The forest department is insisting on plantation of trees to develop the forests while the farmers say it will affect their Podu land rights.
It was alleged that the forest department had identified land parcels for which farmers have applied for Podu pattas under the ROFR (Scheduled Tribes & Other Traditional Forest Dwellers) Act before the Assembly elections last year. Elected representatives do not want to lose farmers’ support as they fear these issues will impact the prospects of party candidates in the local body elections scheduled for later this year.
People who were cultivating Podu lands claimed that they had rights on the lands under the Forest Rights Act of 2005.
Farmers obstructed forest staff when they went to plant trees in the Podu land being cultivated for a long time on the outskirts of Ankushapur village in Kagaznagar mandal in Komaram Bheem Asifabad district. The land was in the forest compartment No 69 and the forest officials wanted to fix its boundaries by planting the trees before monsoon.
The farmers questioned the forest officials about how they could plant trees on the land for which they hold pattas and have secured bank loans and Rythu Bandhu aid.
Kagaznagar deputy range officer Shashidhar Raju along with other staff made futile efforts to develop the plantation.
Asifabad BRS MLA Kova Laxmi alleged that some forest officials were harassing Adivasis who are cultivating the land on the outskirts of Thungeda in Rebbena mandal. She requested the collector to stop forest officials from the practice.
The BRS government had issued pattas to 1.51 lakh podu farmers to the extent of 4.6 lakh acres in the state before Assembly elections in 2023.
