Dharmajipet Kolams prove their existence pre-FRA cut-off

Visiting officials demand evidence of their cultivating the land prior to the cut-off date

Dharmajipet Kolam Adivasis made an impassioned plea to the government not to evict them from their lands as that was their only source of livelihood and survival. The poor farmers swore that they were tilling the forest lands much before the cut off date for claiming rights under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.

The tiny village of 30 households, located deep inside the core area of Kawal Tiger Reserve (KTR) in Birsaipet gram panchayat of Utnoor mandal has come to symbolise the pathetic condition of ethnic tribes tilling forest land in erstwhile undivided Adilabad district.

They have been staging protests since a week against their perceived eviction following serving of a notice by the Forest Department which intends to make the tiger reserve forest safe for tigers by reclaiming the reserve forest land under cultivation by the Kolams, unless they produced proof of their putting the land to agriculture use before the designated RoFR cut off date.

On Tuesday, Forest officials led by Utnoor Forest Divisional Officer Vijay Kumar and Utnoor CI K. Naresh Kumar and SI Annil Kumar, held a meeting with the villagers.

Documents verified

The meeting was held to verify the documents supporting the claim of the aboriginal farmers.

The latter could prove that the village existed even before the year 2,000 but had insufficient documents to prove they were tilling the lands as far back in time. The officials urged the Kolams not to take up sowing or weeding operations in the 209 acres of forest land under their possession until a final decision is taken by higher authorities.

Crucial period

Tekam Bheem Rao, an elder, pleaded that this is the crucial time both for sowing and weeding in fields where sowing has already been done. “Even a delay by two days could be crucial for the health of the crop and we could be finished economically if the crop fails,” he pointed out and urged the officials to expedite the matter.

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