Visakhapatnam: Act against erring revenue officials, HRF urges govt.

Digital land records being manipulated in Konam revenue village in Anakapalli district, allege activists

The Human Rights Forum (HRF) has urged the Joint Collector of Anakapalli district to visit Kothaveedhi hamlet in Konam revenue village in Cheedikada mandal of Ankapalli district and conduct a comprehensive inquiry in respect of land being cultivated by adivasis and do justice to their long-pending issue.

The HRF members had conducted a factfinding inquiry on Tuesday and urged the authorities to take action against ‘erring mandal revenue officials who are brazenly manipulating digital land records and carrying out fraudulent mutations in the Webland portal’.

“We spoke with adivasi residents of both villages and saw the extensive farming undertaken by them. Kothaveedhi is inhabited by Kondhs, classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), while Gunti is inhabited by Konda Doras. A total of 18 families—13 of Kothaveedhi and five from Gunti—have been cultivating 40 acres in Survey no. 289-1A of Konam revenue village for over 25 years. They have principally been raising cashew, mango and several dry crops,” said V.S. Krishna of HRF.

“For many years, the adivasis have been representing the matter to revenue officials from the mandal to the divisional-level, with the plea to recognise their possession and cultivation of the land and to enter the same in the requisite land records. Concerned officials, who were in full knowledge of the cultivation by adivasis, have refused to do so in spite of repeated entreaties,” Mr. Krishna said.

The Cheedikada Deputy Tahsildar visited the village on December 12, 2021, but no notice was given as is required by law to the local adivasi cultivators who are in possession of the land. This is in plain violation of the AP Rights in Land and Pattadar Pass Books Act, Mr. Krishna said.

“Convinced that the official was openly inclined to facilitate land grabbing by non-tribals, the adivasis raised a complaint against him with the then Visakhapatnam District Collector. They also filed a complaint with the Commissioner, Survey and Land Records, Vijayawada against the mandal surveyor for failure to observe due process and for suppressing facts. Consequent to this, the Deputy Inspector of Survey visited Kothaveedhi on May 31 this year and inspected the cultivation being done by the adivasis,” said K. Anuradha of HRF.

HRF functionaries also alleged that the adivasis were subjected to threats of forcible eviction by the non-tribals following which they brought the matter to the notice of the Anakapalli SP who deputed the DSP to the village. The DSP did so and warned of action against anyone threatening the adivasis.