The Hindu : Front Page : Ownership ‘pattas’ for forest dwellers likely, says Minister

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Thursday, Oct 04, 2007
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Ownership ‘pattas’ for forest dwellers likely, says Minister

‘State gearing up to bring legislation on the lines of the Central Act’

D. Redya Naik

HYDERABAD: Tribal Welfare Minister D.S. Redya Naik said that the Government was considering issuance of ownership ‘pattas’ to people, who had been tilling forest land for several decades once the Scheduled Tribes, Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Act comes into force.

“Ownership for close to five lakh acres of forest land can be given to tribals and non-tribals, who have been cultivating the forest lands for years,” Mr. Redya Naik said at a press conference here on Wednesday. The State Government is gearing up to bring legislation on the lines of the Central Act so that the land could be given to eligible tribals and non-tribals, he observed.

Government hopeful

“The earlier legislations prevented Government from issuing pattas to the tiller but the new Act will be a boon for the forest dwellers,” he said, adding that the Government was hopeful that the State legislation would be ready by the year-end.

Mr. Redya Naik said that to tackle the land disputes in the agency area, 18 vacancies of forest settlement officers would be filled shortly.

There are 986 reserved forest blocks in which 12.34 lakh hectares forest land is under dispute. A survey is on to identify such lands and make efforts to settle the disputes, he remarked.

Infrastructure

Highlighting the achievements of the Remote and Interior Areas Development Department in the last three years, the Minister said Rs. 900 crore would be spent in the next two years to lay black-topped roads in the remote areas. He said the RIAD covered 5,622 villages in 332 mandals in 18 districts of the State.

The emphasis was on providing infrastructure facilities in the rural areas.

Besides this, employment opportunities for the educated tribals, improvement in educational institutions, redressal of land disputes, laying of roads in all villages, provision for safe drinking water and electrification of the villages was the priority under RIAD. Principal Secretary, RIAD, A.K. Tigdi, was present.

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