Tamil Nadu: 50-year Janmam scourge' comes to logical end

Ooty​: The introduction of  a bill for the amendment of the Tamil Nadu forest Act, 1882, in the recent session of the TN assembly, which was passed by a voice vote during the session to pave the way for declaration of nearly 29,000 acres of  forest area in the controversial Janmam land or Section-17 lands in Gudalur and Pandalur taluks in Nilgiris bordering Kerala on its west, into reserve forests, is perceived by the greens as a new beginning in forest restoration and a find solution to the nearly five-decade-long Janmam land issue which has seen many a litigation and other related issues.

Forest sources said that Janmam is the meaning for hereditary rights over properties prevalent in the state of Kerala during the pre-Independence era.  These lands were in the possession of a few zamindari families. 

The zamindars holding the rights of Janman lands used to be called Janmies in Kerala and their lands were called as Janmam estates or Janmam lands. 

Most Janmam lands come under the control of the Nilambur Kovilagam in Kerala. Apart from this, there were Janmies on the Karnataka side too. The Janmies were mostly absentee landlords. The lands were mostly possessed and cultivated by lessees and encroachers. During the reorganization of states after Independence, nearly 80,000 acres of these Janmam lands were included in the Nilgiris district jurisdiction.

In 1969, the TN government enacted the Gudalur Janmam Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act. Settlement was done over nearly one fourth of the Janman lands following this act. However, this act was challenged in different courts by small time encroachers as well as big plantation lessees and some Janmies. But the apex court order in 2011 favoured the TN government as the latter was given the power to take decisions on applications regarding issue of pattas to the present occupants of Janmam lands and identify and attach forest areas in Janman lands to the forest department.

On the present bill on the amendment  to the TN Forest Act for facilitation to declare the forest areas in Janman lands into reserve forests, Collector of the Nilgiris, J. Innocent Divya, said that Janman or Section-17 lands in the Gudalur-Pandalur belt in the Nilgiris is to the tune of 80,080 acres. During the first phase of settlement process done long ago, nearly 28,000 acres were settled, of which, 12,000 acres were identified as forest lands and others were given as pattas to eligible persons.

“Now, out of the remaining 52,000 acres of Janmam lands for which there was litigation and issues related to issue of pattas to the present occupants, 17,000 acres were identified and declared as forest areas. The balance 35,000 acres are still under the Section 17 category.  So, the 12,000 acres of lands identified as forest areas in the first phase of settlement and the 17,000 acres now identified as forest areas, which together constitute 29,000 acres, will be declared as reserve forest after due process as per government instructions. Government has constituted a high power committee to recommend on settling the issue on the remaining 35,000 acres of Janmam lands that includes plantation estates,” she added.