumar as its members.

The meet discussed in detail the status of forest land occupied by tribal farmers practicing Podu, protection of forests and forest land, implementation of the Scheduled Tribes & Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forests Rights) (RoFR) Act.

The meeting, according to an official news release, discussed how the ‘rights’ of non-tribals who have occupied forest lands for cultivation, can be protected.

With thousands of acres of forest land under illegal occupation of non-tribals who are non-traditional forest dwellers, the issue has been hanging fire for several years. The benefits of being granted rights to cultivate in existing Podu lands under the RoFR Act, are meant only for members of tribal communities that have been traditional residents in a given forest area.

In Telangana state, a total of 2,04 lakh and odd claims seeking hereditary rights to cultivate some 6.9 lakh acres of occupied forest lands were filed under the RoFR Act. Of these, the tribal welfare department, the nodal agency, as of last year had processed 96,676 claims and approved some 2.04 lakh claims and granted farming rights in over 3.08 lakh acres of forest land.

Another 15,558 claims covering 53,565 acres for forest land in Adilabad, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Bhadradri Kothagudem, and Nagarkurnool districts have been pending inquiry for long. From the 2.04 lakh claims, as many as 91,942 claims for Podu rights, involving 3.27 lakh acres, have been rejected.

None of these whose claims have been rejected, have been informed so far, sources said.

With the state government, and elected leaders — over the past few years — repeatedly issuing assurances that the issue of occupied forest lands will be addressed and people need not have any worries, there have been increasing instances of illegal occupation of forest areas by both tribals and non-tribals.

According to one estimate, around 10,000 acres of forest land have been illegally occupied just in the recent past with people hoping that they will get pattas for the same from the government.

The Cabinet sub-committee is scheduled to meet again on September 24, by when its official terms of reference are likely to be issued.