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Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao will on Friday kick off the long-pending distribution of podu patta (land deeds) by handing over lands to tribals during his visit to Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district. The beneficiaries will be covered under the Rythu Bandhu scheme and receive Rs 5,000 per acre per crop season in their bank accounts.
According to a note from the chief minister’s office, claims for 4,06,369 acres from 1,51,146 people belonging to Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities have been settled and distribution of title deeds is being taken up. Of these beneficiaries spread across 26 districts, 82 per cent of claims are settled in nine predominantly tribal districts – Bhadradri Kothagudem, Mahabubabad, Kumuram Bheem Asifabad, Adilabad, Mulugu, Khammam, Warangal, Nagarkurnool and Mancherial. More than 50,000 of these claims are from the Bhadradri Kothagudem district alone.
Podu cultivation or shifting cultivation has been a practice among tribals who identify new lands for cultivation by clearing forests. For long, the tribals have been demanding that they be given ownership of lands they cultivate. Tussles between tribals and forest department staff regarding these lands have also been common in the past.
Though KCR in October 2021 announced his decision to grant ownership of such lands to tribals – it was one of his election promises in the last two polls – the identification and assessment of the extent of lands to be distributed and the beneficiaries reportedly delayed the process.
As per the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, all tribals who occupied forest lands as on December 13, 2005, are only eligible for occupation certificates. For non-tribals, their last three generations must be the land’s occupants. This has been the main reason for the delay in resolving the long-pending podu lands issue as the forest department has received a large number of claims after the said cut-off date.
The state had received claims for 11,55,849 acres from 3,94,996 people from 28 districts. Of these, claims from ST persons comprise 2,23,416 claims for 7,19,704 acres while the rest – 1,71,580 claims for 4,36,145 acres – are from Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD) and non-ST people. Following this, the government took up verification of claims and evidence through the Forest Rights Committee (FRC) and land measurement by forest beat or section officers.
Friday’s land deed distribution was earlier planned for June 24 but postponed due to official reasons.
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