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Andhra Pradesh

Social Watch

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Report 2007

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Access, Retention and Development of LAND

A Dalit Perspective

EditorFr.Thomas Pallithanam Sdb

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Access, Retention and Development of LAND A Dalit Perspective.

This second report from AP Social Watch is a collaborative venture by individual researchers and mass organizations. It takes a close look at distant history and the immediate present to understand why the dalits have remained without access and secure tenure to land despite being the daughters and sons of the soil. The study is on the one hand an inquiry into the land reform policies and its implementation by the state and on the other an appraisal of the role played by dominant sections of society with respect to Dalits' access to land.

We hope this report becomes an advocacy tool for those who work with the marginalized to help them access, retain and develop land and a handy resource book for the activists in the field.

Andhra Pradesh Social Watch (AP Social Watch) is a broad based platform of NGOs, Community Based Organizations, Academics and other Individuals committed to the cause of building a more humane society where the rights and entitlements of every one especially those of the marginalized are protected and promoted and where no one is excluded from the processes and benefits of development. More particularly the AP Social Watch is committed to monitoring and ensuring that there is convergence of stated policies and implementation of the same by the government.

Andhra Pradesh Social WatchHyderabad

Report 2007

Chapter I

Hope ?Rekindling

Access, Retention and Development of LANDA Dalit Perspective

Andhra Pradesh

Social WatchReport 2007

Editor

Fr. Thomas Pallithanam Sdb

Rekindling Hope?Access, Retention and Development of LAND A Dalit Perspective

Edited by : Fr.Thomas Pallithanam

© 2007

Andhra Pradesh Social Watch, Hyderabad

Any part of this report can be reproduced for non-commercial purpose without priorpermission. However, the source should be clearly acknowledged and a copy of thepublished document should be sent to Andhra Pradesh Social Watch.

Published by :Dalit Bahujan Shramik UnionAndhra Pradesh Social WatchDoor No. 1-4-879/87/1,942 Bakaram, Road No. 7,Gandhi Nagar, Hyderabad - 500 080.Andhra Pradesh, INDIA

Phone : 040 27535492Fax : 040 27533657Email : [email protected]

For Private Circulation

Requested Contribution : Rs. 150/- or US $15

Conceptulization, Layout and Printed by:

Jade Green Design Powerhouse# 109, B-Block, Archana Enclave,East Marredpally, Secunderabad-26.Mobile : 98480 60604E-mail : [email protected]

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements i

Preface iii

Authors iv

Foreword v

Introduction 1

1. LAND ENTITLEMENTS – HISTORICAL EVOLUTION 11 - B.D.A. Satya Babu Bose

1.1. ORIGINS OF INDIA (Introduction)

1.2. EARLY PERIOD

1.2.1. The Dravidians

1.2.2. The Aryans

1.2.3. Origin of Varna and Caste

1.3. Brief Overview of the Agrarian Systems under Buddhist and Hindurulers in North and South India upto the End of First Millennium BC

1.3.1. In Buddhist Literature

1.4. Land Revenue Systems in the Sultanates and the Mughal Period

1.4.1. Jagirdars

1.4.2. Todar Mall’s Land Reforms

1.4.3. Revenue collection

1.4.4 Woeful State of the Farmers

1.5. Land Ownership before British Period

1.5.1 Absence of ownership concept

1.5.2 Land not saleable

1.6. Land Revenue Systems in the Early British Period(Rule of East India Company)

1.6.1. Transfer of Right to Land

1.6.2. Permanent Settlement

1.6.3. Disastrous consequences

1.6.4. Zamindars come into being

1.6.5. Feudalism at Top – Serfdom at Bottom

1.6.6. New Agrarian relations

1.6.7. Rise of Moneylenders as class

1.6.8. Land Revenue

1.6.9. Poverty and Indebtedness

1.7. The Peasants’ Unrest

1.8. Peasants and Farmers Organisations and Movements

1.8.1. Kisan Sabha Movement

1.8.2. Oudh Kisan Sabha

1.8.3. Outbreak of Violence and Aftermath

1.8.4 Kisan Sabhas in Other Regions

1.8.5 Land Rights for Dalits – An Agenda Beyond the Pale NationalConsciousness

1.8.6 The Limitations of the Leftists

1.8.7 Peasants Struggles – Indian National Congress

1.9. Assignment Of Land To Dalits (Panchamas)In Madras Presidency

1.9.1 Right over Land Restored

1.9.2 Lands acquired for assignment

1.10. The Land Issue And The Dalit Movements

1.10.1 Independent Labour Party

1.10.2 Basic Thrust of Dalit Movements

1.11. Scenario Of Agricultural Labourers Population

1.12. Conclusion

References

2. LAND REFORMS - PROMISING MUCH, DELIVERING LITTLE 35

- Kodanda Ram, M. Lakshmaiah

2.1. Tenancy Laws

2.2. Andhra Area

2.3. Ceiling on Agricultural Holding

2.4. Land Reforms Act 1973

3. DALITS ENTITLEMENT TO LAND 53- AN AGENDA THAT NEVER WAS! - Estharla Krishna Rao

3.1. Objectives of the Study

3.2. Methodology and Data Sources

3.3. Land and Castes in Colonial Andhra

3.4. The Dalits

3.5. Land Struggles in pre and initial period of Independence in Andhra

3.6. The Impact of the Communist led Land Struggle on Dalits access to land

3.6.1. Significant Struggles in Coastal Andhra

3.6.2. Significant Struggles in Telengana Region

3.7. Post Independent Land Reforms

3.8. Land Legislations in Post Independence Andhra Pradesh – An Overview

3.9. Benefits from struggle / Benefits from Land Reforms

3.10. Analysis of data available on land holding patterns - with specialreference to Dalits.

3.11. Much can still be done

3.12. Conclusion

References

4 DALITS’S STRUGGLE FOR LAND RIGHTS - RECLAIMING 85HUMAN PERSONALITY - N. Paul Divakar, M. David Sudhakar

4.1 Introduction

4.2. The struggle for land – a Journey in the Reclamation of Human Personality

4.3. Triangulation Strategy4.3.1. Ideological Orientation

4.3.2. Investigation into the nature of land issues

4.3.2.1. Land for which Pattas have been given to Dalitsbut dominant caste members deny physical possession.

4.3.2.2. Lands in physical possession of Dalits butnot having valid document

4.3.2.3 Dalit lands illegally occupied by landlords4.3.2.4. Government lands in illegal possession of ineligible

dominant caste occupiers4.3.2.5. Government lands in illegal possession of ineligible

dominant caste occupiers who have also fraudulentlyobtained pattas (title deeds)

4.3.2.6. Lands in possession of ineligible non-Dalit personunder benami names.

4.3.2.7. Lands concealed from the purview land ceiling act

4.3.2.8. Tenancy

4.3.2.9. Incorrect entries in land records

4.3.2.10. Police favour dominant caste Landlords

4.3.2.11. Dalits and Adivasis are prevented from access toallotted forest lands

4. 3.3. Mobilising the Community

4. 3.4. Legal Intervention through Executive and if necessary Judicial Courts

4. 3.5. Direct Action

4. 3.6. Recapacitation of skills and knowledge

4. 3.7. Advocacy Strategy

4. 4. Paying the price in the struggle to reclaim human personality

4. 5. Framework for Action – Capitalizing on Experiences

4.5.1. A concerted Dalit Land Rights Campaign Across the country

4.5.2. Direct action of ‘Dalit land rights appropriation’

4.5.3. Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Land(Protection and Development) Act

4.5.4. Lobby for policies concerning Agricultural Workers

4.5.5. Not Market Viability but Livelihood Rights of Dalits

4.5.6. Tackle Impunity - Accountability of the Government Functionaries

4.6. Specific suggestions

References

5 PEOPLES INITIATIVES FOR ACCESS TO LAND 109 - Estharla Krishna Rao

5.1. Land Struggle In Vengamukkalapalem Village5.1.1. Land appropriation by dalits

5.1.2. Grant of Provisional Pattas

5.1.3. Initial Attempts to displace the Dalits

5.1.4. Seeking legal intervention – Favourable order from the High Court?

5.1.5. Indifference of revenue department to court orders

5.1.6. Direct action to reclaim land

5.1.7. Other significant developments in the struggle

5.1.7.1.Response of State SC/ST Commission

5.1.7.2.Commission Recommendations5.2. Land Struggle In Kedarlanka, Kapileswaram Mandal

5.3. Land Struggles In Kappapahad Village

5.4. Thaiyur Land Issue – Chittoor District

5.4.1. Reddy landlords lay claim Govt. lands assigned to Dalits

5.4.2. Dalits did not figure in the court procedures

5.4.3. Court rules in favour of the landlords

5.4.4. Dalits decide to implead in the case

5.4.5. 2001 to 2007

5.4.6. To Conclude

5.5. Land Struggle In Meerkhanpet Village5.6. Land Struggle In Tadiparti Village

5.7. Land Struggle In Avulapalli Village

5.8. Land Struggle In Marellamadaka Village

5.9. Land Struggle In Moravapalli Village

5.9.1. Case-I

5.9.2. Case-II

5.9.3. Case-III

5.9.4. Case-IV

5.9.5. Case-V

Annexure - I - Assembly proceedings regarding Vengamukkalapalem

Annexure - II - Andhra Pradesh Assigned lands (PoA) ammendment

Annexure - III - High Court interm order on Assigned lands

6 ASSIGNED LANDS DEVELOPMENT IS POSSIBLE 163

- B.D.A. Satya Babu Bose

6.1. Introduction

6.2. The initial attempts

6.3. Watershed Development Programme Bypassed the Assignees

6.4. Assigned Land Development Activities in Andhra Pradesh

6.5. The Context of Comprehensive Land Development Programme

6.5.1. The Programme

6.5.2. Convergence of the expertise

6.5.3. The issues in the implementation of programme

6.5.4. State Committee on CLDP

6.6. Conclusion and suggestions

References

7 PERSISTING ALIENATION OF TRIBAL LANDS 177 - Palla Trinadha Rao

7.1. Introduction

7.2. Early Struggles

7.3. Land Transfer Laws during British Rule

7.4. Governance and Land Transfer laws in the Post Independent era

7.5. Land Transfer Regulations 1 of 59

7.6. Land Transfer Regulations 1 of 7

7.7. Situation Analysis

7.7.1. Agency Mandals (West Godavari District)

7.7.1.1. Population

7.7.1.2. Lands

7.7.1.3. Land Holdings

7.7.1.4. Case study

7.7.1.5. The result of the Cases under Land TransferRegulations

7.7.1.6. Non Tribals Land Title questioned

7.7.2. Agency Mandals in East Godavari District

7.7.3. Agency Mandals in Khammam District:

7.8. Scrutiny of Land Cases decided infavour of Non Tribals7.9. Tribal Land struggles7.10. Tribal Land issues: An over view7.11. State attempts to dilute 1 of 70 Regulations7.12. Recommendations

References

8 LAND LITERACY - TOOL TO PROTECT TRIBAL LIVELIHOODS 203- N. Sanyasi Rao

8.1. Background

8.2. Present Status

8.3. The ARTS work with youth cadres on land literacy

8.4. Policy recommendations and suggestions

9 URBAN LAND AND ACCESS TO POOR - 211A Case Study of Hyderabad - Irfan Basha9.1. Introduction

9.2. Slum areas near Musi

9.3. Socio-economic Characteristics of Nandanavanam population

9.4. Environmental Conditions and Health Status

9.5. Education in Nandanavanam

9.6. Literacy in the slums in Hyderabad

9.7. Growth of Slums and Slum Population

9.8. Hyderabad – the vital statistics

9.9. Case Study-1: Jaipal’s story

9.10. Case Study-2: Shahnaaz Begum’s Story

9.11. The lack access for the poor to urban land

9.12. Conclusion and Suggestions

References

10 Land Reforms in Andhra Pradesh - Time for a Fresh 237Dialogue and a New Approach - Karuna Vakati Aakella

10.1. Introduction

10.2. The Status of Land Reform in Andhra Pradesh

10.3. Opportunity for Revival of the Land Reforms Agenda

10.4. Time for a new approach and a fresh dialogue

10.5. Conclusion

10.6. The Road Ahead

List of Tables 242

Abbreviations 245

This Report has been a collaborative venture. The theme of the Report evolvedafter wide ranging consultations among not only the core group of AndhraPradesh Social Watch and but also with an extended group of developmentalpractioners, academics and activists. Paul Divakar was the first to indicate theneed for such a report on land from a Dalit Perspective. He developed theinitial frame work for the inquiry. Representatives from DBSU, CWS,CDS,CEC, CRSD, COVA, DBF, APPVVU, SAKSHI, YAKSHI, SHAKTISAMATHA,WASAN, NDF, helped to finalize what areas the report wouldcover, what methodology should be followed and from what perspectives thereport should be developed. Each ones contribution is hereby acknowledged.

B.D.A. Satya Babu Bose, Kodanda Ram, Mallepalli Laxmaiah, E. KrishanaRao, N. Paul Divakar, M.Sudhakar David, Palla Trinadha Rao, N.SanyasiRao, Irfan Basha, Karuna Vakati Aakella gave their time, talent and expertisein writing the various chapters of the report. Their contribution is acknowledgedwith thanks.

Mr. K.R.Venugopal IAS(Retd) not only wrote the Foreword but also has beena great source of inspiration and support for the preparation of the reportgiving his valuable suggestions from time to time. My sincere thanks to him.

People’s Action For Rural Awakening made it possible for me to work on thisreport supporting me during entire period of the report writing. Their support isbeing acknowledged whole heartedly.

AP Social Watch registers its appreciation for DBSU for acting as theSecretariate for the duration of this report writing. It acknowledges thecontribution by G.Sudhakar the General Secretary, G.Daniel Prakash theOrganising Secretary and Surrender. Although DBSU took on this responsibilityCWS continued to provide all the logistics for the conduct of consultations,planning sessions and thematic workshops undertaken as part of the reportpreparation. In a particular way I would like to go on record registering mythanks to Mr.Rama Rao of CWS and his support staff.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

i

I use this opportunity also to mention the support extended to me byMr.Inavarappu Surinarayana of Dalita Bahujana Vyavasaya Karmika Union andG. Narasimha of Dalita Bahujana Shramik Union. This report would not havecome into your hands but for the constant support given by E.Krishna Rao whobesides writing the chapter allotted to him was a constant companion on thisjourney towards the completion of the report.

In a special way I would like to thank Ms.Sandhya of Action Aid for the interestshe evinced in the project and the financial support extended through herorganization at a very crucial time of the report completion. Towards theconcluding phase of the report preparation there were a host of people whocontributed their mite by looking through the manuscripts and making correctionsbefore the editing work began. I place on record the support of Rebecca Kurian,Annie Namala, Prasanna Kumar, Swarnalatha, Raphael, J. Pandichery, AnandReddy, Jose T.V., B.Sudhakar, Kiran, Santiagu, Kosaraju Suresh and JohnTarakan.

The Don Bosco Provincial House and Bosco Seva Kendra gave the necessaryambience for work, providing all the communication facilities that made theediting and coordination work easy.

AP Social watch acknowledges Jade Green Design Powerhouse Team for theirdesign and Layout work getting this report printed.

Before I conclude I would like to thank all the friends in the National SocialWatch Coalition who evinced great interest in the Andhra Process. Thanks aredue in a special way to Mr. Jagadananda of CYSD who is one the cofoundersof the National Social Watch Coalition and Manisha of Concern World Wide.

This rendition will not be complete without mentioning M.V. Sastri who carefullyfollowed up the progress of the report all through its preparation stage, givingthe necessary guidance, whenever necessary forewarning about the pitfalls aheadin conscious fulfillment of his responsibility as the Convenor of A.P Social Watch.

Fr. Thomas Pallithanam

ii

PREFACE

It may be recalled that the first report of Andhra Pradesh Social Watch,“Rethinking Priorities”, was released in 2005. That report covered policiesand their implementation in the fields of Education, Health, Food Security andWater. It was agreed, while the first report was under preparation, that thesecond in the A.P. Social Watch series would be devoted to Land.

It is with pleasure that I write these lines for the second report of AndhraPradesh Social Watch. The present report attempts to focus primarily on dalitand tribal concerns, and takes a critical view of the policies of state, which ofcourse is the purpose of Social Watch. That the report is in a good measurethe result of the labour of dalit intellectuals-activists makes it something special.Presented against a historical backdrop, the report brings out the dynamicsthat tends to militate against realization, by dalits and tribals, of those landrights that are promised by the declared state policies that are often furtherunderpinned by movements also.

The Coordinator of the volume Fr. Thomas Pallithanam, and the authors, mustbe commended for keeping the Social Watch ticking, and for bringing to thefore the ground level realities around the vital subject of land. It would be awhile before A.P. Social Watch gets more fully established so that its findingsand reports measure up to the standards it is conscious it has to attain. In themeanwhile the effort, and the series, would go on: each effort should be anoccasion for stock-taking on how to gear up to do more.

Secunderabad, M.V. SASTRI8-5-2007. A.P. Social Watch

iii

BDA Satya Babu Bose is the Director of Centre for Rural Studies and Development, Anantapurand Convenor of People’s Monitoring Committee for CLDP

M. Kodandam Ram is Professor, Faculty of Political Science, Osmania University, Hyderabad.

Mallepalli Laxmaiah is a Senior Journalist and Coordinator, Centre For Dalit Studies, Hyderabad

Estharla Krishna Rao is a Research Scholar, Dept. of Economics, University of Hyderabad,Hyderabad.

N. Paul Divakar is the National Convenor of National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights andpreviously the General Secretary of the Dalit Bahujan Shramik Union

M.Sudhakar David is a researcher on Dalit Rights especially related to Livelihood issues.

Trinadha Rao is a leading Tribal Rights Activist, Writer and Advocate.

N.Sanyasi Rao is the Director of Action in Rural Technology and Service (ARTS), Srikakulam.

Karuna Vakati Aakella is at present Director, Strategy and Performance Innovation Unit(SPIU) Department of Rural Development, Hyderabad. Formerly with Velugu.

Thomas Pallithanam is the Director of People’s Action For Rural Awakening and formerly theOrganising Secretary of Dalit Bahujan Shramik Union.

AUTHORS

iv

Ever since human beings stopped being hunters and gatherers, land has cometo mean to them the source of two of their most fundamental needs, and hencetheir most fundamental rights, namely, Food and Shelter. Land, therefore, isetched into the very soul, what to say of the memories of millenniums, of everyone who has worked on it and helped others to reap its bounty. However, thisrelationship, history tells us, was rudely jolted with the onset of the iniquitouscaste system in India that relegated vast masses of the people to a status ofinferiority only because they worked and produced whereas the so-called“superior” ones lived lives of comfort, contemplation and commerce, whenrulers were not amusing themselves in their periodic games of war. Even tofuel the games of war, the fodder and fuel had to be generated by thoserelegated to production. These seeds of inequity lay and developed overcenturies in the producing classes converting many of them into a class ofuntouchables, not worthy of an equal place in the social order. All these deniedthem nature’s most legitimate gift of social evolution which is the right to aspirefor a mobility upward the symbol of which would have been the acquisition ofa piece of the ultimate resource, namely land, which they had worked onperpetually, most often with out even the pittance of a compensation of awage so others might enjoy all the benefits of their toil. This denial of rightswas suffered for centuries by the large masses even as their dignity erodedsystematically thanks to the twin denial of their economic and social rights,linked essentially to land. The bitter irony of this is that it made no difference asto who ruled them. However, this bitter irony has turned into tragic irony inindependent India because such hopes as the land-dependent toiling-producingmasses entertained that the nation’s freedom would bring them also a newfreedom where the fruits of their toil would exclusively belong to them in termsof their accessing land as a primary asset, have been dashed.

These hopes remained at all for the poor at the dawn of Independence becauseof a sense of equity that governed the rule of even our colonial masters whoprobably remembered their own medieval English ditty:

“When Adam dug and Eve span

Who was then the Gentleman?”

FOREWORD

v

The hopes arose because the policies like assignment of Government lands onlease or otherwise to the landless poor; conditions in the assigned land deed toprotect the poor from predator-induced alienation; protection of land rights ofthe tribes in the Agency areas and similar measures, which the British formulatedin compassionate realization of the plight of the landless poor, most particularlythe Dalits. These policies were continued when we became free but not in thefulsome manner in which they should have been implemented, as years passedby after Independence. The national Government abolished Zamindari and othersimilar feudal land tenures in the early days but that did not result in the tillers ofand the toilers on the soil accessing land rights. The rights that the “upper” castetenants obtained with the abolition of those tenures stand in bold relief againstthe inconsequential benefits that the landless tillers of the soil obtained in thewake of the land ceilings laws that the Andhra Pradesh Government, for example,enacted not once but twice in the decade of the 1960s and the early 1970s.Thefailure of the latter is directly attributable to the levels of political and administrativehonesty that obtained in these years and have continued to obtain, relative to thevalues of the 1950s. Herein lies the heart of the problems of the landless poor ingeneral and of the Dalits in particular. It needs to be acknowledged also that thepredicament of the rural Dalits before and after independence has remained thesame, excepting that in the latter period it has been far worse for them emotionally.It has been worse for them because the promise-based as against theperformance-based, “democratic” governance that has been practised hasresulted in rousing of hopes, fulfilled more in the breach. Hopes generateawareness of rights and vice versa but these rouse retaliatory atrocities as well,with the State machinery standing neutral but often siding with the aggressors.Nowhere is this better manifested than in the land context, - a context ofreformatory laws sounding almost revolutionary on paper but entirely regressivein implementation. To mention but a few examples of this are the laws like theAndhra Pradesh Land Transfer Regulation 1 of 1959 and later amended asRegulation 1 of 1970; the Andhra Pradesh (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings)Act, 1961; the Andhra Pradesh Land Reforms ((Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings)Act, 1973; the Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act,1977 and numerous earlier Board Standing Orders and Government Orders.This breach of social and legal trust on the part of the Governments has resultedin the exploitation of the landless poor, especially the Dalits and the ScheduledTribes, by the landed classes, real estate developers and miscellaneous types ofland mafia.

vi

As if this were not enough, the relentless march of the so-called Liberalizationprocess egged on by the “reforming” exploitative political elites, never mindtheir party affiliations, is currently gobbling up Government lands that wereonce looked upon as common property resources, whether located in rural orurban areas. Successive Governments in Andhra Pradesh are handing overthese people’s resources to national and multi-national capital ostensibly in returnfor unverified employment opportunities they are supposed to generate for ouryouth. That these jobs, such as they are, would in any case have happenedgiven our market size, the climate, scientific resources, other subsidized incentiveslike tax breaks of all varieties, water, power, roads, flyovers, airports and thecost-saving economics of outsourcing pursued by the Western multinationalsis obfuscated by the self-serving rhetoric of the “reformers”. When we viewthis against, for example, the Government Blind Home in Hyderabad run in arented structure which no rational person would certify as fit for humanoccupation we can understand how marginalized the poor are in regard to theirland rights in the context of the galloping Globalization. On top of all this comesthe Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 2007- Act8 of 2007- which ostensibly aims at restoring lands previously assigned to thelandless poor who were no more in possession of them, but in reality plans touse it for “public purpose” which is defined to include purposes totally unrelatedto the direct welfare or development of the Dalits or the poor such as the so-called infrastructure development, promotion of industries, tourism, public utilityetc., This injures the interests of the poor and the Dalits as a class pf people forwhom this valuable resource was lawfully and, in Constitutional law, contractuallycommitted. This Act does not even take the trouble at least of defininginfrastructure as social infrastructure relevant exclusively to the welfare anddevelopment of the weaker sections. The intention of the Act is made clearwhen it exempts from prosecution those who violated the Andhra PradeshAssigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977 and thus came into unlawfulpossession of lands assigned to the poor. This is a negation of the rule of law asapplied to defence of the rights of the poor; and the official proclamation of thisin the form of a law is a sad day in the continuing legal history of the landlesspoor in Andhra Pradesh. It is a travesty of the concept of rights as we understandthem because it confers rights on a group of people who violated the rights ofanother group of people to whom the State owed a legal duty in terms of apromise it had me through a law it had earlier itself enacted. Against thisbackground of a violation of a social contract if calls are heard for direct actionby the poor, then the State has to thank only itself for this situation.

vii

This is where we stand as the A P Social Watch brings out this Report on Land.The various chapters on the several aspects of the problem of land in its overallhistory, tribal, urban, policy and people’s contexts provide crucial insights intothe evolution of the land question in India and Andhra Pradesh. This Report,therefore, is a valuable resource in the understanding of the predicament of thepoor, in the context of land, their single most important aspiration. I hope thisReport will not only enhance the understanding of those of us who have beenintimately involved with land in the context of the poor but would, moreimportantly, create the much-needed awareness and outrage among the middleclasses, especially the lower middle classes and leaders of public opinion sothat peaceful alternatives are found to bring pressure on errant Governments,regardless of party affiliations, to find a just and equitable solution to the issue ofthe rights of the poor to land for which they have patiently waited for centuries.

The Report recounts through authentically- documented case studies the seriousinstitutional failures at various levels in regard to the land rights of the Dalitsregardless of region in Andhra Pradesh. These failures highlight how rights whichare taken as granted by others have to be fought for with their lives and livelihoodsby the Dalits. Numerous factors like unbridled inflationary upward march inland prices; apathy on the part of the political parties; indifference, collusion andcorruption on the part of the official machinery; and absence of productioncredit lead to the loss of even the acknowledged land rights of the Dalits. Whilethe State can fight the disenfranchised poor in the Courts with public resources,that is not an option for the impoverished even to defend their Constitutionalrights. Yet, the case studies here show the undefeated will of the poor to strugglefor their rights against all odds. This is what kindles the hope that the poor willultimately prevail given the legitimacy of their own rights and the moral strengthof their own determination. Such hopes can not, however, be conditional onopen-ended sacrifices of the poor. The institutions of State and Society should,therefore, treat the lessons of these case studies as a wake-up call in regard totheir own duties so that fulfilled hopes and fulfilled rights march forward peacefullyhand in hand. That alone would guarantee the hope that neither the principles ofeconomic growth nor the struggles of the marginalized for their own due share inthat growth are zero-sum games.

K. R.Venugopal, I.A.S(Retd.)

viii

INTRODUCTIONFr. Thomas Pallithanam

Yes, there is reason to believe that “Rekindling Hope” is a happening thing!

4th May 2007 as I began keying in this note Leslie Martin, my colleague in the DalitBahujan Shramik Union “SMSed”me. “Case against Atmakuru Chennaiah, SudarsiNageswarao and companions dismissed. Additional District Sessions Court setsaside Principal Assistant Sessions court’s order”. On 30th July 2006 they had beensentenced to 15 months imprisonment in a case related to VengamukkalapalemLand Struggle (Chapter 5, Case Study 1). Five of the companions of Chennaiahwere those who survived their suicide attempt. Chennaiah and Nageswarao hadstood with them in their hour of crisis, rushed them to the hospital and saved theirlives. They were convicted by the lower court for abetting suicide and the otherfive for attempting to commit suicide!

Two days prior to that another comrade in arms, Mr. Inavarapu Surinarayana,Secretary Dalita Bahujana Vyvasaya Karmika Sangham, phoned me to give thegreat news that the High Court responding to his Public Interest Litigation hadissued an interim order – on the last working day before the court rose for summervacation – staying the operation of the provisions of Andhra Pradesh AssignedLands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act 2007. In the morning of that day he haddespaired of the case even coming up for hearing as it was 45th on the list!1

Other cheering headlines followed:

CPM leads people to occupy state land” (Deccan Chronicle 5th May 2007).Joint Action Committee of those engaged in land struggles had declared on 18th

April that if the government failed to restore to the poor by 30th April assigned landsthat had been alienated they would resort to direct action by organizing the poorand forcefully occupying such lands.

“Land Surrender, State readies for action”(The Hindu 5th May 2007) readanother headline.“Rekindling Hope?” Is there a reason for it? Despite the evidence of increasingalienation of land of the poor, particularly the dalits and the tribals there is adetermination to take the fight to the enemies’ camp. I have consciously used theplural form in referring to the enemy. It is not as if a single enemy is launching amulti-pronged attack on the rights of dalits and tribals, small and marginal farmersto the access, retention and development of land. The enemies are a disparategroup often at logger-heads with each other, yet arraigned against the poor,particularly the dalits and tribals for their own vested interests.

1

The feudal and fundamentalist rightist forces, still steeped in anachronistic beliefsthink that the dalits should not possess any land. The predator capitalist sees the goldmine that is there in the land market and attempts to gobble up all that it can layhands on. The development planner high on the “magic portion of globalizing economy”underpins his hopes on secondary and tertiary sectors as the only way India can holdits head high in the globalised economy. What he and the political class he servesgains personally out of this “over-reach” clouds his vision preventing him from readingthe writing on the wall – the growing despair in the eyes of the poor. We wererighteously indignant when American jingoism wrote off the death of the innocentcivilians in Iraq war as collateral damage. And yet our development gurus thinknothing of the nameless millions who are sacrificed for their “superior vision of whatis good for the country”. That too is collateral damage, collateral damage of“development!” The shift is frightening enough to make a Singur and Nandigramhappen even in the bastions of left governance.

And yet Kalinga Nagar, Gangavaram, Singur, Nandigram are not just isolated pocketsof resistance. May be they are the most celebrated and better known ones. Thismushrooming of resistance across the nation to ever increasing loss of access toland and the capacity to retain and develop the same has not come because of anypolitical or bureaucratic revisiting of development vision. Instead it is the do or diestand taken by the dispossessed of the earth that has forced the political leadershipand a few in the bureaucracy that have not yet stilled their conscience to give an“outside support” to the aspirations of the struggling masses.

So Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declares from at the highest seat of decisionmaking “SEZ policy was being reviewed to find out whether there was any pitfall inthe existing framework. Recognizing the need for a more humane approach, heassured the Parliament that the Government would come up with an improvedrehabilitation and resettlement policy. He was replying to the debate on the motionof thanks to the President’s address.”2

So far, government has cleared 237 (SE) zones, while another 160 odd are awaitingfinal clearance and companies have submitted proposals to set up another 300-plusSEZs. But all pending proposals are on hold following concerns of displacement offarmers.3

But one wonders why this should have come to such a pass. The UPA governmenton taking charge had declared the Minimum Programme of the Government of India.It had declared six basic principle of governance. One such was “to enhance thewelfare and well-being of farmers, farm labour and workers, particularly those inthe unorganized sector and assure a secure future for their families in every respect.”4

Further to operationlise this principle among many others the UPA committed itselfto “introduce special programme for dry-land farming in the arid and semi-arid regions

2

of the country. Watershed and wasteland development in all its aspects, both forirrigation and drinking purposes, will receive urgent attention.”5 This being so onewonders at the logic of having to take over fertile lands of poor farmers to registerpoints in the GDP graph.

While SEZs are the new combat zones around the question of land, the older debatesare not resolved yet. They have even accentuated under the emerging dynamics.This report takes a look at these older debates: Access to land, its retention anddevelopment from a dalit Perspective. When this report was planned a year andhalf ago the question of SEZ had not yet come into focus. Instead there werecountless, prolonged yet intense struggles going on the field, the government corridorsand the court rooms for access to land by dalits and tribals. And this was takingplace in many parts of the state. Most of them were occasioned by the faultyimplementation of the land reforms that the state had embarked on to show at leasta modicum of commitment to its socialist agenda. Interestingly the policy makerswere not ignorant of these details. The CMP had declared “The UPA will launch anational programme for minor irrigation of all lands owned by dalits and adivasis.Landless families will be endowed with land through implementation of land ceilingand land redistribution legislation. No reversal of ceilings legislation will bepermitted.”6 There was also the threat of corporatisation of agriculture, anddiversification of land usage both of which would have left the dalits vulnerable toalienation of even the little land in their possession. This was the context AP SocialWatch Report 2007 “Rekindling Hope?” looked at the question of Land: Access,Retention and Development from a Dalit perspective.

AP Social Watch Report 2007This is second report being brought out by the “Andhra Pradesh Social Watch(which) was formed with the explicit purpose of understanding and analyzing thestate government’s policies for their impact on the different social groups.”7 Thefirst effort – Andhra Pradesh Social Watch Report 2005, edited by Rekha Pappu,looked at policies around Education (Rekha Pappu), Health (A.P.Rangarao), FoodSecurity (M.Thimma Reddy) and Water (M.V.Ramachandrudu).

When issues concerning Dalits and Tribals come up for inquiry, discussion anddebate besides taking a look at the government policies and their implementationany meaningful Social Watch Initiative will also have to be Civil Society Watch aswell. This report then engages itself with the response of society at large as well tothe question of land entitlements for dalits and tribals.

A 1993-94 survey revealed that around 75.3% of rural dalit households were landless.The trends show that the landlessness in the rural area continues to increase rapidly

3

among the dalits when compared to other groups where the percentage was a mere15.76 for non SC/ST households.

To find the reasons for this situation one does not really have to do any time consumingresearch. Persisting feudal economy of the rural heartlands and the unyielding vicegrip of religiously sanctioned and sanctified caste system ensure this status quo inthe lives of the dalits.

There have been efforts to entitle dalits with lands and homesteads. In the euphoriaof Independence, in the effort to justify an other-wise indefensible Emergency landreforms had been initiated in an apparent effort to push forward the socialist agendaof the constitution. In Andhra Pradesh this effort took shape in the form laws like:

Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Area) Estates Land (Reduction of Rent) Act, 1947:The Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1950.Andhra Inams (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1956Andhra Tenancy Act of 1956Andhra Pradesh Land Transfer Regulation 1 of 1959 and later amended asRegulation 1 of 1970;The Andhra Pradesh (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1961;The Andhra Pradesh Land Reforms ((Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973;The Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977Numerous Board Standing Orders and Government Orders.

They were all attempts albeit half-hearted to emphasize that the socialist agenda washigh on Independent India’s discourse on justice and development. But these efforts havemade hardly any dent in the pattern of land holding due to the nexus between feudaleconomy, caste hegemony and a bureaucracy steeped in vested interest. This nexuscontinues to deprive the dalits of ownership of land.

The social status of an individual / family in a village is measured by the land he/shepossesses. The study reveals that the land reforms undertaken in the wake of anti-zamindari movements no benefits accrued to the dalits as hardly any one was anacknowledged tenant and they continued to be agricultural labourers. Nor were theymajor beneficiaries in the 1970s effort.

And yet recent records show that we have – in Andhra Pradesh – 2 crores 75 lakhs,35 thousand 820 acres of cultivable and irrigated land. In addition to this we have 1crore 20 lakh 88 thousand 120 acres of wasteland. And yet the vast majority of ruraldalit are landless agricultural labourers.

4

The purpose of the report:The report primarily is meant to be an effective advocacy document for all thosewho struggle for access, retention and utilization of land by the poor especially thesocially excluded. It is hoped that it will also serve as a useful handbook / referencebook that an activist can effectively use in his struggles for land on behalf of thepoor.

The report does not look at land in all its ramifications. Aspects that are left out inthis report, and there are many, could become the subject matter for another reporton land, which we feel should be taken up to respond to the newer dynamics on theland front.

In Chapter 1 “Land Entitlements – A Historical Development” the authorBDA Satya Babu Bose traces the relationship of man / community to land and theprocess by which from being “ a property” of the king assigned to individuals todevelop and to make productive use and for which the tiller paid a tax to the king,land gets transformed into a personal entitlement.

The historical development deals with emergence of different systems of revenue,different classes of people depending on the relationship they had with land – theowner, the peasant, the bonded labourer; how the nationalist leaders lend support tothe anti zamindari sentiments and gained the tenants’ support for the nationalistmovement to get freedom from the British. It dwells on the clash of interest amongthose who govern that made Independent India leaden footed in the attempt at landreforms, especially with regard to the dalits and tribals. It points out that no politicalparty ever gave commitment to dalits on access to secure tenure over land.

In Chapter Two “Land Reforms: Promising Much, Delivering Little” M.Kodandam Ram and Laxmaiah analyze the land reform policies at the national andstate level, identify them as the attempt to fulfill promises made by nationalistleaders to the peasantry while partnering them in the anti-imperialist struggle. Theydelineate three stages in this effort: first phase that started immediately afterindependence abolition of intermediaries and protection of tenants was undertaken,second phase of redistribution of land taken up all over India in the early 1970’s andthird phase, the era of liberalization when land policies have been modified to suitthe liberalization policies. Their analysis brings out the clash of interest within thepolity that led to the failure of the land reforms effort both at the centre and in thestate.

Estharla Krishna Rao’s enquiry in Chapter 3 “ Dalits Entitlement to Land: Anagenda that never was” highlights the fact how neither the struggles waged inthe field for access to land by left nor policies enunciated to usher in greater equity

5

in the land distribution patterns have shown any commendable result by way ofproviding secure tenure to dalits. He underlines this point by a meticulous analysis ofsecondary data available through both micro and macro studies. He further underlinesthe fact through case studies taken up in Chapter 5 ‘People’s Initiatives for Accessto Land - Case Studies” that it is when dalit leadership took on access to land as animportant agenda of dalit assertion and self respect movement that finally there wasa ray of hope for the vast number of landless dalit agricultural labourers.

In Chapter 4 “Dalit Struggle for Land Rights – Reclaiming Human Personality”Paul Divakar and M.David Sudhakar investigate the efforts made by DBSU (DalitBahujan Shramik Union) one of the several Dalit mass organizations engaged instruggle for access, retention and development of land. They identify the variousevents that led to dalit assertion which slowly laid claim to the rights over land. Theessay underlines the different strategies adopted to gain access to land and suggestsa frame work for action.

BDA Satya Babu Bose makes a brief enquiry in Chapter 6 – “Assigned LandsDevelopment is Possible” into the policies and plans laid out in the National FiveYear Plans for development of land especially those assigned / distributed to thelandless agricultural labourers, dalits and tribals. The failure of those policies andplans he asserts lies in the meager resources allotted for same and in the lack ofcommitment shown by the state government. But the new “Indira Prabha -Comprehensive Land Development Programme” if implemented with people’sparticipation as intended by the programme he argues can go a long way in haltingthe alienation of the lands assigned to the dalits and the tribals.

Chapter 7 Persisting Alienation of Tribal Lands is a close look at the situation ofimplementation of land reforms with regard to the tribals. Palla Trinadha Rao withabundant data and incisive analysis of the same draws on his experience in dealingwith the cases relating to land rights violations of the tribals in highlighting the loopholesin the legislations. He faults the nexus between non-tribal land usurpers and thegovernment administration officials, the jaundiced vision of sections of the judiciaryand the gullible nature of the tribals for the ineffective implementation of the landreforms in the Agency areas. Cases studies that he brings into the narrative givesone hope as we can see a new awareness dawning among the tribals, an awarenessthat is making them to stand up boldly and stake their claims on land.

In Chapter 8 Land Literacy - Tool to Protect Tribal Livelihoods N.SanyasiRao presents the experiments tried out by Action in Rural Technology and Service(ARTS) in the districts of Srikakulam and Viziayanagaram. Buttressed with successfulcase studies he argues that the vile and cunning of the non-tribals and the collusion ofthe administration need to be met with providing empowering knowledge to tribal youth.

6

In Chapter 9 - Urban Land and Access to the Poor - Irfan Basha takes up amicro study of “Nandanavanam Project” the 1997 Government of Andhra Pradeshplan to develop the entire Musi river belt between Bapu Ghat and Himayatsagarinto a Millennium park. The park envisages creation of landscapes, check dams,boating facilities, rock trails, cycle tracks and “river walks”. He argues it will destroythe houses and livelihoods of nearly 20,000 people who have lived for 30–40 yearsin slums in the area affected by the project. He further informs that the displacedwill join the list of millions of nameless “Indian” oustees in our statistical data bankas “Mera Bharaat Mahan” gallops towards modernity. He suggests more humanemethods to find a solution to the vexing problem of unauthorized settlements inurban areas.

Karuna Vakat Aakella provides the opinion from the “other side”. While not denyingwhat has been said in the chapters leading to Chapter 10 – Land Reforms in AndhraPradesh: Time for a fresh dialogue and a new approach she argues that Landreforms can YET be reclaimed and be made a tool for providing more securetenure with a greater sense of equity and social justice.

To ConcludeThat brings us back to where we began: Rekindling Hope? The new stirring amongthe landless agricultural labourers particularly the dalits and tribals who in the pasthave been short changed in the business of development demands an adequateresponse from government and civil society to make it a win-win proposition.

This response in the first instance should be manifested in the determination toimplement with out fear or favour the already existing land reforms enactmentsand not be tempted to sacrifice it at the altar of expediency.

Land policies need to be based on distribution of land to the Dalit landless poorrather than aiming at market viability of land. Agrarian reforms need to supersedemarket needs. Transparency must be ensured regarding the availability of all landseligible to be distributed to the dalits, tribals and other landless sections of society.

A crash programme to identify and evict all illegal occupiers of lands assigned todalits and tribals need to be taken up. In the case of tribal population comprehensiveprogramme for better implementation of LTR is an immediate necessity.

For this there is an urgent need to strengthen the administrative mechanism.

Use of adequate technology to identify illegal occupation, boundary disputes betweenrevenue and forest departments that has stalled distribution of land to the poorshould be attempted with an urgency commiserative with the task in hand.

Officers now providing impunity should be severely dealt with under prescribedsections of law.

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To help retention and development of land it is essential in keeping with the promisesmade in the CMP that the government make policies that help saturate developmentof assigned lands, ensuring special irrigation facilities for lands owned by dalits andtribals.

It is imperative to set up a ministry for assigned land development with theresponsibilities of land allocation, regularization and development of assigned lands.

The ministry should ensure that the women should be given 50% the assigned landsas mentioned in the 7th five year plan.

Policies must be made to strengthen civil infrastructure in slum areas, address thequestion of adequate employment for slum dwellers and facilitate participatorydevelopment planning with them. The knowledge that a large percentage of slumdwellers are drawn from the dalit and tribal communities underscores the need toaddress the larger problems of that community.

While all these are being attempted a comprehensive Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes Lands (Protection and Development) Act on the lines of SC/ST(PoA) Act to protect and prevent encroachment and alienation of Dalits and Adivasislands as well as land based atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis should be enacted.

References

1 See copy of HC order - Annexure-III Chapter 5.2 Friday March 09, 2007 Hindu, e Paper3 ADB slams India’s SEZ policy for tax concessions, 28 March 2007,

Times News Network, Times of India4 National Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of the Government of India, May

2004 (Introduction)5 ibid (Agriculture)6 ibid (Schedule Castes, Scheduled Tribes)7 Page 1, Rethinking Priorities, Editor, Rekha Pappu.

8

Land Entitlements -A Historical Development

B. D. A. Satya Babu Bose

Chapter I

10 Land Entitlements – A Historical Development

11Chapter-I

LAND ENTITLEMENTS - A HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTBDA. Satya Babu Bose, *

Director, CRSD

PrefaceLand is a productive asset. But there is anemotional bonding that communities have withland that goes far beyond its value as aproductive asset. For the dalit communitybattling against its exploitation and exclusion landis symbol of the assertion of its identity, dignityand freedom.

Land ownership is one of the fundamentalstructural features that serve to perpetuate asystem of social and economic inequality againstDalit. For the Dalit community entitlement toLand has remained an eternally vexed issue.Poverty and much of the violence and extremismin the country are even today directlyproportional to the lack of access to land.

The political parties and the policy makers havealways claimed that their top priority has beento provide the fruit of the ‘Land Reforms’ to thedalits. Their seeming concern and commitmentfor the cause have not borne any substantialresult. Often, they blame the caste system forthis failure. While that is true to a great extentnone of the political parties have passed anypolitical resolutions to distribute land to dalitsand made it an agenda of their party. Insteadthe concept and language used in referring todalits as poor or agricultural labourers, helpedthe other caste people to obtain whatever

benefits that accrued from implementation of landreforms. Use of terminologies like class division,socialistic society which sound very civilized andneutral has glossed over the fact thatpredominantly the landless poor of India are thedalits. It is this obfuscation of reality that hasmade entitlements to land a distant dream forthe dalit community.

While all national political parties - IndianNational Congress (INC-1885), CommunistParty of India (CPI-1920), Congress SocialistParty (CSP-1934) Independent Labour Party(ILP-1936), the Republican Party of India(RPI-1956), the Communist Party of India –Marxist (CPI(M) – 1964), Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP-1980), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP-1985) continue to talk of the emancipation ofdalit community their agenda is totally silentwhen it comes to the question of giving dalitssecure tenure over land, strengthning theircapacity to retain and develop their lands.

This article is an attempt to have a glimpse atthe history of India and the position of dalits inthe context of land issue. Availability of theresearch material on the conditions of dalits inthe pre British period is scarce. The availabilityof literature on the role of dalits in the freedommovement is even more so.

* The author is grateful to Fr Thomas Pallithanam, Coordinator AP-Social Watch for giving me theopportunity to write this article. I am thankful to Sri.S.Narayana for providing valuable supportthrough discussions and correcting the writings. I am grateful to Rani for the consistent supportthroughout the writing of this article. I thank Mr. B.Somasekhar for patiently bearing with thearbitrary timings and providing the secretarial assistance.


1.1 Origins of India (Introduction)

As per the historians the Indus tradition beginsaround 10,000 B.C. The ‘Indus tradition’ issaid to be a total phenomenon of humanadaptations lived through out the Indus Valleyand adjacent regions. This tradition is also saidto be the beginning of the period of initialdomestication and settlements of the villagecommunities. The early food producing era inIndia can be traced to 7500 B.C.

The subsequent ‘Indo Gangetic’ traditioncovered larger geographic region from GangaYamuna River valley to peninsular India.Though there are links for this to the Industradition, it has a trajectory reaching out toall regions of India, including Western andDeccan regions and spreading out fromAfghanistan to Nepal, Brahmaputra rivervalley and beyond reaching down to Burma.During this period numerous other communitiesexisted alongside with the already settledfarming communities.

Thus the history of agriculture in India can betraced back to more than 10,000 years. Mostof the societies that existed during this periodwere either agro pastoral or agricultural andsome were urban with much interdependenceon each other. Some were chiefdoms, and somemoving towards kingdoms.

The Aryan migration into India is said to be about1500 BC as per Rigveda. Prior to the Aryanmigration, the indigenous local groups werecultivating the land as per their requirements. Itis generally agreed that the local inhabitants ofthe country were the Adivasis and Dalits.

The invention of the caste system in the laterstage of the Vedic period created social

stratification leading to descent based occupationaccording to individual’s caste group.

1.2 Early Period

1.2.1 The DravidiansThe Dravidians were one of the earliest culturedraces of India. Many historians have stronglyaffirmed that the Dravidians were thedescendents of the primitive inhabitants of India,who in course of time had ascended up the ladderof civilization. In the context of this study, whatis of significance in the Dravidian civilization isthat they knew agriculture, and were perhapsthe earliest people to build dams across riversfor irrigation purposes. It is presumed that theDravidians were identical with “Daasas” or“Dasyns” of the Rigveda.

1.2.2 The AryansThe general opinion about the origin of Aryansis that the Indo-Aryans were a branch of theancient “Indo – Germanic” peoples, and beforetheir eastward migration, they occupied for longa common habitat in Central Asia. The Rigvedadoes not preserve any memory of the earlymovements of the Aryans, or how they enteredIndia. But, from certain geographical allusionsfound in the Rigveda, it is inferred that the Aryansmust have come to India via Afghanistan andover a course of time spread themselves fromthe Sindh to the gangetic plains. One of theimportant means of living for The RigvedicAryans was cattle-breeding. Agriculture wastheir next occupation. Ploughing appears tohave been an old practice of the Aryansbecause we find that the word Krish is used inthe same sense in both Sanskrit and Iranian.What is also clear is that the Rigvedic Aryanswere not a homogeneous group and that theywere continually involved in inter-tribal wars.

13Chapter-I

Besides these wars, the Aryans, on enteringIndia, engaged themselved in struggles with“Dasyns” or “Daasas”. These struggles werecarried on relentlessly. “Dasyns” foughtvaliantly, but finally they had to yield to thesuperior might of the Aryans. Many of the“Dasyns” or “Daasas” became slaves of theconquerors and they were admitted in societyas Sudras.

1.2.3 Origin of Varna and CasteThe Aryan confrontation and interaction withDasyns led, in course of time, to many socio-political changes. The emergence of the four-fold division of society based on occupationswas a significant happening of far-reachingeffects and by the time of the later Vedicperiod it was well on its way to becomingrigid and inflexible. Certain significantfeatures of the Chatruvarna system of thevedic period were that the Kshatriyasowned the land and those who cultivatedthe land were grouped under Vaisya Varna.The Sudras were meant to carry out menialservice and they were generally recruitedfrom the conquered Dasyns. In later vedicliterature, the Sudras are recognized as adistinct order of society, but they wereregarded as impure. They were not allowedto possess property in their own right. Thus,we can see that a section of people wasalienated from land which would have giventhem independent living, self- respect and aplace to be reckoned in society.

1.3 Brief overview of the agrariansystems under Buddhist and Hindurulers in North and South India up tothe end of first millennium BC

1.3.1 In Buddhist LiteratureEarly Buddhist literature of the Pre-Mauryanperiod shows that agriculture was the mainstayof the economy. Most of the villagers were freepeasants who owned the land they tilled, thoughthe king claimed its ultimate ownership. TheJataka stories about the Buddha’s earlierincarnations show us groups of hardy peasantsfrom over-populated villages cutting newsettlements from the jungle. They even tell ofwhole villages migrating en masse to the wildsto escape the attention of extortionate taxcollectors.

All through the Mauryan, the Gupta and theHarshavardhana periods, agriculturecontinued to be the chief source of revenuefor the State. Irrigation was usually taken careof by the state The tax collected for providingirrigation proved to be the second major sourceof income.

The Land belonged to the “King” and theproprietary rights of individuals were notclearly mentioned. Yet, in Kautilya’sArthasasthra we find evidence to the effectthat the cultivator was able to sell and alienatehis land. It also states, in the same breath,that the king had the right to replace the cultivatorif he failed to pay the rent. So, this lends strengthto the view that all agricultural land was ordinarilyrecognized as being crown land, but the peasantswere not unduly disturbed in their holding so longas they regularly paid the rent.


Land revenue was of two kinds. One was a taxon the area of land cultivated and the other onthe assessment of the produce. Ashoka’sinscription at Lumbini, the birthplace of theBuddha speaks of bali and bhaga as these twotaxes. Interestingly, he exempted the people ofLumbini from the first but continued to impose atax on produce. One can find similar ofagricultural practices. All land was carefullysurveyed and classified into tax-bearing and non-taxable lands. Taxable lands were gradedaccording to their natural fertility and the natureof the crops raised. The village was assessedas a whole for the land tax. Tax collectionsometimes involved harsh practices. The rightof cultivating the land of defaulters of revenuewas sold by the village assemblies to realize thearrears payable to the state. People madecommon cause in resisting arbitrary and unusualtaxes.

During this time as per the caprice of the kingtwo caste groups namely the Brahmans and theVelalas - the latter was much wealthier of thetwo - enjoyed the benefit of cultivating the lands.

Landowners (cultivators) would have hadenough control over the peasants under theirjurisdiction to demand forced labour fromthem. Labour over longer periods wouldlargely have been from the landless or fromthe lowest castes. Such subservient groupshad existed for a long time in many parts ofthe country. The status of these groups wasnot much different from that of bondedlabourers or even slave labourers - “atimai.”Even if not identical to forms of slavery in othersocieties, the terms of the bondage were suchthat generally people were unable to regain their

freedom. Bonded persons were liable to betransferred together with the transfer of landthrough a grant. The system would doubtlesshave been intensified in the later period of Cholarule when individual ownership of land becamemore frequent than the control of land by a village.

Other categories that were not necessarilypeasants, but provided labour, are referred toin the compound phrase sasa-karmakara –slaves and hired labourers. Needless to say theywere all lower caste people particularly dalits.

1.4 Land Revenue Systems in theSultanates and the Mughal Period

The rule of the Sultanate extending over morethan three hundred years (1206-1526) did notbring any notable relief to the tillers of soil. Thesource of revenue for the state was twofold,religious and secular. The former called Zakatwas due only from Muslims, and the latterincluded land tax and Jigya which the non-Muslims had to pay.

During the reign of the Delhi Sultanate, whichspanned a period of five centuries and later wefind no radical changes in the relationshipbetween king and land, and cultivator and land.The king’s interest was in collecting the state’sshare of revenue generated from agriculturalproduction, but proprietary right over the landwas vested in the peasant, the tiller of the land.“The king’s right to levy tax was justified by thefact that he gave his subjects protection; there isno suggestion here of the king’s right to ejectthe peasant from his holding” (Quereshi, 1956).But the king could transfer his right to the landrevenue and other taxes within definite territoriallimits to certain persons among his subjects.

15Chapter-I

1.4.1 JagirdarsThe areas whose revenues were thus assignedby the emperor were known in the MughulEmpire as Jagirs and the assignees were knownas Jagirdars. The assignees were entitled tocollect the entire revenue due to the state.Though this consisted principally of land revenueit included various cesses and petty taxes as well.But, the Jagirs were neither permanent norhereditary, and on the other hand, they wereconstantly transferred after short periods (3 or4 years). A Jagirdar had to collect revenue strictlyaccording to the imperial orders.

1.4.2 Todar Mall’s Land Reforms

The Mughals did not introduce a new landrevenue system, but took over what they foundin operation and regulated the methods ofassessment and collection. The system of landrevenue introduced by Todar Mall wasdecidedly an improvement on the arbitrarymethods of preceding years and in somerespects furnished the model for the surveysettlement of British India. Three salientfeatures characterized ‘Todar Mall’s system

1. Measurement of land

2. Classification of lands

3. Fixation of rates.

‘The land was classified’ into four varieties:

1. Land actually cultivated every year(Polaj)

2. Land left fallow for a time (Paranti),

3. Land that had been fallow for threeto four years (Chachar),

4. Land uncultivated for five years orlonger (Banjar).

1.4.3 Revenue Collection

Each class of land was subdivided into threegrades according to fertility and their mean wasassumed to be average of the whole class. Therevenue system was ryotwari, the collectionbeing made as far as possible from the individualcultivator, and payment being in cash. Roughlythe share of the State was 1/3 of the averageyield of the land.

Remissions of tax were, no doubt, granted whenthe lands were inundated by floods and in timesof drought and distress. The collector of revenuewas directed to be a friend of the farmers, toadvance money to the ryot when he needed itand recover it in easy installments, to giveremissions, to stimulate cultivation, and never tocharge the ryot for more than the actual areaunder cultivation. He was also required to submitmonthly statements regarding the condition ofhis people, the state of public security, the rangeof prices and rents, the needs of the poor andrelated matters.

1.4.4 Woeful State of the FarmersBut, the successors of Akbar, by and large,abandoned two salient features of Akbar’s landrevenue system. They were:

1. Payment of official salaries in cash

2. The collection of land revenue as faras possible from individualcultivators.

As a result, the agricultural population was leftat the mercy of various types of assignees andmiddlemen and the land suffered inconsequence. The standard of assessment wasalso raised from 1/3 to 1/2 of the produce in


order to meet the lavish expenditure of the courtin Shah Jahan’s reign. This strained theeconomic system beyond recovery. The landwas cultivated only under compulsion andirrigation works were badly neglected. This stateof affairs resulted in Aurangzeb’s order to hisassessors to flog the peasantry into cultivatingthe fields.

Virtual slavery was the fate of landless labourerswho had no freedom to choose their mastersand who were way down in the social order.

1.5 Land ownership before Britishperiod

1.5.1 Absence of ownership concept“The natural consequence of this state of affairswas that the supply of cultivable land was plentifuland the land had not “yet obtained a valuegenerally.” Land values were nominal. SirThomas Munro, writing in 1807, says, “Nothingis plainer than that landed property has neverexisted in India except in the Malabar Coast.”In the Punjab, “sale of land was unknown beforethe British conquest.” Sir John Strachey wrote,“While our policy has been to encourage thegrowth of private property in land…formerGovernments hardly recognized the existence ofsuch property.” Elphinstone points out,“practically, the question is not in whom theproperty resides, but what proportion of theproduce is due to each party.” Bennett in theGonda Survey Report says, “There is yet notrace of private property, whether individual orcommunal.” To quote Sir George Campbell,“We are too apt to forget that property in landas a transferable marketable commodity,absolutely owned and passing from hand to handlike any chattel, is not an ancient institution, but

a modern development.” After a lengthydiscussion Baden Powell concludes. “Ownershipis not in the soils, but in the shares of the produce,and in the business of cultivation or of payingthe revenue.”

1.5.2 Land not saleableIt was owing to its abundance that land was quiteunlike other property. It was hardly marketableand that is why one hears so little of mortgages,sales and transfers of land in these times, in thesale-deeds of the eighteenth century in theDeccan the wording is that the owner beggedof the buyer to take his land, etc. Consequently,it has been extremely difficult to determine thequestion of its ownership. In fact, occupationand use were the only attributes of propertywhich really concerned the people. These gaverise to rights which were hereditary and inheritedin accordance with the Hindu laws, but to themconditions were attached. A cultivator and hisdescendants continued to occupy a plot or plotsof land and enjoyed the usufruct, so long as theyfulfilled the condition of paying out of the producethe share due to the State. There was no questionof ejecting them. But in case they neglected tocultivate the land they could be forced to quit”.1.6 Land revenue systems in the early

British period (Rule of East IndiaCompany)

1.6.1 Transfer of Right to LandWith the advent of the British in India, the politicaland economic scenario underwent far-reachingchanges. The right to land, in the form of rightto collect revenue, began to be transferred tothe British. The victories in the battle of Plasseyin June 1757 and in the battle of Buxar in 1764provided the grant of “Farman” by which the

17Chapter-I

Diwani (civil government) of provinces of Bengal,Bihar and Orissa was conferred upon the EastIndia company to collect taxes. Still later, wesee large areas being ceded to the Britishbecause of their victory in a war or as a pricefor their support etc. For instance, in the IIIAnglo – Mysore war in 1792, Tippu Sultanceded Bellary, Cuddapah and Anantapurdistricts to the British . In the areas thus cededto them the British collected revenue throughZamindari or Ryotwari system.

1.6.2 Permanent SettlementA new chapter opened in Indian history with theappointment of Warren Hastings as governorof Bengal in 1772 which marked the beginningof the company rule. Faced with the huge taskof rehabilitating the finances of company anddeveloping its commerce, Warren Hastings triedto find a solution by introducing revenue reformswhich proved disastrous for the peasantry. Hemade a five year settlement of land revenue(permanent settlement) by the crude method offarming out estates to the highest bidder. Nopreference was given to the Zamindars on theassumption that they were mere tax-gatherers.

1.6.3 Disastrous consequencesThe five-year settlement of 1772 was a miserablefailure and the peasants suffered greatly. Mostof the revenue-farmers were mere speculators,had no permanent interest in the land andtherefore tried to extract the maximum sum fromthe cultivators by way of land revenue. Theofficers of the East India Company participatedin the bidding through their servants or banias.Further, the land had been over – assessed andthe State demand fixed very high. Added to itwas the harshness in the method of collection.The result was that many revenue contractorsfell in heavy arrears, many had to be arrested

for default and the ryots deserted the land.

After the expiry of five-year settlement in 1776,Warren Hastings reverted to the system of annualsettlement on the basis of open auction to thehighest bidder. Preference was given to theZamindars in making the settlement. Even thisdid not prove to be a satisfactory system andHastings dabbling with revenue reforms leftbehind him only “a dark trail of misery,insurrection and famines”.

1.6.4 Zamindars come into beingCornwallis, who was appointed governorgeneral in 1786, was especially directed todevise a satisfactory solution of the landrevenue system which would ensure theCompany’s interest as well as that of thecultivators. Commenting on the company’srevenue policy, Cornwallis remarked in 1789that “one - third of the company’s territoryin Hindustan is now jungle, inhabited onlyby wild beasts”. Cornwallis held prolongeddiscussions on three vital questions:

1. With whom was the settlement to bemade–the Zamindars or the actualtillers of the soil?

2. What should be the State’s share inthe produce of land?

3. Should the settlement be permanent?

Cornwallis, who was an English landlordhimself, accepted the view that the Zamindarwas the of land owner and the settlement wasdeclared permanent.

1.6.5 Feudalism at Top-Serfdom atBottom

Whatever little economic or political purpose thesettlement might have served during its first few


years, it soon turned into an engine of exploitationand oppression. It created “feudalism at the topand serfdom at the bottom”. The permanentsettlement soon led to absentee landlordism andto a vicious chain of intermediaries. Most of thelandlords did not take any interest in theimprovement of the land, but were merelyinterested in extracting the maximum possiblerent from the ryot. The cultivator, being underconstant fear of ejection, had no incentive toimprove the land. The Zamindars did not liveon the estates, but away in cities where theywasted their time and money in luxury. TheZamindars became a sort of “distant suctionpump” sucking the wealth of the rural areasand squandering it in the cities. Thus, a hostof intermediaries grew up between the stateand the actual cultivator. The process of sub-infeudation sometimes reached suchridiculous proportions that there were asmany as 50 intermediaries. All theintermediaries looked to their own profits andthe ryot was reduced to the position of apauper.

Socially, the permanent settlement standsseverely condemned because by recognizing theabsolute right of ownership of the Zamindars, ithad totally alienated the peasants from land. Thepeasants were subjected to double injustice, firstby being deprived of their right to land andsecondly by being left at the mercy of theZamindars who rack-rented the peasants andunscrupulously ejected them from theirtraditional holdings when they defaulted.

1.6.6 New agrarian relationshipsThe impact of colonialism on Indian life was sodeep that it created drastic changes in all spheres.The realm of agriculture was no exception, as

such, new agrarian relations and class structurescame into existence. We find new classes,absentee landlords and moneylenders usurpinghigher rungs of the agrarian structure withtenants-at will, share croppers and agriculturallabourers at the bottom of the oppressive andexploitative structures. Landlordism had, by the1920s, become the main feature in both theZamindari and Ryotwari tenure.

1.6.7 Rise of money-lenders as a classAnother factor that came to dominate theagrarian scene was money lending. The villagemoneylender acquired a place of economic andpolitical importance in the rural context andexploited both the peasant proprietors, theoccupancy tenants and even the Zamindars. Inthe process, money-lenders became landlordsand many landlords and rich and middle peasantsbecame moneylenders. Nevertheless, themoney-lender, and especially the non –cultivating money-lender, who emerged as adominant force in the rural economy, came tobe viewed as a common enemy to be foughtagainst by the peasants, the small and even thebig landlords.

The growth of tenancy and the hierarchy ofintermediaries were on a scale unprecedentedin Indian history. As a result, by 1931, one-third of the rural population was landless and ofthe remaining two-thirds, most were tenants-at-will, sharecroppers and dwarf holders.

1.6.8 Land revenueThere were two main systems of land revenueadministration,

19Chapter-I

1. The one in which a middlemanintervened between the cultivator andthe Government as a landlord, knownas the Zamindari system,

2. The other in which Government dealtdirectly with the cultivator known asthe Ryotwari.

A variation of the Zamindari system was theMahalwari where the village body as a wholeor a group of zamindars was treated in a bodyas the owners of land. The area under theZamindari system was 48 per cent, of which20 per cent was temporarily settled for termsof twenty to thirty years, and 19 per cent waspermanently settled. With the exception ofthe permanently settled area, the rate of landrevenue was so high as to leave little surplusfor investments for improving the lands.

In the permanently settled districts of Bengal,the rent amounted to a little more than 11per cent of the gross produce of the land; inthe temporarily settled Gujarat, the landrevenue was 20 per cent of the produce, ornearly double of the Bengal rates. In NorthernIndia 50 per cent of the rental was paid as landrevenue, but the share of the landholder wasreduced by cesses (8 per cent of the rental) plusallowances for the services of village watchmanand headman. In the Punjab the cessesamounted to 12 ½ per cent of the rental. In theCentral Provinces, although 40 to 50 per centof rent was fixed as the share of the government,in actual practice the demand worked out from50 to 79 per cent

The area under the Ryotwari system accountedfor 52 per cent of the cultivated land and theconditions in territories where Ryotwari prevailedwere far worse, e.g., in Bombay and Madras.

The enhancements of revenue made in therevised settlement of 1866 in the Bombaypresidency were so large as to amount to ‘rackrenting in the worst sense of the term.’ In factthere was no surplus produce left, after payingthe cost of cultivation and the assessment to theGovernment.

1.6.9 Poverty and IndebtednessThe land system introduced by the British in Indiawas based on the Western concept of propertyand proprietary rights. The distribution ofincomes in the agricultural economy which iteffected was unjust, inequitable and oppressive.The result was impoverishment and indebtednessof the masses.

“About the spread of indebtedness at the timeof the enquiries of the Famine Commission of1880 in the different parts of India official reportsfrom all provinces spoke of the existence of highdegree of indebtedness among the peasantry.Mr. Nichols observed that in the CentralProvinces “the tenants were, practicallyspeaking, entirely dependent on their landlordsfor advances not only for seed grains but alsofor food grains.” In Bombay, Mr. Peile calculatedthat 75 per cent of the ryots were in debt, ofwhom 50 per cent were hopelessly involved.Enquiries in the Madras Presidency revealed that57 per cent of the ryots in Krishna district and80 per cent in Vellore were in debt. In Berar,Major Szczepanski noted that while those withsome capital thrived, the others were entirelydependent on Sahukars.

In Bihar, the Collector of Shahabed reportedthat 50 per cent of the cultivators were in debtfor grain lent by their landlord and 40 per centwere in debt for either grain or money to theMahajan.


The government therefore declared certainremedial measures to counteract thegrowth of indebtedness and landalienation:

a) Regulation of the money–lendingbusiness,

b) Restraint of the transfer ofagricultural property into the handsof the non-agriculturists thereby puttinglimitations on the agriculturist’s credit,

c) Amendment of the contract and debtlaws in order to make the relation ofcreditor and debtor more equitable.

d) As the land revenue system wasultimately responsible for a largeproportion of indebtedness of theproprietor as well as of the tenant, itsreform was a necessary condition forimprovement.

This, however, was not attempted. All that wasdone was to pass a few legislative measures toprotect the debtor against his creditor. Theearliest measures to give relief to the rytos fromindebtedness and exploitation by money-lenderswere:

The Deccan Agriculturists Relief Actof 1879.

The Punjab Land Alienation Act of1901.

The Bundelkhand Land Alienation |Act of 1903

The North-West Frontier ProvinceLand Alienation Act of 1904

The Central Provinces LandAlienation Act of 1916.

1.7 The peasants’ unrest

Oppressed by the exorbitant land revenuedemands of the state and the extractions ofthe Zamindars, caught in the cruel clutchesof the moneylenders and the traders, anddriven into the abysmal depths of poverty,the peasants began the struggle to findalleviation for their unbearable suffering andpoverty. The peasant mobilizations in the19th century took the form of protests, revoltsand rebellions primarily aimed at looseningthe bonds of feudal exploitation. Theyprotested against the enhancement of rent andthe usurious practices of moneylenders. Theirdemands included occupancy rights,commutation of produce rent into money rentetc. In the absence of class consciousness andproper organization, the peasant revolts did notdevelop a political matrix.

The Santhal rebellion, Bengal Indigo cultivatorsstrike and the Maratha peasants’ uprising standout as the more effective peasant revolts thattook place in the later half of the 19th century.The Punjab peasants’ discontent with endlessindebtedness and the large scale alienation ofagricultural land to non-cultivating classes, whichwas in fact a countrywide phenomenon, alertedthe colonial rulers about the need for timely actionto prevent an uprising by the Punjab peasants.As a result, the government passed the Punjabland alienation Act, 1900 which imposedrestrictions on the sale and mortgage of landbelonging to the agricultural classes to thestatutory agriculturist class and to the rest of thepopulation including moneylenders. The Punjabpeasant was also given partial relief against theoppressive incidence of land revenue demandby the government.

21Chapter-I

Peasant discontent and struggles, a familiarfeature of the 19th century acquired a new featurein the 20th century in the sense that they cameunder the influence of and, in their turns, left asignificant impact on the ongoing struggle fornational freedom. This can be clearly witnessedin the three important peasant struggles thatemerged in the 1920s and 1930s on the agrarianscene.

1.8 Peasants and farmers’organisations and movements

The life of the majority of the cultivators in Avadhregion was made miserable owing to theexorbitant rents, illegal levies and arbitraryejectments from land or bedakhli. During WorldWar-1 and also in its aftermath, the prices offood and other necessities rose high and thismade the oppression all the more unbearablefor the peasants. The situation, thus, becameripe for a revolt or resistance.

1.8.1 Kisan sabha movementAt about this time the leadership of the Indiannational movement realized the need forintegrating peasants and their struggles with thenational movement in order to widen as well asstrengthen the anti imperialist struggle. So, theU.P. Kisan Sabha was set up in February 1918through the efforts of Gauri Shankar Misra andIndra Narain Dwivedi and with the support ofMadan Mohan Malaviya. The U.P. KisanSabha proved at once active and in a little morethan a year’s time it established nearly 450branches. One of the results of this activity wasthat a large number of Kisan delegates from U.P.attended the Delhi and Amritsar sessions ofIndian National Congress in December 1918and 1919.

1.8.2 Oudh kisan sabhaA new development came by October 1920 inthe Kisan Sabha Movement. Differing from thepath of non-cooperation chosen by Congressat Calcutta, Madan Mohan Malaviya whowanted to stick to constitutional agitation set upan alternative Oudh Kisan Sabha which foundsupport in Jawaharlal Nehru, BabaRamachandra and other leaders. Soon, the neworganization brought under its wing more than330 kisan sabhas. The Oudh Kisan Sabhaasked the peasants to refuse to till the bedakhliland, not to do unpaid labour called hari andbegar, to boycott those who did not accept theseconditions and to solve their disputes throughpanchayats.

1.8.3 Outbreak of voilence and aftermathHowever, the nature of the peasant activityunderwent a marked change in January 1921and took the form of looting of bazaars,houses, granaries, and clashes with thepolice. The government swung into actionand harshly suppressed the outbreak ofviolence, arrested the leaders and launchedcases on them. As a result, by March 1921,the Kisan Sabha movement came to an end.The government also passed the Oudh Rent(Amendment) Act which brought a littlerelief to the tenants, but doused their hopesand thus contributed to the decline of themovement.

But, towards the end of 1921, the peasantdiscontent surfaced again in Avadh and it tookthe form of Eka or unity movement with the initialsupport of Congress and Khilafat leaders. Atthe Eka meetings, the peasants vowed that theywould pay only the recorded rent but pay it ontime, would not leave when ejected and would


refuse to do forced labour. But soon the Ekamovement became disinclined to follow the pathof non – violence that the congress and Khilafatleaders urged. As a result, the movement’scontact with nationalists diminished and it wentits own way.

1.8.4 Kisan sabhas in other regionsIn 1920s the ‘Workers and Peasants Party(WPP)’ which was the legal body of CPIdeveloped a framework to take up thepeasant’s issues. Infact after 1926 itpropagated a very radical programme ofagrarian reforms including ‘land to the peasant’.However this remained a slogan as the party’sunderstanding was to work for Russian modelof Revolution.

The Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (BPKS)which started working from 1928 was thestrongest regional peasant organization atthat time. Swamy Sahajananda Saraswathiwas the architect of this organization. Theyworked very closely with AIKS (All IndiaKisan Corgress) later.

The Andhra Provincial Ryots’ Associationwas formed by N.G.Ranga in 1928. From1934 to 1937 he collaborated with CPIand CSP to give a voice to the demandsof tenants and land holders. He laterbecame the President of AIKS and thenbroke away from it to form All India KisanCongress. He represented mainly the richfarmers.

The Congress Socialist Party had betterunderstanding and clarity than the WPP. TheCSP passed agrarian resolutions relating toabolition of Zamindari, recognition of occupancyrights of tenants in all the landlord tenant areas,debt freeze, and raise of agricultural wages.

The culmination of the efforts of diverse politicalparty’s finally led to the formation of All IndiaKisan Sabha (AIKS) in April 1936 but itultimately went under the leadership of theCommunist Party by 1942.

The period also witnessed three very significantpeasant movements in different parts of India,namely, the Tabhaga movement in Bihar,Telangana Armed struggle in Hyderabad Stateof Andhra and Varlis Revort in Western India.

1. In late 1946, the share-croppers ofBengal began to assert that they would payonly 1/3rd of their crop to theJotedars. Differences of opinion also rosearound where the crops should be stored:share croppers insisting that they wouldkeep the crops in their own khamars(godowns) and the Jotedars wanting itstored with them. This movement knownas Tehaga got a fillip due to the BagardarsBill. As major clashes ensued between thepeasants and the Jotedars, the Jotedars appealed to the government and the policecame in to suppress the peasants.Ruthless repression followed and by theend of February 1947 the movement diedout.

2. The insurrection that raised its head inTelangana during 1946–51, territory of theNizam’s state of Hyderabad, wasagainst the intense exploitation andoppression of the peasants by landlords,moneylenders, traders and Nizam’sofficials. Nizam’s crown lands and thoseof his aristocracy accounted for nearly1/3rd of his vast dominions on whichmore than 20 Lakh poverty–strickenpeasants worked for their living. The Quit

23Chapter-I

India Movement got a considerableresponse form Hyderabad, especially theyouth. But, the communists were opposedto the Quit India Movement as it wasagainst their understanding that Britainmust be supported in its anti-Fascist War.So, the young nationalists in Telenganarallied round Jamalapuram Kesavarao.But a large section went with RaviNarayana Reddy to the communists. Thisstandoff between nationalists andcommunists culminated in the split of AndhraMahasabha in 1944. Andhra Mahasabhacame totally under the leadership ofcommunists who taking advantage of thisopportunity launched a programme ofmobilization and organization of thepeasantry for the struggle against Nizam’soppression.

A powerful peasant struggle emerged in thelater half of 1946 in various pockets ofNalgonda district, and to some extent inWarangal and Khammam. The strugglecentred around the issues of forced grainlevy, the practice of Veth begar, illegalejections and seizures of land. At first,clashes took place between the landlord’sgoondas and the peasants and laterbetween the armed police of the state andpeasants without arms. The resistance wasstrong but the repression was equally strongand by the end of 1946 the movement hadto calm itself down. Thousands werearrested and beaten, many died, and theleaders were imprisoned. Yet, the movementhad succeeded in instilling into the oppressedand downtrodden peasants of Telengana anew confidence in their ability to resist.

3. The revolt of the Varlis, tribal people inWestern India, was a struggle againstexploitation by forest contractors,moneylenders, and landlords who enjoyedthe tacit support of the Britishbureaucracy. The Kisan Sabha took uptheir cause and launched a struggle in May1945. Police oppression failed to terrorizethe Varlis – who increasingly came underthe influence of the communist party.

In a nutshell, we can say that the various peasantstruggles before Indian Independence weremainly anti-Zamindari with demands for:

1. Security of tenure,

2. Reduction of rents,

3. Renewal fees,

4. Regulation of landlord-tenantrelations etc.

1.8.5 Land rights for Dalits-An agendabeyond the pale nationalconsciousness

Though the landless dalits and other agriculturallabourers struggled, along with peasants forwages, abolition of veth begar (forced labour)and land, their struggles were always heldsubordinate to peasant struggles. Dalits’ rightto land was not on the agenda of Congress ledpeasant struggles though we find an instance likethe Ashram group leaders in Gujarat, themobilizing force behind Bardili Satyagraha,working with landless, untouchable dalits fortheir social and economic upliftment in the teethof hostile opposition from upper caste peasants.

On account of peasant centric land struggles andreforms, dalits and other agricultural labourerswere faced with disillusionment, with their hopes


largely belied, because of ‘inchoate policy,imperfect legislation and inefficientimplementation` of land reforms. So, furtherstruggles for land by dalits and other landlessrural poor became a dialectical necessity in thelater half of the 20th century.

What stands out in sharp contrast is theconspicuous absence of ‘land to the dalit’ motifin the peasant struggles led or supported byCongress and all India Kisan Sabha during theIndian national movement. So, while weacknowledge the historic importance and wideimpact of the anti-Zamindari struggles and thefight against intermediary landlords, we should,at the same time, recognize their seriouslimitations in the sense that they were not basicallystruggles for “land to the tiller” but for “land tothe tenant”. The tenants were often substantialmembers from the Jat, Yadava, Ahir, Kurmi,Marstha, Reddi, Kamma, Kapu castes. Despitebeing involved in the struggles the spoils of thebattle never reached the dalits. In the famous“Nijai Bol” – the claim to land movement led byCongress, the Ahir and Kurmi peasants (Sudras)finally drew benefit while the chamars andBhangis (dalits), who had taken equal part inthe movement, failed in their claim to land.

1.8.6 The limitations of the LeftistsY.V.Kirshna Rao who was the GeneralSecretary of AIKS mentions that ‘the All IndiaKisan Sabha (AIKS) was formed (1936) onthe class basis with an objective of:

1. Fighting against the foreign rule2. Abolishing all intermediary tenure in

Land3. Establishing Democratic State of

Indian peopleThis according to their understanding ultimatelywould lead to the realization of ‘Kisan Majdoor Raj’’

But the limitations of the peasant movement werenever really recognized by the leaders of the All-India Kisan Sabha. They assumed that anti-Zamindari was equivalent to “land to the tiller”,but, in fact, it was not. There were “tillers”, thedalit labourers on land, who had no historicallyrecognized claim to land. There was no waythey could benefit from the abolition of higherlevel landlords. They were a class of peoplewho were, by social definition, permanentlydifferent. The 1947 resolution of communist-led AIKS clearly reflects the confused state ofthinking of the Sabha regarding the demand forland. The resolution at once recognized theMazdurs as “tillers” and denied recognition as“actual cultivators of the soil. In fact, outside ofthe Telengana revolt, there was no significantstruggle to give land to all the tillers in a particulararea.

1.8.7 Peasant struggles - Indian NationalCongress

The Indian national congress started speakingon the agrarian reforms from 1931. The policyon agrarian reforms can be seen in KarachiResolutions of 1932.

Commenting on the stand of Congress Partytowards peasants struggles Dr. Bipin Chandrasays “For years the National Congress failed toevolve a broad-based agrarian programme. Allthe three major movements launched by Gandhi,namely, those of 1920, 1930 and 1942, startedwithout any such programme. Gandhi and thenational leadership offered to the peasant at themost a few “mildly ameliorative, ‘self-help’measures” in the name of the constructiveprogramme. They placed almost their entireemphasis on Swaraj and the vague talk ofagrarian change. The landlords were to be keptin the national movement by guaranteeing

25Chapter-I

protection of their basic class interests. Thepeasants were to be mobilized through theideology of nationalism.”

“The reasons are very clear that the priority ofthe congress party was to obtain freedom forthe country from the British rule. To achievethis, the party needed the support of Zamindarsand Landlords. Since they had also entered intothe provincial governments as rulers thedependency on their votes on these groupsinevitably led them to protect their interests.”

At the Lucknow Session (April 1936) theCongress half-heartedly agreed to direct theprovincial committees to conduct enquiriesinto the agrarian situation in their respectiveprovinces and to formulate provincialagrarian programmes. A resolution to thiseffect was passed at Lucknow only afterRanga and Sahajanand Saraswati (thePresident and the General Secretary of AIKSwhich held its first conference at Lucknowcoinciding with the Congress Session) gave astiff fight and pressurized the Congress Leadersto commit the Congress to a definite agrarianprogramme. Subsequently at its 50th session atFaizpur (December 1936) the Congressadopted an agrarian programme, but not as perthe demands of AIKS. It did not include theitem of “zamindari abolition”

Resolution passed at the Haripura Session ofthe Congress in 1938 asserted: “The Congresshas already fully recognized the right of Kisansto organize themselves in peasant unions.Nevertheless it must be remembered that theCongress itself is in the main a kisanorganization “28 (Emphasis added). Theresolution went on to add: “while fullyrecognizing the right of the Kisan’s to organize

Kisan Sabhas, the Congress cannot associateitself with any activities which are incompatiblewith the basic principles of Congress and willnot countenance any of the activities of thoseCongressmen who as members of the KisanSabhas help in creating an atmosphere hostileto Congress”.

The above gives a clear picture of the stand ofIndian National Congress on the issues ofpeasants during the Freedom struggle.

1. 9 Assignment of land to Dalits(Panchamas) in Madras Presidency

1.9.1 Right over land restoredFor the first time in India the right over land wasrestored to dalits during the British period butfor different reasons. As explained earlier theBritish rule did not bring any improvements inthe agrarian society, further the conditionsdeteriorated because of the land revenuesystems that they evolved.

The conditions of the dalits had worsened. TheGovernment of Madras presidency appointedin1891 Tremenheere, the collector of Chingalpetdistrict, to conduct an enquiry into the conditionsof pariahs (SCs or dalits). In his report,Tremenheere vividly describes the plight ofpariahs or panchamas as it prevailed duringthe later half of the 19th century. He describesthem as people who were “always badlynourished; clad if at all, in the vilest of rags; eatenup with leprosy or other horrible diseases; huntedlike pigs; untaught, uncared for and un-pitied”.In fact, it was the European missionaries workingin Madras Presidency who first studied thepathetic living conditions of pariahs andsubmitted a memorandum to the governmentpleading for government intervention on behalf


of the pariah community. A vigorous discussionon the conditions of pariahs also took place inthe newspapers in Madras and also in London.

Finally, the question of Pariahs came up fordiscussion in House of commons and thisforced the government to act. Thegovernment of Madras Presidency passedtwo GO’s -one on

30-9-1892 (GO. Nos.1010, 1010 A Revenue)and the other on 1-2-1893 (GONo.68Education) relating to the condition ofpariahs.

1.9.2 The salient features of the RevenueGO were

1. That in the event of alienation of landgranted to pariahs, the government hadthe power to resume the grant and orderre-entry under the conditions laid downin the GO.

2. All lands that have already been ormay in future be purchased bygovernment at sales for arrears of Revenueshould be reserved for assignments topariahs and other low castes forcultivation and other building purposes.

Thus from 1892 onwards with the issue of GONos.1010, 1010A Revenue and GO No.68Education, the revenue officials in the Chingalpetdistrict started receiving lands for assignment forthe panchamas

1.9.3 Lands acquired for assignmentWastelands were measured and a good portionwas reserved for panchamas/pariahs. Wherewastelands were not sufficient, large blocks ofland in the form of unreserved forests, un-

assessed wastelands, poramboke lands weretransferred for assignment for cultivation.

The policy of assignment of land to pariahsstarted from 1918 in every Ryotwari village.In 1919, a special officer was appointed toprotect depressed classes and the officersstarted co-operative societies for the benefitof SCs.

Lands were assigned to panchamas (pariahs)not only for cultivation but also buildinghouses, establishing schools and also forforming small pariah settlements. Theprocess of land acquisition by thegovernment for pariahs began in Thanjavurduring the First World War and it slowlyspread to other districts. Wastelands andlands acquired were distributed particularlyin North Arcot and Tiruchiraplli districts from1924.

The labour department was created in 1920 toassign lands exclusively for the DepressedClasses (DC).

From 1930, lands were distributed to thedalits by the government in all the districtsof Madras presidency. In one instance, 1400acres of land was granted for forming agriculturalsettlements for the dalits. And in another instance1000 acres of land was granted for the formationof agricultural settlements for Veppur pariahs inSouth Arcot district. By 1931 the total numberof house sites provided by acquisition of landsince the inception of the department was36,530. Land assigned for cultivation rose from19,251 acres in 1920-21 to 3, 42,611 acres in1931 (Boag, 1993:131-32).The above historical initiatives laid foundationsfor the future Land Reforms in India.

27Chapter-I

Modern nomenclature of DalitsIn the modern society the so calleduntouchables are referred to with twoleading terms i.e, Harijans and Dalits. Asearly as 1917 the prefix ‘Adi’ or ‘Original’was used by untouchable leaders seekingto assert a status as a people subordinatedby later Aryan immigrants to India(Omvedt I994). So the terms “Adi-Dravida’, ‘Adi-Karnataka’ and ‘Adi-Andhra’ are still used as self – descriptionby large numbers of dalits in the differentStates of south India. In any case itembodies a questionable thesis - (theclaim to ‘originality’(The untouchables-2000)

The term of ‘Harijan’ was adopted byMahatma Gandhi in 1933 for a suitablename to replace the termsuntouchables. Gandhi’s object was toinvent a name which identified therelevant people without fixing them aninferior status – ‘Harijan’ means‘People of God’. This term was widelyadopted in the general public and also byUntouchables themselves, but in recentyears the name has lost support. Thegovernment also in recent times bannedthe use of this term.

The word ‘Dalit’ is now generally usedfor other generic names for personsdescended from the old Untouchablecastes. This is a word derived from theMarathi language, and is apparentlyderived from Sanskrit. In an 1831dictionary the word is defined as ‘ground’or ‘broken or reduced to pieces generally’

(Molesworth’s Marathi-EnglishDictionary 1831). It was seemingly firstused in the context of caste oppressionby the great nineteenth-century reformerMahatma Jyothiba Phule, but its modernhistory dates from the early 1970s amongactivists (dalit panthers) from theUntouchable Mahar caste (Zelliot1992: 267, 271). But now the term hasspread to Karnataka and increasinglythroughout India. Like ‘Harijan’ theterm is intensely political, but thepolitics this time is more assertive andself-directed, sometimes separatist.While use of the term might seem toexpress an appropriate solidarity withthe contemporary face of Untouchablepolitics, there remain major problems inadopting it as the generic term. Althoughthe word is now quite widespread, it stillhas deep roots in a tradition of politicalradicalism.

The second category is a cluster of termsdevised mainly in British bureaucraticcontext–above all the Census–from latein the nineteenth century to the 1930s.These terms included ‘Outcastes’,‘Depressed Castes’ and ‘ExteriorCastes’. The endpoint of this line ofverbal/conceptual development is theterm ‘Schedule Castes’, now the officialidentifier of what one calls theUntouchables. The so-called Schedule isa list of castes entitled to parliamentaryor assembly seats and otherrepresentative positions, publicemployment and special educational


benefits. This Schedule was originallypromulgated by the British Governmentof India in 1936 but the term ‘ScheduledCastes’ only became widely used afterIndependence. While the term has usefulmoral neutrality, it is essentially legal innature: the people in question have beentransformed into a special legal class ofcitizens for certain purposes of the state.We will need to use the term frequentlywhen dealing with provisions ofgovernment.

The term ‘ex-untouchable’, often used inthe early years after Independence is stillto be found today. The term is legallysound–Untouchability was abolished bythe Constitution of India -but not arespectable word to refer. (TheUntouchables – 2000).

1.10 The land issue and the Dalitmovements

During freedom struggle in the north India,Jagjivan Ram and Rajendra Prasad began toorganize landless dalits in opposition to thesocialist-dominated All India Kisan Sabha. Thefirst regionally organized expressions of the dalitsfor land is to be found in the upsurge of radicalismand mass movements of the late 1930. The BiharKhet Majdur Sabha was established in 1937.It should be noted that a Bhumiheen KhetiharMajdur conference was held in February 1938at the time of Haripura conference. This Majdurconference, of course, had political motives inbeing part of a Congress right offensive againstthe left. It was also connected with a Gandhian– Congress offensive against the independent

dalit movement that was being led by Ambedkar.

1.10.1 Independent Labour PartyIn Bombay Province, Dr.Ambedkar’sIndependent Labour party attempted to mobilizeboth untouchable labourers (dalits) and Sudrapeasants and workers. The party undertook aseries of struggles and one of the biggest of thesewas a huge peasant march from Konkan andseveral Deccan districts to the LegislativeAssembly on January 10, 1938. It wasorganized by Ambedkar in co-operation withIndulal Yagnik and other Sudra and Kisanleaders. Demands of the march included:

1. Abolition of the Khoti system,

2. Making veth begar a crime and

3. Giving waste lands to dalits.

1.10.2 Basic thrust of Dalit movementsBut most of the dalit movements during colonialand post colonial periods were confined to theproblem of untouchability. Besides the problemof untouchability they took up the issue ofmaintaining or increasing the reservations inpolitical offices, government jobs and welfareprogrammes. According to Dr. Ghansham Shah,these movements can be classified into

1. Reformative,2. Alternative movements.

The Reformative movement was directed againstthe caste system and the Alternative movementwas an effort to create a new socio culturalstructure. Both movements used political meansto attain their objectives. In other words thesemovements were both caste and class basedmovements.

Dr. B.R.Ambedkar emerged as the NationalDalit leader of the country. But neither the

29Chapter-I

Independent Labour Party which he formed in1936 nor the All India Scheduled CastesFederation which was converted intoRepublican Party of India in 1956 prioritizeddistribution of land to Dalits as their mainagenda in the land reforms suggested bythem.

Ms. Gail Omvedt who has done extensivestudy on Dr.BR.Ambedakar says “On theeconomic front, he mostly began to follow aNehruvian-left line. While he had writtentwo major books in the early 1920s on fiscaland monetary policy which by and largereflected a neoclassical perspective of thoughtwith a severe critique of British rule; in the 1930sand 1940s he switched to a socialistic frameworkthat took for granted the necessity of state-guidedindustrial development but did not confront theproblem of high-caste domination over the statemachinery. This was expressed in his bookStates and Minorities, written as a submissionto the constitutional convention on behalf of theScheduled Caste Federation. Economics,though, was not by this time his major concern.He was putting most of his intellectual energyinto the question of the historical roots of thecaste system and India’s cultural identity.”

Though the ILP initially launched struggles fordistribution of lands to dalits, at a later stageDr. Ambedkar felt that only State Socialism willensure access to land for dalits. This is evidentfrom his memorandum presented to theConstitution Assembly on behalf of All IndiaSchedule Castes Federation on the safeguardsfor the Scheduled Castes for the protectionagainst Economic Exploitation. He suggests:

Some extracts - Article – II, Section- II,Clause 4 under (Land related only).

1) That agriculture shall be State Industry;

2) That State shall acquire the subsistingrigt hats in such industries, insuranceand agricultural land held by privateindividuals, whether as owners,tenants or mortgagees and paythem compensation in the form ofdebenture equal to the value of his orher right in the land.

3) The State shall determine how andwhen the debenture holder shall beentitled to claim cash payment;

4) The debenture shall be transferable andinheritable property but neither thedebenture holder nor the transfereefrom the original holder nor his heirshall be entitled to claim the return of the land.

5) The debenture-holder shall be entitledto interest on his debenture.

6) Agricultural industry shall be organizedon the following basis:

i) The State shall divide the land acquiredinto farms of standard size and let outthe farms for cultivation to residents ofthe village as tenants (made up of groupof families) to cultivate on the followingconditions:

a) The farm shall be cultivated as acollective farm ;

b) The farm shall be cultivated inaccordance with rules and directionsissued by Government;

c) The tenants shall share among themselves in the manner prescribedthe produce of the farm left after thepayment of charges properly leviableon the farm;


ii) The land shall be let out to villagerswithout distinction of caste or creedand in such manner that there will beno landlord, no tenant and no landlesslabourer;

iii) It shall be the obligation of the Stateto finance the cultivation of thecollective farms by the supply ofwater, draft animals, implements,manure, seeds, etc.;

7) The scheme shall be brought intooperation as early as possible but inno case shall the period extendbeyond the tenth year from the dateof the Constitution coming intooperation.

But in the late 60s at a number of places inAndhra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala,Bihar, Maharastra and Uttar Pradesh dalitagricultural labourers participated in theland grab movements.

1.11. Scenario of agricultural labourpopulation

When India got its independence in 1947, thecountry had inherited various issues that wereunresolved during the British period. Theimportant issues were the growth of labourpopulation, the growth of poverty, and the issuesof Land Reforms which are interrelated.

As per Dr. Tarachand, in the decade 1921-31,the proportion of agricultural labourers rose from291 to 407 per thousand of ordinary cultivators.He further adds that “Economists haveattempted to calculate the proportion of theagricultural labourers to the total agriculturalpopulation at various census enumerations inorder to estimate the trends of social progressor otherwise. Their calculations indicate thatduring the last three decades of the nineteenth

century the number of agricultural labourers wassmall. Their proportion to the total agriculturalpopulation was 13 % in 1891. Due to severefamines which ravaged the country this went upto 25% as per 1901 census. As conditionsimproved it declined to 22 % in 1911. But thenagain the proportion started rising. In 1921 itwas 26.2% and in 1931 it was 38%.

High percentages of labourers were in theDeccan and the South, the Central Provinces,Madras and Bombay Presidencies. Theywere followed by the provinces of Easternregions-Bihar and Orissa, Bengal and Assam.In the Western provinces the percentage isless. Apparently the regions of ryotwaritenure and permanent Zamindari settlement werethe worst sufferers.”

“Of the total population of India in 1951, 70%or 249.1 million were agriculturists. The numberof landless labourers was rising continually, from7.5 million in 1882 to 21.5 million in 1921, 33million in 1931 to 44.8 million or 20% of thepopulation of India(minus Pakistan) in 1951. Itis needless to say that most of the landlesslabourers belonged to dalit community.

While this was the scenario in the labour frontan analysis of the National Sample Survey (VIIround) indicates the glaring inequalities which hadbeen established by the middle of the twentiethcentury. 22% of the rural families were landless.53% owned less than 5 acres each or 16 % ofthe total land, while 24% held between 5 and50 acres each or 68% of land. Only 1% hadmore than 50 acres, but 16% of the total area.In other words, 34% of cultivators owned lessthan one acre each. 64% between 1 and 5 acresand only 1% more than 50 acres.”

Dr.Bipin Chandra in his analysis refers that“According to the Agricultural labour Enquiry

31Chapter-I

of 1951, 19% of the rural families had no land. Of the land holding families, 38.1% had less than2.5 acres of land controlling in all 5.6% of the land (16.8% below 1 acre and 21.3% between 1and 2.5 acres). These may be seen as semi-proletarians or as dwarf holders. 21% of the ruralfamilies held 2.5 to 5 acres of land constituting 9.9% of the area. These may be seen as the smallpeasants. 19.1% of the families held 5 to 10 acres of land constituting 17.6% of the area. Thesemay be regarded as the small and middle peasants. 16.2% of the families held 10 to 25 acres ofland constituting 32.5% of the area. These may be seen as middle and rich peasants. 4.2% of thefamilies held 24 to 50 acres of land constituting 19% of the area. These were clearly the richpeasants. 1.4% of the families held 50 or more acres of land and controlled 15.4% of the area.These were the big landowners who merged with the Zamindars.”

1.12 Conclusion

Even at the dawn of 19th century land had not belonged to any one particular community. But fromtime to time, the right on land was given to certain groups, either to collect tax or for agricultureproduce. After many attempts at reforms by a number of dynasties, rulers and colonizers to increaseproductivity of land, reduce inequitable distribution of produce, curtail absentee landlordism, eliminatecapricious taxation, augment state revenue, by the dawn of Independent India majority holdings ofland became the exclusive property of dominant castes. At the same time there emerged anincreasingly growing population of landless agricultural labourers majority of whom were dalits. Ifin the distant past land was a forbidden commodity for the dalits by “virtue” of their being untouchablesin the balance of power after various land struggles and the Independent movement right to possessland continued to remain a mirage for majority of the dalits.


Sl. Title of the Book Author Publisher

1. The Penguin History Early India Romilla Thapar Penguin Books-2002

2. The Agrarian Systems of Mughal India Irfan Habib Oxford India paper books-2006

3. India Struggle for Independence Bipin Chandra Penguin Books-1996

4. National And Left Movements Edited by KN.Panikkar Vikas publishing House-1980

5. History of Freedom Movement Tara chand Publication division-I&BIn India Vol-1,2,3 and 4. GOI-1974-2005

6. Land Reforms in India Vol-1 Edited by BN.Yugandar Sage publications-1996

7. Land Reforms in India Vol-8 Edited by Ghanshyam Shah Sage publications-2002

8. Land Reforms in India Vol-9 Edited by M.Thngaraj Sage publications-2003

9. A History of Agriculture in India M.S.Randhawa ICAR New Delhi-1982 ,83 & 86Vol-2,3 and 4

10. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writigns Edited by Vasant Moon Government of Maharastra-1982and Speeches Vol-1

11. Agrarian Struggles in India after Edited by AR. Desai OUP-1986Independence

12. Telangana people’s Struggles & its Lessons P.Sundaraiah Foundation Books-2006

13. Peasant and Farmers Organizations Y.V.Krishana Rao Visalandra Book House-1990an Overview

14. Social Movements in India Ghanshayam shah Sage publications-1990

15. The Untouchables Olive Mendelsohn and Cambridge University Press-2000Marika Vicsiany

16. From Untouchable to Dalit Eleanor Zelliot Manohar publishers-1996

17. Dalit Visions Gail Omvedt Orient Longman Limited-1996

18. Land Committee Report-2006 Not published yet

REFERENCES

Land Reforms -Promising Much, Delivering Little

M. Kondanda RaoMallepalli Laxmaiah

Chapter II

34 Land Reforms - Promising Much Delivering Little

35Chapter-II

Land reform policies have been adopted allover the world in the post-second world warperiod to eliminate inequalities in the society.In caste ridden society like India land reformsare seen as a means to achieve democracywhere each person is valued. As Ambedkarargued redistribution of land would“eliminate the possibility of more powerfulhaving the power to impose arbitraryrestraints on the less powerful bywithdrawing from the control he has over theeconomic life of the people.” Politicaldemocracy cannot survive without achievingeconomic equality through land reforms.

In India a number of programmes were initiatedto change the land relations. The land reformlaws evolved through three broad phases sinceindependence. The character of these policieshas always been influenced by prevailing politicalconditions. In the first phase that startedimmediately after independence abolition ofintermediaries and protection of tenants wereundertaken. Redistribution of land was taken upall over India much later, in the early 1970’s.During this phase state legislatures passed lawsimposing a ceiling on land holding. The thirdphase coincides with the era of liberalization.In this period land policies have beenmodified to suit the liberalization policies.

The agrarian programs implemented in thefirst two phases were products of the nationalmovement. “The commitment to land reformdates back to a period when the leadership of

Land Reforms -Promising much, delivering little

M. Kodanda RamMallepalli Laxmaiah

the Indian National Congress was struggling towrest power from British hands. Consequently,it was led by the logic of this struggle to makepromises for change in the agrarian system soas to win peasant support for the anti-imperialiststruggle.”1

The peasants during the colonial period weredominated and ruthlessly exploited by thelarge landholders. These large landholders werenot involved in production. They simplycollected rents from the peasants and paidrevenue to the government. The British protectedthese landlords by according privileges such asspecial representation in the assemblies tomobilise support. So the survival of the landlordsdepended on the continuation of the colonial rule.The Congress Party mobilised the peasants intothe national movement by promising the abolitionof intermediary class and land to the tillers. Theland reform program is an outcome of thenationalist movement.

Because of the historical reasons listed above,land reform programs in India have notadequately reflected the land-to-the-tillerprogram. As observed by P. C. Joshi “thereis a clear inconsistency between the ideologyof the power elites, which proclaims theobjective of ‘land to the tiller’, and theprograms which provides for land rights foronly the upper section of the peasantry.”2 Theideology is far more radical than the actualprogram. The ideology played a useful roleaccording to Joshi in mobilizing the peasantry


against the big landlords and the colonial rulers.The actual programs have been diluted to suitthe immediate requirements. The land reformprograms in the first phase were formulated tosatisfy the non-Brahmin peasant castes thatsupported the Congress Party during the nationalmovement.

The abolition of intermediaries, it was arguedby the Congress Party, would bring economicgrowth with justice. This was expressed verypoignantly in the Agrarian ReformsCommittee appointed by the Congress Partyin 1947. The committee, popularly knownas the Kumarappan Committee, submitted itsreport in 1949. The committee laid down thefollowing principles as guidelines toformulate agrarian policy. They are:

1. The agrarian economy should provide anopportunity for the development of thefarmer’s personality;

2. There should be no scope for exploitationof one class by another;

3. There should be maximum efficiency ofproduction;

4. The scheme of reforms should be withinthe realm of practicability.

Else where in the report the committee was moreexplicit. It felt “that there can not be any lastingimprovement in agricultural production andefficiency with out comprehensive reforms in thecountry’s land system.

The Congress in its election manifesto and theReport of the Economic Program Committeedeclared itself in favor of the abolition of allintermediaries between the state and the tiller.”4

As far as the tenancy was concerned the

committee recommended that subletting has tobe prohibited. It suggested that tenants cultivatingthe land continuously for six years should beregularised. As far as the others are concernedthe owners enjoy the right to resume the landfor self-cultivation. Through the agrarian reformprogram the power elite emphasizes “theincompatibility of the traditional landed class withthe demands of economic development as wellas those of social justice and political stability.”5

The committee has also suggested that thereshould be a ceiling on individual land holding.

In the light of this understanding the governmentultimately evolved a policy to abolish theintermediaries and to offer protection to thetenants. As per the Indian constitution landreforms is a state subject. The center can onlylay down guidelines. Ultimately the policies haveto be formulated by the state governments. Sincethe socio-political conditions that shape thepolicy making process differ from state to statewe see large regional variations in the policy andits implementation. While some states madeprogressive laws the others were reluctanteven to make a law. The law resulted in far-reaching changes in some states where as inothers it had no effect at all. The content ofthe programme as well as its implementationdepended on the balance of the social forces.Progressive laws were introduced only instates where the landed gentry was politicallyweak and had no linkages with the CongressParty. In states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradeshand Bihar the Zamindars were politicallystrong. Therefore they could delay the lawmaking process and finally when the law wasmade it contained too many escape provisions.These laws hardly offered any protection to thetenants and the other weaker sections in the

37Chapter-II

village. Even in the diluted form the law couldnot be implemented by the state governmentsbecause the landlords wielded lot of influence inthe administration. As far as Andhra Pradesh isconcerned we see significant differencesbetween Telangana and Andhra regions withrespect to the reform policies introduced duringfirst phase because they were separate statestill 1956.

2.1 Tenancy Laws

The land reform measures were introduced inHyderabad in the wake of the Telangana armedstruggle. The movement led by the communistparty mobilized the peasants, artisans against thebig land lords known as jagirdars, deshmuks,desais. These land lords controlled vast stretchesof land and extracted free labour with the helpcaste based hierarchy. The national governmentintervened in the state through police action at atime when the movement was strong. Thenational government initiated agrarian reformsto abate the movement. Since the local gentryhad no linkages with the Congress Party it couldnot influence the decision-making. Therefore thegovernment could formulate radical policiescompared to the other states in the country.

Immediately after the police action the militarygovernor promulgated Hyderabad (Abolitionof Jagirs) Regulation. However, jagir abolitionregulation had a major limitation. Through theregulation the government could only remove thejagirdars as the overlord. It did not touch theproblem of security of tenants. Besides withoutresolving agrarian question the agrarian unrestcould not be tackled. Therefore, the stateappointed in 1949 a three-member agrarianreforms committee headed by N. Madhava

Rao, former dewan of Mysore to suggestreforms to abate agrarian unrest. Ghulam Hyderand RV Rao were the other members of thecommittee. Based on the recommendations ofthe committee, the government promulgatedHyderabad Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Actin 1950. The Act now known as The AP(Telangana Area) Tenancy and Agricultural LandAct came into force on the June10th, 1950.

It has eleven chapters and 104 sections. Thebasic purpose of the Act was to arm thegovernment to undertake agrarian reforms.It was a comprehensive piece of legislationcovering the following aspects.

“1. To regulate alienation of land,

2. To prevent excessive sub-division ofagricultural holdings,

3. To empower government to assume incertain circumstances management ofagricultural lands,

4. To provide for the legislation of co-operative farming.”6

The act created a category of tenants known asprotected tenants. All those tenants who heldland continuously for a period of six years in aprescribed period were treated as protectedtenants. Unlike the traditional tenancy laws,which merely regulated the terms of tenancy, thenew law conferred on the tenants the right ontheir holdings, unless they failed to pay the rent.They were also given the right to purchase theland on easy terms at a price fixed by the tribunalfrom the landlords. The owner under certainconditions however, could take possession ofthe Land. Similarly, the act denied the tenantsthe right to purchase if it left the owner with lessthan two family holdings.


The act also imposed a ceiling on holdings. Noperson was allowed to acquire land exceedingthree times the area of a family holding. A familyholding was defined as an area which, a familyof five could cultivate personally and secure anincome of 850 rupees after deducting the cost.At the same time in terms of area a holding wasnot allowed to fall below one-third the size of afamily holding. The act empowered thegovernment to use its authority forconsolidation of holdings falling below theminimum holding.

Thus, the land reform measures initiated inHyderabad cannot be termed only as tenancyreforms. These reform laws combinedprovisions of tenancy protection with provisionsfor ceiling on land holdings. “The fundamentalaim of the legislation was to bring to an end theinsecurity of tenure as well as evils of extremeabsenteeism and create a body of small andmiddle peasant proprietors who will have a senseof possession and hence, perhaps, cultivate theirlands efficiently.”7

The studies have shown that “out of the originallycreated protected tenants in 1951 only 45% stillremain to enjoy (in 1954) their protected statuswhile 12% have purchased their lands andbecame owner-cultivators, thus fulfilling theintention of the law. Two-and-a- half percenthave been legally evicted, 22% have beenillegally thrown out while 17% voluntarilysurrendered. A large number of evictions seemsto have taken place in the very first year of theworking of tenancy legislation.”8 It was alsoclearly established that “the tendency is forsmaller tenants to be evicted more than the largerones and purchases of land have beenundertaken more by the larger tenants than thesmaller ones.”9

Thus land seems to have been transferred throughsales. “About 1 ½% of the total owner shipholding (exclusive of inam lands) has changedhands owing to purchase and such transactionspartly achieve the objective of the law, i.e., landredistribution.”10

The law may not have resulted in theredistribution of the land. In fact, that was notthe purpose of the law as we have shown above.But the intention of creating an owner cultivatorseems to have been realized to a large extent.Total cultivated area increased in Jagir areasbetween 1951 and 1954 by 10%. And the landcultivated by the owners increased by 14.14%while the area cultivated by tenants declined by9.05%. A similar trend was also noticed in thedewani areas. Because of an increase in thecultivable land production has risen by 4.2% inthe Jagir areas. Monetary investments foragricultural development too have increased.11

But “apart from certain economic changes likedecreased land revenue rates, increased security,increased investments etc., jagir abolition hasbrought with it a significant improvement in thecoverage as well as efficiency of nation buildingdepartments which ought to result ultimately inbetter life…”12

New social forces emerged in Telangana afterpolice action. Till then Jagirdars, Deshmukhsdominated the socio-political realms. Thereforms led to the demise of these dominantgroups. Consequently new social forcesemerged that dominated the rural areas till the1970’s. However, the caste based division oflabour, the very basis of the landlord’s authoritycontinued even after the tenancy reforms. Thetraditional gentry class is being replaced by anew class of small landlords belonging to the

39Chapter-II

reddy, kamma, velama and karanam castes.

2.2 Andhra Area

In the Andhra area such comprehensive agrarianreform law could not be introduced. The AndhraTenancy Act 1956 was framed only todetermine the rent. It provided for fixation ofrent. Under the law rent is fixed based on thecrops grown and the source of irrigation. Therent varies between 28.3 per cent and 50 percent of the produce depending on the crops andsource of irrigation. The law has also laid downthe procedure for the fixation of rent. It clearlysays that the owner cannot evict the tenant atwill. The minimum lease period stipulated by thelaw is six years. Non-payment of rent, willfuldenial of landlords’ title, or subletting are someof the conditions when the tenancy can beterminated. Thus the act has only prescribed theminimum rent payable. It has not offered securityto tenants. The provisions of the law gave lot ofscope for the eviction of the tenant by thelandlord with out any difficulty. It may be notedthat the tenancy abolition laws led to the rise ofnon-brahmin upper castes in Andhra Pradesh.They gained political and social authority at thevillage level. Though the SCs were alsomobilised in the struggle against the zamindarsduring the freedom movement their interests weretotally ignored while formulating the land reformprograms. The land reforms could have beeninitiated to ensure social and economic justiceto the dalits. In fact these reforms have not eveneliminated the caste based division of labour.Therefore the dominant castes could exploit theSCs as a source of cheap supply of labour. Asthe tenancy laws could not bring about equitabledistribution of land the government wascompelled to consider ceilings on land holdings.

2.3 Ceiling on agricultural holding

Till early seventies the proposals to introduceceilings on land holdings were not implementedin many states on the ground that it would resultin the fall of production and thereby upset thewell being and stability of the rural structure.Every successive five-year plan thereafterunderscored the need to impose a ceiling on landholdings. However no concrete policy measureswere formulated to realise the objective.Sporadic efforts were made to impose a ceilingon landholdings. But these efforts did not resultin any major changes in the agrarian relations.Take the case of Andhra Pradesh. AP Ceilingon Agricultural Holdings Act was enacted in1961 to prevent concentration of land in thehands of few individuals. However the act hasnot served the purpose because it granted toomany concessions and exemptions. In the firstinstance the ceiling limit was very high. It rangesfrom 27 acres to 324 acres. Besides, there weretoo many exemptions. Land leased out andstreedhana are not counted while computing theholding. There is another interesting exemptionprovided in the law. If in the opinion of RDOthe division of blocks on which heavy investmentis made leads to fall in the production it can beexempted from purview of the law. Besides, thelaw does not cover orchards, cooperatives. Theprovisions are so vague that the ceiling itself hasbecome a mockery. Because of the loopholesthe law had no impact at all. “It was expectedthat 30 lakh acres, i.e., a little less than 10 percent of the total land will be available forredistribution. But as per the state AdministrativeReports for the year 1964-65 issued by thegovernment only 54709 acres.”13


2.4 Land Reforms Act 1973

Perhaps the government would not haveconsidered the land reforms again but for thepolitical conditions prevailing in the latesixties. The land ceiling act emerged out ofa series of related political events. They areas follows:

1. The Naxalbari Movement led by theMaoists was spreading like a wild fire inmany states. The home ministry inresponse appointed a committee to studythe situation and to suggest a strategy todeal with the movement. The Study Team inits reports recommended political initiative tohandle the agrarian unrest. It is in this contextthe then Prime Minister Gandhi said “thatpolitical parties may organize or even exploitrural discontent but certainly they cannotcreate it, if it were not there and as such unless‘something’ is done, the situation was likelyto go out of hands.”

2. The Congress Party lost in many states inthe general election held in 1967. The splitin 1969 further weakened the party. It isat this juncture the government decidedto adopt radical policies to eradicatepoverty.

3. After the split in the party the governmentlost majority in the parliament and was forcedto depend on the support of theparliamentary left parties for its survival.Using this opportunity left parties exertedpressure on the government to introduce landreforms. In this back ground the PrimeMinister held a two-day meeting of the ChiefMinisters and explained the need to introduceagrarian reforms. Thereafter a central landreforms committee was constituted to work

out the details. The importantrecommendations of the committee are asfollows.

The ceiling is to be on the total landheld by a family of five members.

The limit is to be in between 10 and54 acres depending upon soilconditions and irrigations facilities.

All major children are to be treatedas separate family units.

Exemptions given under the previouslaws were to be done away with.

Compensation would be a multipleof land revenue.

These recommendations were to beimplemented by 1972. However in AP thebill was enacted in 1973 and came into forcein 1975. To prevent land transfers that wouldweaken the purpose of the land reforms allrecord rooms of revenue department wereclosed and sealed through a separateordinance issued on 2nd May, 1972. Theordinance also banned transfer of land by anyfamily having more than 4 hectares ofwetland or 10 hectares of dry land. To preventtransfer of land the ordinance also imposedrestrictions on divorces and adoptions.

The ceiling act has the following features.

1. The ceiling was on the total lands held by thefamily consisting of husband, wife and theirminor children. All major children are treatedas separate units by the law.

2. The ceiling limit of the family consisting offive members is one standard holding thatranges from 10 acres to 54 acres dependingon the fertility of the soil and the irrigation

41Chapter-II

facilities. In case of bigger family an additionalextent of 1/5 of standard holding for membersis provided subject to a maximum of twostandard holdings. All lands are divided inthree categories to arrive at the size of thestandard holding. i. Double wet-lands;ii. Single wet-land; iii. Dry land. Again thewet-lands are sub-divided into six sub-categories and the dry lands into five sub-categories. Standard holding is determinedbased on the class to which it belongs.

3. The law disregards all transactions after 24thJanuary 1971.

4. Lands held by government, corporations,bhoodan board, religious and charitableinstitutions and cooperatives of weakersections are not governed by the law. Tea,coffee, rubber, cocoa and cardamomplantations too are excluded from thepurview of the law.

5. Compensations to be paid are determinedon the basis revenue of the surplus land.

6. A special machinery known as LandCeiling Tribunal was established forspeedy and efficient implementation ofland reforms. The tribunal was vested withthe powers of civil court for speedy disposalof the declarations filed by the farmers.

7. It is mandatory under the law to file thedeclaration by all those having more than10 acres of wet land or 25 acres of dry land.The tribunal would make the declarationsavailable in the office for public scrutiny. Thedeclaration in turn would be verified by thespecial deputy tahsildar appointed for thepurpose. On receipt of the report the tribunalwould conduct an inquiry and give award.Those who provide wrong or incompleteinformation are liable to be punished under

the law. The collector is empowered todistribute the surplus land.

Under the law 4,45,737 declarations were filed.And of these 64,911 were in excess of the ceilingand the remaining were not. Though 16,63,881acres was determined as surplus it got reduceddue to court verdicts and revisions. Finally795947 acres were declared as surplus. Manydevious methods were used to circumvent thelaw. “declarants…went in appeal to variousAppellate Courts, namely the Land ReformsAppellate Tribunal (LRAT), High Court andSupreme Court. They obtained deletionsfrom holdings of the declarant on variouscounts, such as treating a minor as a major,adverse possession, unregistered private saledeeds, deletions of pot kharab, deletions ofareas covered by 38E, 50B Certificates underthe Tenancy Act, and Occupancy RightCertificates issued under the Inam AbolitionAct. In some cases, after filing declarations,they appealed to the courts to treat doublecrop wet land as single crop wet land, andsingle crop wet land as dry land, and obtainedorders effecting deletions.”

The above account shows that objective ofreforms could not be realised due to loopholesin the law. The law however had an unintendedeffect. It led to consolidation of land holdings.Besides the law discouraged concentration oflands above the ceiling level. In the absence ofceiling law numerous small and marginal farmerswould have been dispossessed of their land inthe land markets.

The land reforms also acted as a catalyst in over-throwing the caste-based division of labour.


Though land given was meager and insufficientto meet the family requirements it gave them thestrength to reject vetti. Of course the changewas not automatic. The SCs and the other ruralpoor had to fight against the landed gentry tosecure emancipation from caste-baseddomination. However the land reforms have notenabled the rural poor to become farmers. Thepurpose of the land reforms was to release theunused land from the clutches of the landlordsfor intensive cultivation. Equitable redistributionwas never the intention of the policy makers.The government thinking becomes clearer onlywhen we examine the land reforms inconjunction with rural developmentprogrammes.

Ironically the rural development programmeshad a different logic. Contrary to the agrarianreform programme where equity was thestated purpose the rural developmentprogrammes targeted only those withsufficient capital to produce a surplus.Though this bias towards the well-endowedfarmers was integral even to the communitydevelopment programme introduced in 1952it became more explicit with the introduction ofGreen revolution strategy in the mid-sixties. Thisapproach argues that production cannot beincreased with out using the yield-raising inputs.The aim of the programmes as envisioned bythe policy makers was productivity; socialimperatives were not part of it. These ruraldevelopment programmes went against theobjectives of land reforms but they createdconditions in which the implementation of theland reforms programme was no longerpossible.

The green revolution evolved when an acute foodshortage arose in the 60’s. It was feared thatthe shortages would not only lead to inflationbut also heavy imports of food grains. Importsof food grains it was felt would deprive thecountry much needed foreign exchange. Theinstitutional model enunciated by JawaharlalNehru was subjected to severe criticism in thesecircumstances. As an alternative technologyoriented agriculture was propounded. Thechief architect of this strategy was C.Subrahmaniam, agriculture minister in theShastri’s government.

The new model was initially, resisted not onlyby the left group in the congress but also bya number of officials in the planningcommission. Severe food shortages were notthe only reason for the rise of the technology-oriented approach. The green revolutionstrategy, also known as the secondagricultural strategy emerged “out of a seriesof independently caused but conjecturally relatedevents; the death in May 1964 of Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru, the primary advocate ofindustrial strategy, and his replacement by LalBahadur Shastri, more a country than a city man;the 1965 Indo-Pakistan and Vietnam wars thatled United States President Lyndon Johnson toput Indian food supplies on short and arbitrarytether and, as a result, led Indian officials andpolicy intellectuals to give top priority to foodself-sufficiency; World Bank and US bargainingwith the government of India that linked increasedinvestment in agricultural programs to theavailability of increased foreign aid,disappointment with the capacity of the industrialstrategy to address the problem of rural poverty

43Chapter-II

by generating large increases in employment andthe timing of scientific and technological breakthrough, particularly the adaptation to Indianconditions of new high yielding varieties ofseed….”15

The new strategy that led to the green revolutionhad two policy components. They were theprice policy and the technological policy. Thestrategy proposes that with out providingincentives to the farmer the production can notbe increased. Underlying the policy is the beliefthat it is the profit motive of the farmers, whichpropels the agricultural development. So thegovernment evolved policies to prescribe theminimum support prices and to procure thesurplus produce with a view to ensureremuneration to the farmer.

The most important aspect of the newstrategy was that it introduced intensivecultivation using high yielding varieties of seedsbacked by plant nutrients, effective plantprotection and adequate water supply. Toincrease the availability of fertiliser, pesticides,and machine tools the government had not onlyused price control policies, but also allowedliberal imports to encourage the use of fertiliser,pesticides. The import rules were liberal to allowmanufacture of these inputs indigenously incollaboration with multinationals corporations.

Besides to develop high yielding varieties suitableto the country and to propagate them, researchand extension services were strengthened. Inthis regard “research institutions werereorganised, a new agricultural research servicewas established, collaboration with internationalresearch institutes was strengthened, and salaries

of agricultural scientists were increased. Finally,to make sure the results of new researchreached farmers, the extension service wasrestructured.”16 In the place of the village levelworker technically trained people wereemployed to render extension service.

From the above account it is evident that thegovernment rural development policies haveevolved through two different stages. DuringNehru’s period the focus was on the social andeconomic restructuring of the agrarian society.Agricultural productivity in this model was seenas a function of agrarian reforms. The lattermodel is essentially technocratic in nature. Itholds that sooner or later the benefits of agrariandevelopment will percolate down to all sectionsof the rural areas. As a logical consequenceagriculture became a capital-intensive activity.This model further strengthened the economicpower of the dominant castes. They could reapprofits with the government support and usedthe surplus to acquire urban properties. It is thiswealth that enabled the non-brahmin uppercastes to become a political force. In AndhraPradesh Telugu Desam Party represents theinterests of this class.

In the era of liberalization a paradigm shift hastaken place as far as the agricultural policies areconcerned. The government through its policiesseeks to promote commercial agricultureignoring the interests of the actual producers. InAndhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidugovernment that came to power in 1995introduced the liberalization policies. Thegovernment took a view that the governmentalone cannot handle the task of bringing aboutdevelopment and meeting all the needs. Private


participation is necessary for economicdevelopment. Therefore, a suitable climate hasto be created for private participation in variousfields. To achieve this, the government shouldderegulate the economy and give freedom toprivate investors.

In the light of this perspective the governmentreassessed agricultural developmentprogrammes in a strategy paper onagriculture and noted that “in the last 30years, the primary objectives of public policyin this sector (Agriculture) have been theachievement of self sufficiency in basic food,low and stable food prices and improvedopportunities for the poorer classes toparticipate in the growth process.”(WorkingPaper, Department of Agriculture, Govt. ofAP, 1999) To realize these objectives,according to the paper, successivegovernments have spent huge amounts onirrigation, research and implemented landdistribution. This model has not increased theincomes of the framers. To raise the incomesthe government has decided to strengthen anexport-oriented agriculture.

The small farmer cannot play a key role in thenew scenario. According to the report thoughthe “small farmer may be ideal for knowledgeintensive technologies but the small farmer suffersfrom several handicaps like security ofownership, production inputs, credit andremunerative marketing opportunities”.(Working Paper, 1999) Hence governmentdecided to replace the “fragmented and marginalproduction” through the consolidation and theexpansion of the holdings. In the process anorganized agricultural production could be

brought into existence that could generate fundsinternally and negotiate with the private sector.To achieve the change government decided to“create an environment in the state for integrationof the three sub systems of agriculturalproduction, marketing and processing to attractprivate investment in agriculture and agro-relatedindustries to facilitate farmers getting aremunerative price.” (Working Paper, 1999). Inthe new system agriculture would be controlledand directed by the agri-business companies.The government creates conditions for the entryof the agri-business companies. In the light ofthis new perspective the government has reducedpublic investment in the agricultural sector andwithdrew subsidies.

Unable to meet the growing expenditure manypoor and marginal farmers have fallen into a debttrap. To clear the debt many farmers are sellingaway their meager holdings. As the land hasbecome a commodity in the context of thecommercialized agriculture they are able to fetcha price. Contractors, real estate dealers andcompanies are now buying land in a big way.Land reform laws have lost their meaning in thisprocess. The recent developments in AndhraPradesh bear testimony to this. The land reformlaws are violated with impunity to acquire vaststretches of land. These lands are converted intofarm houses. The facts clearly prove theargument. The cultivators among the SC’s overthe last fifty years have come down though thegovernment claims that nearly 5 lakhbeneficiaries were given the land during theperiod. In 1961, among the SCs 7,05,931 or14.19 per cent of the main workers werecultivators. The number of cultivators has come

45Chapter-II

down by 2001. According to the census figuresin 2001 of the main workers among the SCsonly 4.92 per cent are cultivators. The totalnumber of cultivators is 6, 06,761. It is importantto note that the government has distributed thesurplus land and the government land to the SCsduring this period. In spite of the land distributionthe number of cultivators among the SCs hascome down. It shows that there is land alienationamong the SCs. The land reforms programmeis not able to prevent this. See the tables givenat the end of the text.

The above account clearly shows that the basicobjective of the land reform programmesintroduced so far has been to strengthencapitalism not socialism. Of course in the processthe land reform laws tried to protect the interestsof the marginalized groups such as the dalits.Small patches were given to them. Rules wereframed to prevent the alienation of land. But ascapital becomes a mediating agency betweenthe land owner and the land, poor farmers findit difficult to sustain control over the land. Asland becomes a commodity it passes into thehands of those who own money. The land lawsare not able to protect the interests of the SC’s,ST’s and the other marginalized communities.

In the era of liberalization where capital is seenas the source of production land reform policiesare seen as a hurdle for development. Thereforean attempt is being made to subvert these laws.Some times attempts are also made to abolishthem altogether. As land becomes a commodityit is important to ensure that property rights areclearly defined and established beyond doubtso that land transactions take place smoothly.

Therefore in the era of liberalization the focushas shifted. Land reforms are no longer theconcern of the government. The government istrying to strengthen the revenue administration,computerize the records and digitize the landmaps. Land question is defined in the interest ofthose who own capital.

Land reforms have to be re-conceptualized inthe light of these developments. In fact alternativemodels were propounded way back in the1950’s itself. Daniel Thorner argued in 1955 thatland reforms should try to protect the interestsof those who cultivate the land. “The proprietaryrights…. of non-cultivators will have to be soabridged that the existing gap between “right-holding” and cultivation-in-the-fields can beclosed.”17 This objective cannot be achievedwith out altering the power relations in the village.That is why Ambedkar argued in his “states andminorities” that the land should be nationalized.He proposed “state ownership in agriculture witha collectivized method of cultivation.”18 In thissystem state supplies the capital necessary foragriculture. Further Ambedkar stated that,“consolidation of Holdings and TenancyLegislation are worse than useless. They cannotbring about prosperity in agriculture. NeitherConsolidation nor Tenancy Legislation can beof any help to the 60 millions of Untouchableswho are just landless labourers...only collectivefarms ….can help them.”19 The economic reformpolicies strengthen private enterprise. In such asystem private employer rules the society.Ambedkar opposed government policies thatfavour private enterprise as it leads to a rule ofthe few rich people. According Ambedkardemocracy is a form of society where eachindividual is valued. Land reforms in


Ambedkar’s perspective will lead to theformation of democracy. In other words landreforms should be designed to transformIndia into a democracy.

1 PC Joshi, “Land Reform and AgrarianChange in India and Pakistan Since 1941 –I”, Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol.I, No. 2,January 1974. p.165

2 Ibid, p.176.3 Report of the Agrarian Reforms Committee,

AICC,New Delhi, 1951, p.8.4 Ibid. p.7.5 PC Joshi, Op. Cit, p.174.6 G. Parthasarathi and B. Prasada Rao, Land

Reforms in AP, Scientific Book Agency,Calcutta, 1969. pp.59-60.

7 A.M. Khusro, Economic and Social Effectsof Jagirdari Abolition and Land Reforms inHyderabad, Osmania University Press,Hyderabad, 1958. p.24.

8 Ibid. P.169.9 Ibid. p.16910 Ibid. pp.169-170.11 See. Ibid. p.171-173.12 Ibid. p.174

13 Parthasarathy. G, Prasad Rao.b, Op cit,p.175.14 Jawhar Reddy.K.S, ‘Land reforms in

Mahabubnagar Districts’, in Yugandhar.BN,(Ed.) Land reforms in India: AP – peoplesPressure and Administrative Innovations,Sage, New Delhi, 1996.

15 Lloyd Rudolph and Susanne Rudolph, InPursuit of Lakshmi: The Political Economyof Indian State, Orient Longman,Hyderabad, 1987, pp.319-320.

16 Ashutosh Varsheny, Democracy,Development and the Countryside: Urban-Rural Struggles in India, CUP, Delhi,1995. p.56.

17 Daniel Thorner, The Agrarian Prospect inIndia, University of Delhi, 1956, p.79.

18 BR Ambedkar, “States and Minorities” inDr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings andSpeeches : Vol.1, Government ofMaharashtra, 1989, p.408.

19 Ibid. p.408

References

47Chapter-II

Table 2.1

Number of tenants conferred ownership rights (or Rights Protected)and area accured to them (as of 31 Dec. 2002).

Sl. No State No. Tenants (in Thousands)

Area Accrued (Thousand of Acres)

1. Andhra Pradesh 107 595 2. Arunachal Pradesh System not prevalent 3. Assam 2,908 3,175 4. Bihar NR NR 5. Gujarat 1,276 2,592 6. Goa NR NR 7. Haryana Tenancy not prevalent 8. Himachal Pradesh 401 NR 9. Jammu and Kashmir 610 NR

10. Karnataka 605 2,632 11. Kerala 2,842 1,450 12. Madhya Pradesh Tenancy not prevalent 13. Maharashtra 1,492 4,290 14. Manipur NR NR 15. Meghalaya Nil NIL 16. Mizoram Nil NIL 17. Nagaland NR NR 18. Orissa 165 98 19. Punjab NR NR 20. Rajasthan 18 NR 21. Sikkim NR NR 22. Tamil Nadu 498 695 23. Tripura 14 39 24. Uttar Pradesh NR NR 25. West Bengal 1,460 1,100

Union Territories

26. A.N.Islands Nil NIL 27. Chandigarh NR NR 28. D&N Haveli 26 64 29. Delhi NR NR 30. Daman and Diu NR NR 31. Lakshadweep Neg NEG 32. Pondicherry Neg NEG

All India: 12,422 15,630 NR Not reported1. Including Jharkhand.2. Including Chhattisgarh3. Including UttaranchalSource: Government of India, Ministry of Rural Development Annual Report 2002-2003


TABLE 2.2

State-Wise Distribution of Ceiling Surplus Land(As of 31st March, 2002)

Sl.No State / Uts Area

Declared surplus

Area Taken Possession

benef

Area Distributed

to indiv.

Total No. of benef.(,000s)

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 Andhra Pradesh 799.66 641.66 582.32 540.34 2 Assam 613.40 575.38 545.87 445.85 3 Bihar 415.45 390.75 306.96 379.53 4 Gujarat 227.40 160.80 139.85 32.31 5 Haryana 107.49 103.02 102.12 29.23 6 Himachal Pradesh 316.56 304.90 6.17 6.26 7 Jammu & Kashmir 455.58 450.00 450.00 450.00 8 Karnataka 268.48 161.83 123.20 33.61 9 Kerala 141.43 96.85 68.75 166.81

10 Madhya Pradesh 298.76 260.32 186.94 74.71 11 Maharashtra 740.00 670.45 642.84 140.85 12 Manipur 1.83 1.69 1.68 1.26 13 Orissa 179.18 167.25 156.95 139.60 14 Punjab 223.12 105.83 104.23 28.57 15 Rajasthan 611.10 569.21 461.85 81.81 16 Tamil Nadu 200.92 191.63 181.30 143.68 17 Tripura 2.00 1.94 1.60 1.42 18 Uttar Pradesh 374.13 341.46 258.70 294.06 19 West Bengal 1,383.85 1,294.74 1,064.04 2,651.62 20 D&N Haveli 9.41 9.31 6.85 3.35 21 Delhi 1.13 0.39 0.39 0.65 22 Pondicherry 2.33 1.21 1.07 1.46

TOTAL 7,376.18 6,504.62 5,398.68 5,652.99

(Area in thousand of acres)

Source: Government of India, Ministry of Rural Development.

49Chapter-II

Table 2.3Schedule Caste_Economic Tables of Andhra Pradesh

for the Year-1961 and 2001

1961 2001

Population 4973616 12,339,496

Cultivators 705931 (14.19 Per cent)

606761 (4.92 Per cent)

Main Workers 3062058 4,937,314

Non-workers 1911558 6,105,978

Livestock Forestry Fishing Hunting Plantation Orchids allied activity

78014 -

Agriculture Labours 1756908 4,258,259

Household Industry 197714 -

Construction workers 26102 -

Manufacturing other than household Industry 39285 -

Trade Commerce 30710 -

Transport Storage Communication 27182 -

Scavenging 10845 -

Other Services 200249 -

Tanning and currving of Hides and skins 25484 -


Table 2.4

Social conditions of scheduled castes in Andhra Pradeshbetween 1961 - 2001

1961 2001

Population 4973616 12,339,496

Literates 278979 5,678,873

Illeterates 4552519 6,660623

Cultivators 705931 606761(14.19%) (4.92%)

Main Workers 3062058 4,937,314

Non Workers 1911558 6,105,978

Agriculture Labours 1756908 4,258,259

Dalits’ entitlement to land -An agenda that never was!

ESTHARLA KRISHNA RAO

Chapter-III

52 Dalits’ entitlement to land - An agenda that never was!

53Chapter-III

Dalits’ Entitlement to Land:An Agenda That Never Was!

- Estharla Krishna Rao

• E. Krishna Rao, Ph.D (Eco) Scholar, Department ofEconomics, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad-46.E-Mail - [email protected]

The author is greatful to Fr. Thomas Pallithanam for hiscomments and suggestions on this paper.

Land and water are precious gifts of nature andthe very basis of existence of mankind. Land isthe prime source of wealth in the world and inthe life of rural communities it plays a very criticalrole. Being the main source of subsistence, landmetamorphoses into a Socio-Economic reality.In the third world countries, land as a productiveasset plays an important role not only in thefunctioning of rural economies, but also inchanging fortunes of families and socio-economicgroups. Other things being equal, larger thecontrol over land by a family, or a group ofrelatively homogenous set of families, the greateris its socio-economic and political power.

Most of the countries in the third world have,between 50% and 75%, of their workingpopulation engaged in agriculture and a verysmall proportion in industries, transport andcommerce. The developed countries have lessthan one-tenth of their labour force in agriculture,in some cases even less than one-twentieth. Indiais at the 19th place with 60% working populationengaged in agriculture. The world average is at31st place with 41% in agricultural labour.

World % of those Ranking Countries involved in

agriculture4 Niger 90.006 Zambia 85.009 Afghanistan 80.00

11 Nepal 76.0014 Burma 70.0018 Bangladesh 63.0019 India 60.0027 China 45.0030 Pakistan 42.0031 World 41.0033 Sri Lanka 38.0034 Korea, North 36.0034 Philippines 36.0051 Brazil 20.0051 Cuba 20.0060 Malaysia 14.5066 Russia 10.8071 Korea, South 6.4075 Spain 5.3077 Jordan 5.0079 Japan 4.6079 Switzerland 4.6080 European Union 4.4081 France 4.1083 Australia 3.6089 United Kingdom 1.5096 United States NA

Source: CIA World Fact Book-2007.www.cia.gov


Since land is the prime source of income in ruralIndia, around 85% of the rural population ofIndia, directly or indirectly, depends on land andits produce. By and large the size of income inrural areas continues to be closely related to theamount of land owned or controlled. The landdistribution pattern in Indian agriculture sectorcontinues to be skewed. This skewed distributionof land in India is intrinsically related to the castesystem. A small number of big landlords own alarge extent of land while the millions of marginaland small peasants own small extents of land.While the large landowners belong to the so-called upper castes, the cultivators belong to themiddle castes and the agricultural workersmostly belong to the weaker sections such asScheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Among agrarian societies, differential distributionof land and prevalent norms, which lendlegitimacy and accord sanction to such adistributive system, determine a specific modeof relationship among the various segments ofpeople1. This relationship tends to accentuatethe super-ordination of these segments of theagrarian social structure that have greater accessto the control of land use over those who havelittle or no access. The trend of social inequalitiesin the countryside demonstrates the overlapbetween the system of land distribution and thedistribution of power among the people.2 Thusfor example after 1956 castes such as Reddies,Kammas, Velamas and Kshatriya emerged aseconomically, socially and politically powerfulelite of Andhra because of their control over land.Where as nearly 89% of Dalits remained aslandless agricultural labourers3 since they havebeen denied access to land even today.

3.1 Objectives of the study

This study is an inquiry into:

i) Dalits’ access to land in Andhra Pradeshduring pre and post independence period.

ii) The impact of land struggles during thecolonial period and of land reforms on Daliteconomic conditions with reference toAndhra Pradesh.

3.2 Methodology and data sources

The Data used in this chapter has been collectedfrom Population Census of Andhra Pradesh1991, 2001, and Statistical Abstract of AndhraPradesh 2004. Data on landholdings for theyears 1976-77, 1980-81, 1986-87, 1990-91,1995-96, and 2000-01 were collected from “AReport on Census of Land Holdings” (publishedby Directorate of Economics and Statistics,Govt. of. Andhra Pradesh) and for the SC/STland holdings data collected from “A Report onLand Holdings of SC/STs” published byDirectorate of Economics and Statistics, Govt.of. Andhra Pradesh.

3.3 Land and castes in colonial Andhra

As mentioned earlier, land is the prime factorthat determines economic position and socialstatus in rural India as well as in Andhra Pradesh.Since long people from the dominant casteshave been enjoying this privilege and those fromlower castes are excluded from this social andeconomic benefit. Those who have a meagerpercentage of land struggle to retain tenure overland.

55Chapter-III

During the colonial period through the permanentsettlement act the zamindari, Rayoitwari andInamdari systems emerged. Zamindari systemwas set up to facilitate the collection of taxes forBritish rulers. Zamindars in Andhra werebasically “rent- receiving landlords” whoexercised ownership rights on the land and otherservices without undertaking any care of land,supervision or cultivation of land. In terms ofcaste, the Zamindars in Andhra were a mixedlot.

The landlord class in Coastal AndhraPradesh primarily consisted of the Non-Brahmin upper castes i.e. the Kshatriya, theVelma, the Reddy, the Kamma. There werefew Kshatriya Zamindars mainly found inVishakapatnam District (the Maharaja ofViziayanagaram and others). The importantVelama Zamindars who controlled extensiveareas included the kings of Panagala, Bobili,Venkatagiri, Pittapuram, Mirzapuram andNuzividu. The estate holder of Challapalli,Vuyyawrmuctyla etc, were Kammas, whilethe Mungala Zamindar belonged to theReddy Caste4.

The landlords of the Ryotwari region were alsooverwhelmingly from the non-Brahmin uppercaste Reddis in Rayalasema; Kammas, Rajusand Reddies in Costal Andhra; and primarilyVelamas in Telangana region5.

Brahmins primarily possessed the Inam landsalso known as Agraharams granted by therulers. By and large, in many Inams there hadbeen a separation between ownership andcultivation. Because of the considerations of

pollution (untouchability), the Brahminlandowners did not till the land themselves, butleased out to non-Brahmin tenant cultivators.Shifting from rural to urban areas the Brahminseasily entered into service sector. Due tourbanisation of the Brahmins and their enteringinto the service sector they sold the inam landsto the tenant peasants.

Some of the micro level studies observe that dueto the shift of Brahmins from rural areas to urbanand their entry into service sector compelled themto sell off their land to upper caste communitiesin Andhra. A study of an Aghraharam Villagein Krishna District observed the followingfactors, which were responsible for the declineof Brahmin dominance over land,

i) Land legislation and tenancy problem

ii) Increase in urban employmentopportunities

iii) Conspicuous consumption and largenumber of dependents.

It also observed that there was a significant shiftin land ownership pattern during 1930 to 1982.The Brahmins, who held 77% of the total landin 1930, were left with only 3% by 19826.Another village study in the Rayalaseema areashows that the ownership of land by Brahminsdeclined from 36% in 1891 to 3% in 19827.Village surveys in some other districts of coastalAndhra i.e. Vishakapatnam, Guntur and WestGodavari also confirm that Inamdari land hasbeen rapidly passing from Brahmins to otherUpper Castes. By the first decade of thetwentieth century all three forms of settlement –


Zamindari, Inamdari and Rytwari systems – ledto the concentration of lands in the hands of afew non-Brahmin dominant upper caste people.

3.4 The Dalits

In the traditional Hindu hierarchical society dalitswere called Panchmas or Harijans and weresocially, economically and politically asuppressed people. Placed at the bottom of thecaste hierarchy they survived by performingfunctions like scavenging, leatherwork, etc.During colonial period they constituted the bulkof the agricultural labour force and worked asfarm servants and casual labourers.

Very few (less than 10%) Dalit familiespossessed agricultural land. They had no rightto own land nor were they considered to bepeasants or tillers of the soil. The existing socialcustoms did not grant them the status ofoccupancy tenant, though they might havecultivated lands as tenants and sharecroppers.In the case of untouchables, therefore, there wasa clear correspondence/correlation betweensocial and economic status.

And yet in the 1920s and 1930s militant Dalitsthroughout India were more concerned aboutthe identity questions. They rejected both thePanchamas and Harijans identity. In Andhrawe see them organising themselves asAdi-Andhras. The term Adi-Andhra came intovogue in the post 1917 period when Dalits allover influenced by the anti –Aryan, anti BrhaminDravidian movement, were identifyingthemselves as Adi-Dravidians, Adi-Andhrasand Adi-Karnatakas, as the original sonsof soil8.

The Dalit movement in Andhra can be broadlydivided into two phases; 1917 to 1932 andthe second phase from 1932 to 1950. The firstphase essentially represented the self-mobilisation of Dalits outside the organizationaland ideological framework of the Congress andthe Communists, although in the initial stagespositive response and sympathy wasforthcoming from certain liberal caste-Hindu individuals9.

In the second phase from 1932 to 1950 we havedalit movement developing cleavagesunfortunately due to personality clashes.Leadership issues raised its head along sub-castelines and Arundatis rejecting the leadership ofArigi Bagyareddi Varma (Bagaiah) set up theirmovement under the banner of Arundatiya MahaSabha. After the death of Arigi BagyareddiVarma there was a vacuum in the leadership ofthe dalits of both groups and they were co-optedinto either the Congress or the Communistgroups.

Thus in the agrarian front we have a processwherein land gets concentrated throughsettlement pattas in the hands of a few from theupper caste communities and in the social frontwe have the dalits organizing themselves mostlyaround untouchability and all its resultantinhumanity.

57Chapter-III

Table 3.1 Caste and Agrarian Occupation, 1921

Stat

e Act

ual

Wor

kers

Rec

orde

d Pr

inci

ple O

ccup

atio

n (%

)Fe

mal

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kers

Inco

me

Cul

tivat

ors

Fiel

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Perc

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ultiv

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ale

from

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mal

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rs

Mad

ras

stat

e(1

911)

Bra

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34.5

332

.37

0.29

26.6

954

.60

34.7

40.

11

Bra

hman

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ares

e10

,647

13.9

671

.89

0.08

28.1

014

.74

69.2

50.

40

Hol

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29,6

96--

3.29

75.4

637

.73

--2.

4584

.43

Mal

a19

6,25

90.

1814

.78

71.8

985

.53

0.16

8.48

87.5

5

Mad

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79,9

241.

1710

.71

54.7

170

.69

3.98

2.89

82.3

1

Hyd

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ate

(192

1)

Brah

im79

,345

7.37

17.5

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3218

.12

15.6

833

.97

--

Mar

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500,

638

6.99

60.9

016

.33

63.0

33.

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31.7

1

Ling

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170,

508

3.50

9.01

1.30

52.4

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4416

.73

1.92

Kap

u29

1,13

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6051

.56

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550

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719

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6,23

01.

0161

.22

15.6

875

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1.08

57.2

620

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Mal

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0,00

83.

798.

408.

25(6

5.3)

98.8

32.

6613

.90

39.5

0

Mad

iga

203,

492

0.65

10.2

810

.16

84.6

31.

007.

8638

.94

Cha

mbh

ar37

,991

1.07

4.21

7.69

59.7

00.

7610

.37

2.98

Source: Omvedt,Gail(1994): Dalits and the Democratic Revolution- Dr. Ambedkar and the Dalit Movement inColonial India, Sage Publications, New Delhi, Pp 77-79.


3.5 Land struggles in pre and initialperiod of independence in Andhra

As referred to earlier on 40% of land was underZamindars, Mokhasadars and Inamdars inAndhra during the pre-independence period(Details can be seen in Table (3.3 &3.4). InTelangana region 30% of land was underJageers, Paigalu, PanMukthas, Eenams and10% of land under the control of Nizam (Nizamsown land called as Sur-fe-case)10. Taxation wasexorbitant and the farmers subjected to untoldhardships. Forests, ponds and Banjara landswere also under the control of Zamindars.Under these circumstances the communist partybuilt a strong anti-Zamindari movement. Sincemost of the tenants were from the upper castenon-Brahmin communities such as Kamma,

Kapu, Reddy and Velamas, leadership of themovement was vested with them. Although theirfirst engagement was with “self-respect”movement and fought against the caste system

Graph 3.1

Table 3.2 Caste and Occupations, 1931

Source: Satyanarayana .A, Nation, Caste and the Past: Articulation of Dalitabahujana Identity, Conseiousness andIdealogy, Presidential Address in Indian History Congress Bareilly, UP, 2004, Pp 12.

S.No Name of Traditional Percentage of Percentage of Percentage ofCaste Occupation Persons Dependent persons dependent persons dependent

on Traditional on traditional on field labourOccupation cultivation

1. Balija Traders 11.7 53.0 16.82. Bramhan Priest 10.7 71.4 0.23. Besta/Mutrachi Fishing/hunting 57.8 15.1 18.6

4. Chakali/Mangali Washermen/barbers 69.6 9.0 13.8

5. Devanga/Sale Weavers 68.5 5.8 9.5

6. Golla/Goundia Shephers/toddy 71.9 5.5 18.3tappers

7. Indian Christian Agriculture/labours -- 25.1 17.4

8. Kamsali Metal and wood 69.9 13.4 3.8workers

9. Kapu/Telega Cultivation 71.4 -- 29.4

10. Madiga Leather works 17.3 8.6 66.1

11. Mala Agriculture/labour 79.0 12.0 0.05

12. Reddy/Velema Cultivation 71.4 -- 28.7

13. Sale Weavers 63.6 7.8 13.6

14. Tribes Hunters/food 67.7 6.9 17.6gathers

59Chapter-III

a section of dalits could not but participate inanti-Zamindari movement as they were in effectunder the control of upper caste tenants of land.

With Acharya N.G.Ranga taking the lead andplaying a key role ‘Andhra Rastra RaituSangam’ was established in Andhra in 1928.Mr. Bikkineni Venkataratnam was elected aspresident and Maganti Bapineedu was electedas general secretary. Prior to this KrishnaDistrict Raitusangam (1923), West Godavariand Guntur District Raitusangam (1923) wasestablished in Andhra respectively. The mainobjectives of the Raitusangam were:

i) Abolition of Zamindar system without anycompensation

ii) Reforms in land tenancy system

iii) Implementation of land ceiling

iv) To allow the chattels into grazing landswithout any taxes

v) Abolition of vetti which existed in the villagesand

vi) Distribution of surplus land to the landlesspoor11.

The Andhra Rastra Raitusangam foughtagainst the estates such as Munagala,Venkatagiri, Bobbili, Kalepatnam,Gopalapuram, Chellapalli, Venkatagiri,Madasala etc.

The struggle also succeeded in occupyingsurplus lands and distributing these lands to thepoor.

Graph 3.2


3.6 The impact of the communist ledland struggle on Dalits access toland

3.6.1 Significant struggles in coastalAndhra

Let us examine whether the Communist strugglesand Andhra Rastra Raitusangam movement,which took place in colonial and postindependent Andhra helped the landless Dalitsto acquire land. Communists were involved inland struggles since 1926. Among such strugglesone need to look into those that involved Dalitland rights in colonial Andhra as well as postindependence period. Pentapati Pullarao whobelonged to the upper caste occupied 400 acresof tribal land in Kondrukotu village in WestGodavari district during 1935. Under theleadership of Kommireddy SatyananarayanaMurthy president of West GodavariRaitusangam, Subramanyam General Secretaryand Pulam Chelamaiah Dora the villages likeMadapunam, Kodurukota, Tallavaram,Vadapalli farmers fought against the oppressionof the tribals. In the same district theRaitusangam mobilised the poor agriculturallabourers from Bondara, Kalvapudi,Velivennu, Moortha, Lingaboinacherla andthrough the petitions and representations madeto relevant authorities were able to gainpossession of 3040 acres of land in favour ofpoor agricultural labourers. In 1953-58 theRaitusangam fought for 40 acres of fertile land,which was distributed to Dalits. During the sameperiod poor agricultural labourers with the helpof Raitusangam acquired land12 50 acres ofBanjara land in Yanagunatpalli and 200 acresof Banjara in Pragadavaram. The mostnoteworthy movement during 1938-1984 wasthe Chellapalli Zamindari movement. The

communist party led this historical movement.The Raitusangam and communist partyopposed the high revenue taxes and fought forthe distribution of Chellapalli Zamindari surplusland to landless poor. This movement occurredin various ways such as Lanka Bhoo-poratam,Mangalapuram Mudiraj koolelaporatam,Batlapenumarru Poratam, AtcampaduPoratam, Yarlagadda Poratam,Lakshmipuram Poratam, Ayyanki Poratam,Peddakalle Poratam etc. Due to LankaBhooporatam (1969-73) in four villages theAndhra Raitusangam distributed 400 acres ofland to the poor.

As a result of this struggle led by theAndhra Raitusangam and the communistparty, during the period of the Chellapalliagitation in 13 villages, 11 thousand acresof land were distributed to the landlesspoor and each person got 25 cents of land.Among the total 11 thousand beneficiaries50% were Harijans13. It is important tonote that this struggle bore fruit during theperiod that the communists had alignedwith the Telugu Desam Party withMr.N.T. Ramarao as the Chief Minister.The TDP needed the support of theCommunists to retain the power that it hadwrested from the Congress

3.6.2 Significant struggles in Telenganaregion

The Telangana Raitu movement was differentfrom the costal Andhra and Rayalaseem Raitumovement. Even though up to 1948, the Telangaregion was under the Nizam’s rule, the communistparty was able to mobilise the farmers and

61Chapter-III

agriculture labourers to fight against the existingland tax system. ‘Telangana Raitu SaidaPoratam’ emerged in 1946 under the leadershipof Andhra Mahasabha and the communistparty against the Nizam government. During thisperiod they distributed 12 lakh acres of land totenants and peasant poor14. Moreover in 1969,August - September – October the A.P.Communist party, Vyavasayaka KarmikaSangam, Raitusangam and other Prajasangalu (People parties) occupied nearly1,07,325 acres of land throughout AndhraPradesh and distributed to the landless poor15.The communists also initiated some Anti-untouchability measures but did not succeedenough. Their anti-caste measures did not gobeyond preaching. They always suggested

protests and revolts against the big landlords butnot against caste. The communists could notcreate a leader from among the Dalits and theyremained only at the level of cadres or at themost village level representatives, despite theireducational qualifications to participate in statelevel and national level politics. Due to theirinability to accommodate Dalits at the ideologicallevel, Dalit support weakened gradually.However, veteran Dalit communists accept thefact that the communist intervention did effect achange in their lives, especially at the level ofwages16.

While we see that in some individual strugglesdalits did gain access to land the overall situationpresents a different picture. When compared tothe gains made by the upper levels of caste the

Note : * including Srikakulam District, Source : Krishna Rao, Y. V. Gata Adrdha Shatabdamto Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Ardhika Vidhanam lo Vachhina Marpulu (Telugu), Pp 71-72

Table 3.3 Land under different types of systems in different districts in Andhra,1940-41 (area in thousand acres)

Name of the District Rayotwari Inamdari Zamindari Total Area

Vishakapatnam* 792.5 504.0 3901.1 5198.1

East Godavari 1315.4 4.0 1032.9 2352.3

West Godavari 1026.5 181.5 373.9 1561.9

Krishna 1039.6 230.2 952.4 1222.2

Guntur 3452.3 225.8 11.8 3689.9

Kurnool 4732.2 123.3 --- 4855.5

Ananthapur 4153.6 158.6 --- 4307.0

Kadapa 3596.0 194.7 --- 3790.7

Chittoor 1853.5 538.7 1386.7 3778.9

Nellore 2530.1 426.7 2130.4 5087.9

Total 24491.6 2582.4 9789.7 36863.7

(66.44) (7.00) (26.56) (100.00)


gains made by dalits as community areinsignificant and inadequate.

The various village surveys conducted in postindependence years all over Andhra indicate thata significant section of landlords from theKamma, Reddies and Kapu castes emergedas the dominant peasantry in Andhra. A villagestudy conducted in Adilabad District observedland transfers during 1960-61 to 1990-9117. Itrevealed that, Kapus were the land owningcommunity with high average land holdings,compared to other caste peasants. During thestudy period the Kapus made huge land gains:their average landholdings increased from 12.22acres to 22.22 acres. It was also found that therelative share of Scheduled Castes in the totalland was very meager and it further declined.They lost their control over their land completely,and joined the pool of landless agriculturallabour. Another village study made in Gunturdistrict concluded that during 1960-61 to 1996-97, 65% of total land has been transferred fromdominant non-cultivating communities(Brrhmian and Vaysya) to dominant cultivatingcommunities (Kamma). On the other hand theDalits could not make any significant gains. Italso observed that in 1997, 32.2% of Dalitpopulation were operating 27% of total land and65.5% of non-Dalits were operating 71.3% oftotal land. And 75.4% of Dalits were recordedas Agricultural labourers and landless18. Anothervillage study made in Prakasam District, during1989-90 to 1998-99 concluded that during thestudy period the land has been transferred fromNon Cultivating Communities (Komati caste)to Cultivating Communities (Kamma,Yadavaand Chakali castes). It also observed in 1998-

99 that 17% of BC households are controlling14.29% of total land and the remaining 85.70%of land by 56.57% OC households. Whereas26.31% of SC households were not controllingeven a single cent of land: all these were landlesslabourers19. An Agraharam village studyconducted in Krishna district found that thescheduled castes, which constitute about 30%of total population held around 12% of the Land.The percentage of landless among them was76%20. Village survey in Chittoor district hasobserved that the Harijans who constitutearound 23% of the population, did not own anyland21.

The above analysis reveals that while thecommunist party fought against the Zamindarisystem and for confirmation of tenant rights itwas not able confer land rights to dalits as a

Table 3.4 Land under different types ofsystems in different districtsin Telangana, 1940-41 (area inthousand acres)

Under Surfekhan 789

Under Pagals 341

Under Elakhalu 383

Under Samsthans 497

Under other Jageers 1407

Under sub-Jageers 131

Total 3598

System No. of Villages

Source: Krishna Rao, Y. V. Gata AdrdhaShatabdam to Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya ArdhikaVidhanam lo Vachhina Marpulu (Telugu), Pp 72

63Chapter-III

community. Most dalits continued to remain asagricultural labourers.

3.7 Post independence land reforms

The Congress party implemented several landreforms to reduce the inequalities in the landdistribution pattern. 1962 saw the first notableintervention by the government for land reformsand their implementation in Andhra Pradesh. Thethen Chief Minister of AP, Sri. DamodaraSanjivaiah, who hails from the Dalit community,showed keen interest in the distribution of surplusland to the landless poor and in implementingland reform policy which came in the wake ofpost-independence search for a more equitablesociety. As a result in 1964 September 3rd theAP state government passed a GO that landlesspoor can appeal to the government for thePooramboku land and the same would beassigned to them. Due to pressure from uppercaste, landlords and politicians and connivanceof revenue officials, the GO could not beimplemented to the extent that it substantiallychanged the ownership pattern of land of thepoor.

In this context, one needs to review theimplementation of the land reforms. Thefollowing paragraphs will examine whether ornot the really needy acquired land through thisland reforms; what were the hurdles in theimplementation of land reforms; and on thewhole what was the outcome of land reformpolicies.

3.8 Land legislations in postindependence Andhra Pradesh - Anoverview

The Indian government felt that it was necessaryto protect the interest of the tillers to land andbring equity in agriculture, and abolish

intermediary land tenure. Even the five year plansgave top priority to land reforms which includedabolition of intermediaries, tenancy reforms,imposition of ceilings on landholdings,distribution of surplus land, allotment ofgovernment land, consolidation of holdings andprotection of lands of Scheduled castes andTribes22.

In this context Dr.B.R.Ambedkar, the chiefarchitect of the Indian constitution who had socialjustice concerns always upper most in his mindrecommended another way to achieve justice inthe land distribution pattern, i.e. through collectivefarming. Ambedkar advocated collective farmingfrom the viewpoint of social justice and economicequity. Ambedkar, in his “States and Minorities”published in 1947, felt that state socialism wasessential for rapid industrialization. He proposedthat the state should have an obligation to planthe economic life of people on the lines whichwould lead to the highest point of productivitywithout closing every avenue to privateenterprise and to provide for equitabledistribution of wealth. He proposed that the stateownership of agriculture with a collectivizedmethod of cultivation and modified form of statesocialism in the field of industry. It should bethe obligation of the state to supply the necessarycapital for agriculture as well as for industry. Healso opined that consolidation of holdings andtenancy legislation are worse than useless. Hewas convinced that those legislations would notbring about prosperity in agriculture. Neitherconsolidation nor tenancy legislation can be ofany help to the landless agricultural labourers hefelt. Only collective farming could help accordingto him. The idea of collective farming ofAmbedkar was very revolutionary. If it wereaccepted, it would have required thenationalization of agriculture. But the Governmentof India, in order to reduce inequalities in the


Important Legislations Regarding Abolition of Intermediaries.

i. Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Area) Estates Land (Reduction of Rent) Act, 1947: The majorobjective of this Act was to provide for reduction of rents payable to ryots in Estatesapproximate to the level of assessment levied on lands in Ryotwari area in theneighborhood.

ii. The Madras Estate (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1948: It providedfor the repeal of the permanent settlement, the acquisition of the rights of land – holdersin permanently settled and certain other estates in the province of Andhra and theintroduction of the Ryotwari settlement in such estates. “Estate” means a Zamindarior under-tenure or an Inam Estate. This act extends to the whole state of Andhra.

iii. The Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1950. Themajor objectives of this Act are (i) to regulate the relations of landlords and tenants ofagricultural lands (2) to regulate alienations of land (3) to prevent excessive sub-divisionof agricultural holdings (4) to provide for the legislation of co-operative farm and (5) toempower Government to assume in certain circumstances management of agriculturallands.

iv. Andhra Inams (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1956 to abolish andconvert certain Inam lands into Ryotwari lands. It extends to the whole of the state ofAndhra but applies only to Inam lands.

v. Andhra Tenancy Act of 1956 provides for the payment of fair rent by cultivating tenantsand for fixing the minimum period of agricultural leases in the State

vi. The Andhra Pradesh ceiling on Agricultural Holdings Act, 1961 provides for the impositionof ceiling on agricultural holdings ranging from 27 acres to 324 acres depending uponthe class of land.

vii.The Andhra Pradesh Land Reform (ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1972, whichprovides for a ceiling area of one standard holding ranging from 4.05 hectares (10acres) to 10.93 hectares (about 27 acres) in the case of wetland and from 14-16 hectares(35 acres) to 21-85 hectares (54 acres) in case of dry land.

65Chapter-III

land distribution pattern, opted for a softer measure of land reforms instead of collective farming

In Addition to these land reforms and legislations, with the aim of providing minimum source ofincome and promoting social and economic well being of the poor landless people, thegovernment distributed the surplus land made available from land ceiling. As on September 30,1996, about 52.13 lakh acres was distributed at the All India level. Of these, about 18.08 lakhacres of land was distributed to SCs, 7.31 lakh acres to STs and 26.74 lakh acres for non-SC/ST persons. A total 51.21 lakh beneficiaries have been covered so far of which 18.49 lakhwere SCs, 7.19 lakh ST and 25.53 lakh non-SC/ST. The land distribution per beneficiary inthe SC category household comes to 0.977 acres, which was less than corresponding 1.047acres for non-SC/ST households23. As on September 30, 2004 an area of about 5.29 lakhacres at Andhra Pradesh State level (including agricultural land and house sites) 24 was distributed.Of this about 2.26 lakh acres of land was distributed to SCs, 1.19 lakh acres to STs and 2.36lakh acres to non-SC/STs. A total of 4.67 lakh beneficiaries have been covered so far of whom2.24 lakh are SCs, 0.84 lakh are STs and 2.16 lakh are non-SC/STs. The land distributed perbeneficiary in the SC category households works out to 1.0 acres which is less than what nonSC house holds obtained (1.1 acres) . Even today about 1.47 lakh acres of surplus land ispending in the court litigation (Table 3.7) This shows that even in the redistribution there is acontinuing bias against the SC/ST sections of society.

Table 3.5 The details of surplus land as per APLR (August 2004)

1 Total No. of declarations filed 4,46,826

2 Total No. of declarations disposed of 4,45,194

3 Balance to be disposed of 1,632

4 Extent declared Surplus Ac. 7,89,910.14 Cts.

5 Extent taken posession from the declarants - 6,46,521.30 -

6 Extent distributed to individuals beneficiaries - 5,82,235.09 -

Table 3.6 The details of land assignments for agriculture and housesites at state level

Source: Chief Commissioner of Land Administration, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh

Source: Chief Commissioner of Land Administration, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh

Assigned for Agriculture purpose Assigned for House site purposeCaste No. of benef. Extent Assigned No. of benef. Extent assignedS.C.’s 1,99,587 2,25,331.38 24,626 1,369.42S.T.’s 73,518 1,18,708.93 11,135 759.74BC & OC’s 1,94,307 2,34,686.20 22,512 1,379.42

4,67,412 5,78,726.51 58,273 3,508.58


Land reforms in India helped to abolish all formsof intermediaries in terms of landholdings viz,Zamindari, Inamdari and landlord system.Those tilling the land at the time of the abolitionof intermediaries were conferred ownershiprights and tenants were given protection. Theprotection and enlargement of control andcommand over land are crucial issues for thepoor. It is estimated that all efforts taken togetherincluding Bhoodan and distribution ofgovernment wasteland accounted for less than10 percent of the cultivated land25. It may notbe possible for all rural poor to beaccommodated but there is scope for utilizingthe wasteland for providing access to the poorand also eliminating the bias against the poor inland relations. The desire to possess land isstrong among the poor as ownership of landdenotes one’s social status. The small extent ofthe declared surplus was due mainly to the poorlegislation with large number of loopholes. Thus,the opportunity for a more equitable distributionof land was lost. However the abolition ofintermediaries and imposition of land ceiling onland-holdings had, over time, contributed to thegrowth of capitalist farming and arrestedconcentration of land ownership26. Althoughintermediate land tenure system could beeffectively removed through Zamindariabolition, equity in the agrarian structure couldnot be brought about. Concentration of landshifted from a few individuals to a fewcommunities.

Name of the court No.of cases Extent involvedpending

L.R.T (RDO’s) 654 Ac.55,318.0 Cts.

L.R.A.T 552 Ac.34,389.2 Cts.

High Court 1163 Ac.43,629.5 Cts.Supreme Court of India 389 Ac.14,113.5 Cts.

Total 2758 Ac.1,47,450.3 Cts.

Table 3.7 Surplus land covered by courtlitigation

3.9 Benefits from struggle / benefitsfrom land reforms

Thus neither in the initial stage of post-independence period through communist ledland struggles did lands accrue to the Dalitcommunity in sufficient measure as to impactpositively their economic situation nor did thecommunity stand to gain much through the laterland reforms initiated by the state. Added to this

Graph 3.3

Graph 3.4

67Chapter-III

due to several economic and social hurdles it was unfortunate that most of the Dalits were unableto retain even the little land, which was distributed by the government.

3.10 Analysis of data available on land holding patterns - with special reference toDalits

As per 2000-01 Agricultural Census of Andhra Pradesh, holdings 10 acres and above constitute17.25 per cent of total number of holdings but control 53.38 per cent of total operated area whilethe bottom marginal and small holdings of less than five acres constitute 82.75 percent of totalholdings but control only 46.32 percent of total operated area27. It is also interesting to note theassociation of caste with land distribution.

Source: Report on Agricultural Census of Andhra Pradesh, 2001, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Govt. ofAndhra Pradesh. Note: figures in parenthesis indicates the percentage

Table 3.9 Percentage Distribution of Operational Holdings and Operated area ofDifferent Social Groups in Andhra Pradesh

Table 3.8 Operational holdings and operated area by different size groups in AndhraPradesh State Level, 1976-77 to 1995-96 (Nos in Lakhs, Area in lakh Hect)

Size 1976-77 1980-81 1986-87 1990-91 1995-96 2000-01group Nos Area Nos Area Nos Area Nos Area Nos Area Nos Area

Marginal 26.69 13.36 38.04 18.86 44.6 20.54 52.11 23.69 63.0 29.04 70.2 31.0(46.6) (9.3) (51.6) (13.1) (54.1) (14.5) (56.1) (16.4) (59.4) (20.2) (60.9) (21.6)

Small 12.52 18.36 15.91 24.12 17.14 24.54 19.72 28.26 22.62 32.29 25.2 35.6(20.3) (12.8) (21.6) (16.8) (20.8) (17.3) (21.2) (19.5) (21.3) (22.5) (21.8) (24.7)

Semi- 10.72 29.93 11.74 32.61 12.54 33.91 13.45 36.4 13.95 37.36 14.2 37.9medium (17.4) (20.8) (16.0) (22.7) (15.2) (23.9) (14.5) (25.2) (13.1) (26.01) (12.3) (26.4)

Medium 7.53 46.47 6.46 39.79 6.57 38.65 6.44 37.77 5.63 32.31 5.0 28.5(12.2) (32.3) (8.8) (27.8) (7.98)_ (27.2) (6.93) (26.1) (5.3) (22.5) (4.4) (19.9)

Large 2.09 35.68 1.55 27.95 1.46 23.94 1.18 18.48 0.83 12.73 0.7 10.8(3.4) (24.8) (2.10) (19.5) (1.77) (16.9) (1.27) (12.8) (0.8) (8.85) (0.6) (7.5)

All 61.55 143.8 73.7 143.33 82.3 141.5 92.9 144.6 106.3 143.7 115.3 143.9(100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100)

Source: Report on SC/ST Land Holdings 1980-81 to 2000-2001. Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Govt. ofAndhra Pradesh.

Cate- 1976-77 1980-81 1986-87 1990-91 1995-96 2000-01 gory Nos Area Nos Area Nos Area Nos Area Nos Area Nos AreaS.C. 13.4 6.9 12.6 6.9 12.2 6.8 12.73 7.48 12.12 7.42 11.85 7.86

S.T. 6.3 6.2 6.4 6.3 6.4 6.7 6.88 7.23 7.11 7.56 7.47 8.23

Others 80.3 86.9 81.0 86.8 81.4 86.5 80.39 85.29 80.77 85.02 80.66 83.91

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100


Table 3.9 explains the operational holdings andarea operated by different groups since 1976-77 to 2000-01 in Andhra Pradesh . In 1976-77SC households constituted about 13.4% of totalholdings but control only 6.9% of the area, whileothers constitute about 80.3% of total holdingsbut control 87% of total operated area. By 2000-01 the percentage of SC holdings declined toabout 11.85% and their controlling area shareslightly increased to 7.86%. While the percentageof others’ holdings retains the same i.e. 80.7%and their operated area share slightly declinedto 84% of total operated area. In 1976-77, SToperational holdings constitute 6.3% of totalholdings and control 6.2% of total operated area.By 2000-01 their holdings increased to morethan 7% while their share in area also increasedto 8.23%. Scheduled Tribes average holdingsalso increased more than the Scheduled Castesaverage land holdings (Table: 3.12). The positionof ST households in terms of operational holdingsis better than SC households at Andhra Pradeshstate level as well as all India level.

Graph 3.5

From table 3.10 it is noted that, most of the SCare small or marginal farmers. In 1976-77marginal and smallholdings of SCs constituted83%(control nearly 46% of total operated areaof SCs) of total holdings and their percentagetremendously increased to about 91.5%(controlnearly 66% of total operated area of SCs) in2000-01, on the other hand medium and largeholdings declined from 4.7% (control nearly29% of total operated area of SC) to1.4%(control nearly 12% of total operated areaof SC) during the same period and their averagesize of holdings also significantly decreased from1.19 hectares to 0.83 hectares during the sameperiod (Table. 3.11). Due to lack of irrigationfacilities, high cost of cultivation, high cost ofmechanization, these vulnerable sections wereloosing control on their lands. Most of the SCsand STs have been forced to sell their lands toothers, mostly those from upper castecommunities due to debt burden and are reducedto the status of agricultural labourers in searchof their livelihood28.

Graph 3.6

69Chapter-III

Table 3.10 Percentage distribution of operational holdings and area operated byscheduled castes in Andhra Pradesh

Source: Report on SC/ST Land Holdings, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Govt. of A.P.

Table 3.11 Average size of the holdings operated by scheduled castes (in hectares)


Size 1976-77 1980-81 1986-87 1990-91 1995-96 2000-01group Nos Area Nos Area Nos Area Nos Area Nos Area Nos Area

Marginal 64.8 22.3 67.7 27.6 70.1 30.4 70.67 31.98 73.46 37.15 75.88 36.45

Small 19.0 23.1 18.9 26.2 18.0 26.4 18.43 28.28 17.75 29.74 17.63 29.56

Semi- 11.5 26.0 10.2 25.2 9.1 24.5 8.70 24.40 7.39 22.51 6.95 21.27medium

Medium 4.1 21.5 2.9 15.2 2.5 14.6 2.03 12.38 1.32 8.82 1.39 9.36

Large 0.6 7.1 0.3 5.5 0.3 4.1 0.17 2.96 0.08 1.78 0.15 3.36

All 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Size Group 1976-77 1980-81 1986-87 1990-91 1995-96 2000-01

Marginal 0.41 0.43 0.41 0.41 0.42 0.41Small 1.45 1.46 1.40 1.40 1.39 1.39Semi medium 2.69 2.62 .256 2.56 2.53 2.54Medium 6.21 5.66 5.59 5.58 5.53 5.58Large 14.65 16.48 14.41 16.00 19.00 19.00All groups 1.19 1.06 0.95 0.91 0.83 0.83

Size Group 1976-77 1980-81 1986-87 1990-91 1995-96 2000-01

Marginal 0.52 0.51 0.49 0.49 0.50 0.48

Small 1.47 1.42 1.44 1.43 1.41 1.41

Semi medium 2.62 2.65 2.62 2.66 2.63 2.64Medium 5.82 5.77 5.70 5.65 5.53 5.57

Large 15.62 14.49 14.47 13.72 15.67 11.0

All groups 2.33 1.91 1.80 1.64 1.44 1.37


Table 3.12 Average size of the holdings operated by scheduled tribes (in hectares)


Even as Andhra Pradesh, along with WestBengal and Jammu and Kashmir, is one of thefew states to have substantially redistributed thegovernment held land and despite giving thestipulated percentages for SC/ST the aboveinformation reveals that most of the landcontinues to be in the hands of upper caste.Neither the constitutional provisions nor theresultant land reform measures ensured anyappreciable percentage of Dalits getting land.

An analysis of tables 3.15 and 3.16 proves thisfact. On the one hand the population share ofDalits in total population has been increasingwhereas their share in land ownership has beendeteriorating over the years. It can be seen fromthe tables 3.15 and 3.16 that SCs percentage intotal population increased from 15.93 percentin 1991 to 16.7 percent in 2001, but their sharein total holdings declined from 12.2 percent to11.86 per cent and their share in total area alsoretain same during the same period. In case ofSTs their share in total holdings and area hassignificantly increased. But most of the ST landis rocky and unfertile. In case of non-SC/STs

population share in total population slightlydeclined from 77.76 per cent in 1991 to 77.22percent in 2001, but still they are holding 80.66percent of share in total holdings and 83.89percent share in total area. It indicates that theDalits share in total holdings and area has notincreased proportionately to their populationdespite AP government’s distribution of bothgovernment and surplus land.

Graph 3.7

Graph 3.8

Graph 3.9

71Chapter-III

From Tables 3.18 and 3.19 the following canbe observed: From 1.11.69 to 19.11.2000 APgovernment distributed 10,88,473.96 acres (alltypes of land) to about 9,71,999 landless dalits.Despite government’s distribution of land to thedalits, the average size of land holdings of dalits,number of landholders and the area under SCownership has not increased as per Directorateof Economics and Statistics Report. Thereasons for this anomaly are not difficult toascertain. Quite often assignments were onlygiven on paper and physical possession for many

has been a distant dream. Even when physicalpossession was obtained the lands distributedwere mostly degraded lands. As the governmentdid not have any comprehensive plan for thedevelopment of the lands distributed to the poor,supporting them with subsidies and incentivesthe beneficiaries often they had to alienate theland to pay up the debts incurred in attemptingto develop the lands assigned to them.

Other instruments of Land reforms policies toofailed to entitle dalits with any significant share

As per the land committee report1 of AP the status of Land holdingof the dalits is as follows:

The scheduled castes, 16 per cent of the state’s population, control only 7.5 per cent ofthe operated area in Andhra Pradesh.

Out of the 4.321376.37 acres of Govt. land distributed so far, 979315.91 acres weredistributed to the SCs i.e. only 22% of the total land distributed.

Status of LandHoldings of Scheduled Castes

1961 Census 1991 CensusSC Population 49,73,000 1,05,00,000People able to work 30,62,000 51,71,920Land owners/cultivators 7,59,000 (23% of the able

workers) 6,60,585 (12% of theable workers)

Agricultural laborers 17,56,908 (57%) 37,26,590 (72%)

1 Soon after the present Congress government came to power in the state it entered into a dialogue withthe Maoists. Though the talks failed Land committee was set up soon after the Maoists withdrew fromthe talks.

In the years between 1961 to 1991• About One Lakh people belonging to the Scheduled Castes lost landownership.• Of the people who are able to work, only 12% are holding lands. It has decreased

from 23% in 1961.The % of agricultural laborers has increased from 57% in 1961 to 72% in 1991


of land. The enactment of Hyderabad Tenancyand Agricultural lands Act brought in its wakeprotection to nearly 6 Lakh tenants who heldover 75 lakh acres of land, constituting 33 percent of the total cultivated area. This, no doubt,was a progressive act of legislation by the State.The AP Tenancy Act of 1956 produced a mixedresult in the sense that while it protected thetenants against illegal eviction, it drove most ofthe tenancy underground. Besides it did notprove in any way advantageous to dalits, as veryfew dalits were tenants. Instead the exploitationof the dalit agricultural labourers can be said tohave increased a hundred fold as the new tenantsproved to be as exploitative as the earlierjagirdars and zamindars.

The Andhra Pradesh Land Reforms (ceiling onAgricultural Holdings) Act was passed in 1973,but the provisions of the Act have been observedmore in breach, subverting the same by way offiling wrongful and fraudulent declarations,suppressing the land holdings, and by way ofbenami transactions etc. Earlier in the chapterwe analyzed the implementation of the Act.While official records show that 46.25% of theassignees were dalits ground realities areotherwise. Even a casual perusal of the relevantrecords reveals that a very high % ofassignments are benami assignments.

3.11 Much can still be doneLack of political will, apathetic attitude of thebureaucracy and absence of up-to-date landrecords are some of the major factors mentionedby the planning commission Task Force for thepoor implementation of land reforms. Thefollowing categories of land are still available forassignment; 1.Government lands, 2.Bhoodan

lands, 3.Ceiling surplus land, 4.Endowementland, 5.Wakf land, 6.Inam land, 7.Canalembankments, 8.Joint Farming Society lands,9.Sada Bainama lands etc.

There is unanimity of opinion regarding howdismal has been the implementation of each andevery provision of the Land Reform Policy. Eventhe flawed implementation has gone in favor ofthe dominant classes. Thus when it comes tothe dalit community the failure of the land reformpolicy is even more glaring.

3.12 Conclusion

In the distant past the dalits were forbidden topossess land on account of religiously sanctionedand socially enforced caste prescriptions. In thefeudal times dalits did not and could not have aplace in the scheme of things set up by the rulersfor a smoother and more profitable collectionof taxes. In the struggles waged by theCommunists against exploiting zamindars toodalits could not gain access to land to the extentequity called for. The land reforms policies toofailed to fulfill the promise the state had made tothe dalit landless agricultural labourers. Thenexus between feudal economy, caste hegemonyand a bureaucracy steeped in vested interestcontinues to deny dalit their rightful share of land.89 percent of dalits still remain landless or ownsmallholdings of less than an acre.

73Chapter-III

Tabl

e 3

.13

Num

ber a

nd a

rea

oper

ated

by

diffe

rent

soci

al g

roup

s dist

rict

wise

in A

ndhr

a Pr

ades

hD

istr

ict

1995

-96

200

0-01

Num

bers

(in

lak

hs)

Are

a (in

lakh

acr

es)

Num

ber

(in l

akhs

)A

rea

(in la

kh a

cres

)

SC

ST

Oth

ers

Tota

lS

CS

TO

ther

sTo

tal

SC

ST

Oth

ers

Tota

lS

CS

TO

ther

sTo

tal

Srik

akul

am0.

260.

274.

004.

520.

110.

203.

283.

606.

280.

284.

294.

840.

10.

23.

23.

5

Viza

yana

gara

m0.

220.

343.

363.

920.

110.

352.

993.

450.

220.

351.

534.

100.

10.

43.

03.

4

Vis

akha

patn

am0.

090.

813.

093.

990.

061.

512.

444.

010.

120.

903.

494.

510.

11.

62.

44.

1

East

God

avar

i0.

610.

315.

246.

1610

.24

0.61

4.26

5.11

0.65

0.37

5.61

6.64

0.2

0.7

4.2

5.2

Wes

t God

avar

i0.

470.

164.

705.

330.

300.

224.

765.

280.

500.

194.

765.

450.

30.

34.

55.

1

Kris

hna

0.56

0.07

4.61

5.24

0.30

0.06

5.41

5.77

0.59

0.16

4.80

5.55

0.3

0.1

5.2

5.7

Gun

tur

0.51

0.15

5.97

6.62

0.28

0.14

6.50

6.92

0.53

0.19

0.19

6.90

0.3

0.2

6.4

6.9

Prak

asam

0.68

0.10

4.51

5.28

0.59

0.08

7.21

7.88

0.68

0.12

5.01

5.81

0.6

0.1

7.3

8.0

Nel

lore

0.75

0.19

2.83

3.76

0.47

0.10

3.81

4.37

0.79

0.19

2.93

3.91

0.5

0.1

3.8

4.4

Chi

ttoor

0.79

0.14

4.79

5.72

0.52

0.11

5.53

6.16

0.83

0.18

5.07

6.08

0.5

0.1

5.5

6.2

Kad

apa

0.35

0.06

3.14

3.55

0.30

0.08

4.75

5.12

0.38

0.09

3.55

4.03

0.3

0.1

5.1

5.5

Ana

ntha

pur

0.54

0.17

4.03

4.74

0.75

0.31

10.8

311

.89

0.66

0.25

5.08

5.99

0.8

0.4

10.7

12.0

Kur

nool

0.58

0.06

3.79

4.42

0.77

0.10

9.72

10.5

90.

650.

104.

175.

120.

80.

29.

610

.6

Mah

abub

naga

r1.

060.

524.

966.

541.

200.

8110

.10

12.1

01.

090.

635.

717.

431.

20.

910

.312

.4

Ran

gare

ddy

0.50

0.19

2.06

2.75

0.55

0.28

4.01

4.84

0.54

0.25

2.35

3.14

0.6

0.3

3.9

4.8

Hyd

erab

ad0.

000.

000.

000.

000.

000.

000.

000.

000.

000.

000.

000.

000.

000.

000.

000.

00

Med

ak0.

960.

244.

135.

330.

780.

305.

586.

670.

970.

284.

355.

600.

80.

35.

66.

7

Niz

amba

d0.

590.

253.

023.

870.

440.

243.

424.

100.

610.

303.

134.

050.

40.

33.

44.

1

Adi

laba

d0.

650.

822.

403.

870.

901.

674.

336.

890.

700.

912.

794.

400.

91.

74.

47.

0

Kar

imna

gar

0.90

0.13

4.36

5.39

0.58

0.13

5.48

6.19

0.93

0.17

4.67

5.77

0.6

0.2

5.3

6.1

War

anga

l0.

650.

793.

745.

180.

450.

975.

416.

830.

670.

793.

875.

330.

60.

95.

26.

7

Kha

mm

am0.

351.

182.

123.

640.

291.

783.

605.

660.

401.

242.

233.

870.

31.

83.

55.

6

Nal

gond

a0.

800.

614.

806.

210.

700.

808.

7810

.29

0.88

0.70

5.24

6.82

0.8

0.8

8.5

10.1

AP

12.8

57.

5485

.64

106.

010

.710

8712

2.2

143.

713

.67

8.63

93.0

115.

311

.311

.912

0.8

144

Sour

ce:

Repo

rt o

n Ag

ricu

ltura

l Cen

sus o

f And

hra

Prad

esh,

and

SC

/ST

land

hold

ing

Repo

rt, 1

995-

96 a

nd 2

000-

01


Dist

rict

1995

-96

2000

-01

% S

hare

in N

umbe

rs%

Sha

re in

are

a%

Sha

re in

Num

bers

% S

hare

in a

rea

SCST

Oth

ers

SCST

Oth

ers

SCST

Oth

ers

SCST

Oth

ers

Srik

akul

am5.6

95.8

788

.443.0

25.7

091

.295.7

75.7

088

.523.8

86.0

890

.04Vi

zaya

naga

ram

5.66

8.69

85.65

3.17

10.15

86.68

5.44

8.43

86.12

3.55

10.32

86.12

Visa

khap

atna

m2.3

220

.4077

.281.3

837

.7460

.882.7

219

.9877

.321.9

939

.5958

.42Ea

st G

odav

ari

9.85

5.06

85.09

4.77

11.92

83.31

9.85

5.63

84.52

4.77

14.34

80.89

Wes

t God

avar

i8.9

12.9

788

.125.6

44.1

590

.219.2

03.5

787

.236.1

12.2

791

.62K

rishn

a10

.681.3

387

.995.2

41.0

293

.7510

.692.8

686

.466.1

12.2

791

.62G

untu

r7.6

62.2

090

.144.1

02.0

193

.897.6

32.7

189

.664.6

82.6

592

.67Pr

akas

am12

.841.8

285

.347.5

11.0

391

.4611

.652.0

386

.327.5

21.5

190

.98N

ello

re19

.864.9

475

.1910

.712.2

787

.0220

.144.9

674

.8911

.392.5

186

.10C

hitto

or13

.902.3

983

.718.4

61.8

389

.7113

.682.8

883

.448.5

82.3

089

.12K

adap

a9.8

21.6

588

.535.7

71.5

592

.689.4

52.3

088

.256.0

21.6

992

.29A

nant

hapu

r11

.303.6

585

.056.2

82.6

291

.1010

.974.2

394

.807.0

53.3

889

.57K

urno

ol13

.121.2

785

.607.2

70.9

391

.8012

.721.8

685

.428.0

01.5

090

.50M

ahab

ubna

gar

16.19

7.97

75.85

9.88

6.69

83.42

14.64

8.53

76.83

9.67

7.34

62.99

Ran

gare

ddy

18.18

6.84

74.98

11.31

5.88

82.80

17.27

7.90

74.83

11.70

6.97

81.33

Hyd

erab

ad5.5

90.2

894

.134.2

40.0

95.76

----

----

----

Med

ak17

.964.4

477

.6011

.664.5

783

.7717

.304.9

477

.7611

.334.9

883

.69N

izam

bad

15.31

6.54

78.16

10.61

5.89

83.50

15.13

7.53

77.34

10.75

6.99

82.25

Adi

laba

d16

.6921

.2562

.0613

.0024

.2662

.7415

.8520

.6063

.5512

.5824

.6662

.76K

arim

naga

r16

.642.4

780

.909.3

02.1

688

.5416

.152.8

880

.979.9

42.5

887

.48W

aran

gal

12.58

15.20

72.22

6.65

14.17

79.19

12.54

14.77

72.69

8.30

13.74

77.96

Kha

mm

am9.5

432

.2758

.185.0

631

.3563

.5910

.3832

.0457

.586.1

131

.9361

.97N

algo

nda

12.89

9.85

77.26

6.83

7.80

85.37

12.93

10.28

76.80

7.64

8.34

84.02

AP

12.12

7.11

80.77

7.42

7.56

85.02

11.86

7.48

80.66

7.87

8.24

83.89

Tabl

e 3

.14

Perc

enta

ges s

hare

of d

iffer

ent s

ocia

l gro

ups’

in la

ndho

ldin

gs a

nd a

rea

dist

rict

wis

e

Sour

ce: C

ompu

ted

from

Tab

le: 1

.15

75Chapter-III

Dist

rict

1991

SCST

Oth

ers

% in

% in

% in

% in

% in

% in

% in

% in

% in

popu

latio

nla

ndar

eapo

pula

tion

land

area

popu

latio

nla

ndar

eaho

ldin

gsho

ldin

gsho

ldin

gs

Srik

akul

am9.

345.

693.

025.

785.

875.

7084

.88

88.4

891

.29

Viza

yana

gara

m10

.44

5.66

3.17

9.01

8.69

10.1

580

.55

85.6

586

.68

Visa

khap

atna

m7.

822.

321.

3814

.27

20.4

037

.74

77.9

177

.28

60.8

8Ea

st G

odav

ari

18.1

99.

854.

773.

885.

0611

.92

77.9

385

.09

83.3

1W

est G

odav

ari

17.8

98.

915.

642.

412.

974.

1579

.788

.12

90.2

1K

rishn

a16

.58

10.6

85.

242.

481.

331.

0280

.94

87.9

993

.75

Gun

tur

13.9

67.

664.

104.

422.

202.

0181

.62

90.1

493

.89

Prak

asam

20.0

312

.84

7.51

3.58

1.82

1.03

76.3

985

.34

91.4

6N

ello

re21

.85

19.8

610

.71

8.95

4.94

2.27

69.2

075

.19

87.0

2C

hitto

or18

.38

13.9

08.

463.

222.

391.

8378

.40

83.7

189

.71

Kad

apa

14.9

09.

825.

772.

091.

651.

5583

.01

88.5

392

.68

Ana

ntha

pur

14.1

911

.30

6.28

3.49

3.65

2.62

82.3

285

.05

91.1

0K

urno

ol17

.43

13.1

27.

271.

901.

270.

9380

.67

85.6

091

.80

Mah

abub

naga

r17

.63

16.1

99.

887.

397.

976.

6974

.98

75.8

583

.42

Ran

gare

ddy

17.2

218

.18

11.3

14.

296.

845.

8878

.49

78.1

683

.50

Hyd

erab

ad8.

865.

594.

240.

920.

280.

0090

.22

94.1

395

.76

Med

ak17

.87

17.9

611

.66

4.19

4.44

4.57

77.9

477

.60

83.7

7N

izam

bad

15.1

215

.31

10.6

15.

926.

545.

8978

.96

78.1

683

.50

Adi

laba

d18

.53

16.6

913

.00

17.0

421

.25

24.2

664

.43

62.0

662

.74

Kar

imna

gar

18.5

716

.64

9.30

2.73

2.47

2.16

78.7

080

.90

88.5

4W

aran

gal

17.1

912

.58

6.65

13.6

715

.20

14.1

769

.14

72.2

279

.19

Kha

mm

am16

.25

9.54

5.06

25.2

332

.27

31.3

558

.52

58.1

863

.59

Nal

gond

a17

.68

12.8

96.

839.

669.

857.

8072

.66

77.2

685

.37

AP

15.9

312

.12

7.42

6.31

7.11

7.56

77.7

680

.77

85.0

2

Tabl

e 3.

15D

istr

ict

wis

e pe

rcen

tage

sha

re o

f di

ffer

ent

soci

al g

roup

s in

pop

ulat

ion,

land

hold

ings

and

are

a in

199

1

Sour

ce:

Com

pute

d fr

om 1

.15

& 1

.16

, Pop

ulat

ion

Cen

sus,2

001


D

istr

ict

2001

SCST

Oth

ers

% in

% in

% in

% in

% in

% in

% in

% in

% in

popu

latio

nla

ndar

eapo

pula

tion

land

area

popu

latio

nla

ndar

eaho

ldin

gsho

ldin

gsho

ldin

gs

Srik

akul

am9.

055.

773.

885.

965.

706.

0884

.99

88.5

290

.04

Viza

yana

gara

m10

.58

5.44

3.55

9.55

8.43

10.3

279

.87

86.1

286

.12

Visa

khap

atna

m7.

602.

721.

9914

.55

19.9

639

.59

77.8

577

.32

58.4

2Ea

st G

odav

ari

17.9

99.

854.

773.

915.

6314

.34

78.1

084

.52

80.8

9W

est G

odav

ari

19.1

79.

206.

112.

543.

575.

3478

.29

87.2

388

.55

Kris

hna

17.8

310

.69

6.11

2.57

2.86

2.27

79.6

086

.46

91.6

2G

untu

r18

.32

7.63

4.68

4.66

2.71

2.65

77.0

289

.66

92.6

7Pr

akas

am21

.29

11.6

57.

523.

862.

031.

5174

.84

86.3

290

.98

Nel

lore

22.0

020

.14

11.3

99.

084.

962.

5168

.92

74.8

986

.10

Chi

ttoor

18.7

513

.68

8.58

3.42

2.88

2.30

77.8

383

.44

89.1

2K

adap

a15

.74

9.45

6.02

2.36

2.30

1.69

81.9

088

.25

92.2

9A

nant

hapu

r14

.14

10.9

77.

053.

494.

233.

3882

.36

84.8

089

.57

Kur

nool

17.8

112

.72

8.00

1.97

1.86

1.50

80.2

285

.42

90.5

0M

ahab

ubna

gar

17.1

014

.64

9.67

7.93

8.53

7.34

74.9

776

.83

82.9

9R

anga

redd

y14

.83

17.2

711

.70

4.09

7.90

6.97

81.0

974

.83

81.3

3H

yder

abad

8.02

----

0.90

----

91.0

7--

--M

edak

17.5

817

.30

11.3

35.

044.

944.

9877

.38

77.7

683

.69

Niz

amab

ad14

.84

15.1

310

.75

7.07

7.53

6.99

78.0

977

.34

82.2

5A

dila

bad

18.5

415

.85

12.5

816

.74

20.6

024

.66

64.7

263

.55

62.7

6K

arim

naga

r18

.62

16.1

59.

942.

602.

882.

5878

.78

80.9

787

.48

War

anga

l16

.99

12.5

48.

3014

.10

14.7

713

.74

68.9

172

.69

77.9

6K

ham

mam

16.5

510

.38

6.11

26.4

732

.04

31.9

356

.99

57.5

861

.97

Nal

gond

a17

.73

12.9

37.

6410

.55

10.2

88.

3471

.72

76.8

084

.02

AP

16.1

911

.86

7.87

6.59

7.48

8.24

77.2

280

.66

83.8

9

Tabl

e 3.

16D

istr

ict

wis

e pe

rcen

tage

sha

re o

f di

ffer

ent

soci

al g

roup

s in

pop

ulat

ion,

land

hold

ings

and

are

a In

200

1

Sour

ce:

vari

ous

issu

es o

f Re

port

on

Agri

cultu

ral

Cen

sus

of A

ndhr

a Pr

ades

h, a

nd v

ario

us i

ssue

s of

SC

/ST

land

hold

ings

, au

thor

cal

cula

ted

the

perc

enta

ges

77Chapter-III

Table 3.17 Details of number of holdings and area exceeded land ceiling andsurplus lLand

Name of the district Nos* Area**(in acres) Government declared as Surplusland (in acres) up to 1991

Srikakulam 21950 385790 8639.25

Vijayanagaram,

Vishakapatnam 27142 444002.5 21099.75

East godavari 29811 589365 15319.75

West godavari 30411 641862.5 14381.75

Krishna 31320 612680 21802

Guntur 31763 531605 9155.25

Prakasam 54801 1081848 17940

Nellore 26584 566607.5 58333.75

Costal Andhra 253837 4854418 166671.5

Kurnool 77334 1862833 66532.75

Ananthapur 156405 2062950 59762.25

Kadapa 34526 709070 13315.5

Chittor 33415 640320 17914.75

Rayalaseema 225154 5275170 157525.3

Hyderabad&rangareddy 34828 967395 37416

Nizamabad 24916 511607.5 13073.75

Medak 47958 945327.5 60339

Mahaboobnagar 98680 2282120 42278.5

Nalgonda 72743 1677885 39368.75

Warangal 52680 996870 29284.75

Khammam 36083 778120 26496.25

Karimnagar 48044 982660 61487.25

Adilabad 69543 1343043 68470.25

Telangana 479277 10409588 378214.5

AP 958268 20539028 702411.3

Source: Sreenivasulu and others, Land Reforms in Andhra Pradesh (Telugu), Telugu academy, Hyderabad, 2001, Pp:81-83, Note: * this indicates how many holdings exceeded 4 hectares of land and **indicates total area of the numberswhich exceeded 4 hectares of ceiling


Nam

e of

SCs

STs

BC

sO

ther

sTo

tal

t

he D

istr

ict

Nos

Ext

ent

Nos

Ext

ent

Nos

Ext

ent

Nos

.E

xten

tN

os.

Ext

ent

Srik

akul

am19

325

1568

9.47

2512

421

159.

3419

158

1527

9.06

2529

720

791.

9589

104

7291

9.82

Viza

yana

gara

m19

412

2297

8.45

2475

730

515.

6719

083

2207

6.29

2460

130

127.

6887

853

1056

98.1

Vis

akha

patn

am24

323

3465

3.76

3483

855

183.

0124

319

3395

8.21

3325

347

561.

0811

6733

1713

56.1

East

God

avar

i15

450

1243

1.01

2068

620

301.

4313

805

1123

5.02

2037

916

608.

1770

320

6057

5.63

Wes

t God

avar

i15

662

1988

6.79

1876

424

857.

2713

357

1724

1.58

1994

426

738.

8267

727

8872

4.46

Kris

hna

1948

919

912.

8723

720

2443

9.97

1820

619

189.

1325

728

2727

6.8

8714

390

818.

77

Gun

tur

2122

821

236.

6826

405

2040

0.2

1901

114

877.

4528

572

2229

2.9

9521

678

807.

23

Kur

nool

1746

025

857.

5921

247

3149

816

461

2496

6.44

2285

633

859.

9778

024

1161

82

Nel

lore

6474

510

0337

.774

291

1179

21.8

5759

589

756.

1878

907

1267

35.1

2755

3843

4750

.7

Cud

dapa

h29

322

5321

5.5

3435

563

017.

8326

778

4913

1.8

3929

872

575.

2612

9753

2379

40.4

Prak

asha

m46

055

7129

2.81

5593

087

136.

3141

321

6477

8.45

6096

740

730.

5220

4273

2639

38.1

Chi

ttoor

6324

486

642.

6479

014

1092

61.1

5712

878

670.

9184

796

1170

26.7

2841

8239

1601

.3

Aan

thap

ur53

870

1373

11.6

6718

717

1846

.950

826

1293

25.1

7270

318

5741

.524

4586

6242

25.1

Adi

laba

d19

763

4887

7.4

2714

769

515.

0618

201

4522

3.78

2567

165

115.

4390

782

2287

31.7

Kar

imna

gar

3503

625

681.

0740

989

3026

4.85

3091

922

973.

7943

651

3228

0.19

1505

9511

1199

.9

Niz

amab

ad33

195

3748

8.65

4167

149

006.

1630

854

3519

6.95

4400

049

575.

1414

9720

1712

66.9

Kha

mm

am28

791

5922

3.28

4179

479

377.

5725

379

5358

5.7

3812

479

949.

7213

4088

2721

36.3

War

anga

l39

155

3921

2.27

4927

549

368.

2535

998

3593

5.51

5217

352

296.

6917

6601

1768

12.7

Mah

aboo

bnag

ar29

529

4820

6.07

3588

959

630.

6627

611

4512

0.01

3812

463

361.

0713

1153

2163

17.8

Ran

gare

ddy

1653

015

747.

4620

701

1975

8.12

1520

514

727.

7822

122

2105

2.7

7455

871

486.

06

Nal

gond

a38

962

3789

6.33

4429

144

484.

1834

497

3401

0.37

4553

945

397.

1416

3289

1617

88

Med

ak36

472

5449

4.53

4469

767

895.

4734

023

5046

0.81

4858

473

564.

5116

3776

2464

153

Hyd

erab

ad

Tota

l68

7018

9884

7485

2972

1246

839

6297

3590

7720

.389

5289

1250

659

3065

014

4393

692

(22.

41)

(22.

50)

(27.

83)

(28.

38)

(20.

55)

(20.

66)

(29.

71)

(28.

46)

(100

.0)

(100

.0)

Tabl

e 3.

18.

Lan

d di

stri

bute

d by

gov

ernm

ent

of A

ndhr

a Pr

ades

h to

lan

dles

s po

or 0

1-11

-196

9 to

25-

01-2

005

Sour

ce:

Sree

niva

sulu

and

oth

ers,

Land

Ref

orm

s in

And

hra

Prad

esh

(Tel

ugu)

, Tel

ugu

acad

emy,

Hyd

erab

ad, 2

001,

Pp:

99

79Chapter-III

Table 3.19 District wise and category wise assignment of government land during26-01-2005 and 21-08-2005 (area in acres)

District Total allotted Total Social group wiseLand beneficiaries SC ST BC Others

Srikakulam 19338 19258 2530 8122 5866 2740

Vizianagaram 9798 9444 2630 2933 3656 225

Visakhapatnam 36771 18860 1479 118 20 4177 13584

EastGodavary 7860 4117 681 2772 412 252

West Gidavary 10962 10629 3887 609 3843 2290

Krishna 8125 7762 3382 429 2647 1172

Guntur 6098 5166 1857 1034 1416 797

Prakasam 20400 13548 6132 799 3749 2688

Nellore 28728 23235 8975 3511 7619 2665

Chittor 9408 7940 3338 697 2361 1323

Cuddapah 14978 8868 3464 643 2228 2338

Ananthapur 15727 6727 1826 700 2930 1202

Kurnool 12420 6861 2382 502 3254 502

Khammam 9224 6580 1515 3348 1149 439

Warangal 6630 6531 2011 1869 2465 167

Karimnagar 8997 11469 5702 865 4464 403

Adilabad 25850 10497 2220 5104 2784 320

Medak 32287 29825 10397 2404 14256 1554

Mahabubnagar 10835 8010 2929 959 3634 452

Nizamabad 949431 7535 2090 1625 3288 359

Nalgonda 16334 15019 4826 3558 5699 829

Rangareddy 5338 3254 1029 629 1322 236

Total 325639 241135 75282 54932 82919 24337

(31.22) (22.78) (34.39) (11.61)

Source: Chief Commissioner of Land Administration, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, Note Figures in theparenthesis indicates the percentages


Table 3.20 District wise and category wise assignment of government land inthird phase of land distribution dated on 19-11-2006 (area in acres)

District Total allotted Total Social group wiseLand beneficiaries SC ST BC Others

Srikakulam 6618.29 5095 691 2649 1649 106

Vizianagaram 6000 5095 260 680 1649 158

Visakhapatnam 5877.98 4400 0 1941 3302 0

EastGodavari 2247.41 1941 207 704 0 99

West Godavari 5001.62 1143 1756 156 133 278

Krishna 1947.39 5603 585 85 3413 649

Gunture 3975.1 2008 1744 486 689 596

Prakasam 6730.8 3456 1449 230 630 1029

Nellore 6007.79 3515 1734 609 807 723

Chittor 8050.37 4349 2261 516 1283 2623

Cuddapah 6912.47 5736 931 383 1767 983

Ananthapur 11705.36 3485 728 483 1188 1309

Kurnool 4769.82 4256 777 201 1736 368

Khammam 3593.01 2174 298 1692 828 70

Warangal 4785.5 2194 2266 1661 134 70

Karimnagar 42201.81 5128 1188 608 1131 233

Adilabad 4724.94 2935 384 916 491 82

Medak 5501.55 4583 1625 456 2201 301

Mahabubnagar 4545.35 2884 982 229 1424 249

Nizamabad 3249.8 2613 635 434 1324 220

Nalgonda 4349.55 3802 1289 864 1443 206

Rangareddy 594.95 377 127 144 75 31

Total 111380.9 73550 21917 16127 26554 8952

(100.0) (29.80) (36.10) (21.13) (12.17)

Source: Chief Commissioner of Land Administration, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, Note Figures in theparenthesis indicates the percentages

81Chapter-III

References

1. Rajendra Singh, Land, Power And People: Rural Elite In Transition: 1801- 1970, SagePublications, New Delhi, 1988,Pp 12-13

2. See to Sirsikar,V.M, The Rural Elite In A Developing Society, Orient Longman,New Delhi,1970,Pp105, Carter, Anthony, Elite Politics In Rural India: Political StratificationAnd Alliances In Western Maharastra, London and Cambridze University Press, 1974,Pp185, Narian, Iqbal, K.C Pande and Mohanlal Sharma (Edtl), The Rural Elite in AnIndian State: A Case Study of Rajastan, Manohar Book House, New Delhi,1976,Pp32and Jha S.N, Leadership and Local Politics,1979,Pp 152-53 And Sharma S.S and SrujanaSingh, Rural Elite in India, Sterling Publishers, New Delhi,1979,Pp 202,209

3. Various issues of Report on SC/ST Landholdings, Directorate of Economics andStatistics, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad

4. Satyananarayana, “Caste And Class In Rural Andhra: A Historical Perspective” InK. L. Sharma (Edtl) Caste And Class In India, Rawat Publications, New Delhi, 1998, Pp383

5. Ibid,Pp 369 And Omvedt Gail, Dalits And Democratic Revolution- Dr.Ambedkar and DalitMovement in Colonial India, Sage Publications, New Delhi,1994

6. Nancharaiah,G Land And Caste, Himalaya Publishers, 1988,New Delhi

7. Rajasekhar,D. Land Transfers and Family Partitioning: A Historical Study of An AndhraVillage, Oxford& IBH Publishing Co. Pvt Ltd, New Delhi and CDS,Trivandrum,1988

8. Omvedt,Gail Dalits And Democratic Revolution- Dr.Ambedkar And Dalit Movement InColonial India, Sage Publications, New Delhi,1994

9. China Rao,Yaganti, Dalits’ Struggle For Identity: Andhra And Hyderabad 1900-1950,Kanishka Publishers, Distributors, New Delhi, 2003, Pp155

10. Krishna Rao,Y.V “ Gata Ardha Shatabdhamlo Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya ArdhikaVidhanam Lo Vachhina Marpulu” In Kommareddy Satyananarayana 50th DeathAnniversary Edition, Vijayawada,6-5-1990,Pp72

11. Krishna Rao,Y.V, Yabhayella Akhila Bharata Raitusangam Porata Cheritra- AndhraPradesh Raitu Vudyamalu-Poratalu, Vishalandra Publications, Hyderabad, 1986,Pp 10-11

12. Apparao, Sanku, “ West Godavari District Raitu Vudyama Charitra” InKrishna Rao Y. V (Edtl), Yabhayella Akhila Bharata Raitusangam Porata Cheritra - AndhraPradesh Raitu Vudyamalu- Poratalu, Vishalandra Publications, Hyderabad, 1986, Pp 97-130

13. Kutumbarao,Kavuri, “ Chellapalli Estate Raitula Veerochita Poratalu” In Krishna Rao,Y.V(Edtl), Yabhayella Akhila Bharata Raitusangam Porata Cheritra- Andhra Pradesh RaituVudyamalu- Poratalu, Vishalandra Publications, Hyderabad, 1986, Pp191-228

14. Krishna Rao,Y.V, ibid, Pp: 9


15. Kutumbarao, Kavuri, ibid,Pp: 225

16. China Rao,Yaganti, Dalits’ Struggle For Identity: Andhra and Hyderabad 1900 - 1950,Kanishka Publishers, Distributors, New Delhi, 2003,

17. Venkati,B. Land Transfers And Alienation In Tribal Economy: A Case Study Of TwoVillages in Adilabad District, Unpublished Thesis, University Of Hyderbad, April, 1994

18. Nageswara Rao,B. Green Revalution And Land Transfers: A Case Study Of Villages InCostal Andhra, Unpulished Thesiss, University Of Hyderabad,1998

19. Krishna Rao, E. “ Land And Labour Employment- With a Special Reference To Dalits: AVillage Study” Paper Presented in Two Day National Seminar Conducted ByS.V.U.P.G.Centere, Kavali, 2004

20. Nancharaiah,G. “land legislation and changing agrarian structure” in A.P. EconomicAssociation Conference Papers,1987

21. Rajasekhar,D, Land Transfers And Family Partitioning: A Historical Study Of An AndhraVillage, Oxford &IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi And CDS,Trivendram,1988

22. Nancharaiah.G. “ Agrarian Reforms And Agrarian Change: 50 Years Of Independence” inK.R. Gupta (Edts) Issues In Indian Economy, Vol.III, Atlantic publishers and distributions,New Delhi, 2000, Pp: 63-92

23. Throat,Sukhadeo” Social Security For Scheduled Castes In Organized Sector” in MahendraDev and others(Edtl) Social And Economic Security In India, Institute For HumanDevelopment, New Delhi, 2001 Pp: 367-385

24. Agricultural Land distribution Percentages in Number of Persons SCs – 42.70%, STs-15.73% and BC & OCs- 41.57% and their shares in distributed area SCs 38.94%, STs-20.51% and BC&OCs-40.55%. In case of House sites beneficiaries of SCs-42.26%,STs 19.11% and BC & OCs 38.63% and percentage in House sites land SCs 39.03%,STs 21.65% and BC & OCs 39.32%

25. Shankaran, S.R Rural Poor And Public Action: Some Issues, C. V. Subbarao MemorialLecture, A.P. Economic Association XIII Annual Conference, Nagarjuna University, Guntur,1994, Dec 10-11

26. Radhakrishna Agricultural Growth, Employment And Poverty: A Policy Perspective,presidential address, 43rd annual conference of Indian Society of Labour Economics,organized by Institute for Social and Economic Change, Banglore, 2004, pp:18-20

27. Statistical Abstract of Andhra Pradesh, Published by Directorate of Economics andStatistics, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, 2006, Pp58-59

28. Sreenivasulu and others, Land Reforms in Andhra Pradesh (Telugu), Telugu Academy,Hyderabad, 2001, Pp: 100-101

Dalit struggle for land rights -Reclaiming human personality

N. Paul DivakarM. David Sudhakar

Chapter IV

84 Dalit struggle for land rights - Reclaiming human personality

85Chapter-IV

“We have no land because others haveusurped it .. ..” -Dr. Ambedkar

This essay investigates the efforts made by BSU (DalitBahujan Shramik Union one of the several Dalitmass organizations engaged in struggle for access,retention and development of land).

4.1 Introduction

Since 1980s the growing awareness of thegovernment’s unwillingness to implementsincerely the provisions of land related lawsfavorable to the Dalits, and its failure to deliverits promises to the Dalit community in the contextof inclusive growth, denial of civil, political,socio-economic and cultural rights, protectionfrom unabated violence from dominant castes –has given rise to the emergence of a strong Dalitprotest and emergence of community leaders.This happened particularly after, Padirikuppam,Karamchedu, Neerukonda and Tsundurmassacres. Before these incidents most of theDalits had placed their confidence in either theCommunist party or the Congress party. Butafter 1985 the Dalits started thinkingindependently and took seriously the clarion callof Ambedkar: Educate, Organise and Agitate.This became the guiding force of the dalitassertion. Along with struggles against socialexclusion and unmitigated violations of human

Dalit struggle for land rights -Reclaiming human personality

- N Paul Divakar 1,M. David Sudhakar 2

rights, liberation from economic exploitation toobecame an important aspect of Dalit identitystruggles. A number of Dalit organizations,parties and NGOs came into the main streamand began collective efforts to address endemicdiscrimination experienced by the community.Access to land became an important and criticalagenda in Dalit community’s search for Identity,Security and Livelihood.

Dalit organizations have taken land as a majorissue and started struggles against thegovernment for equitable access to land, itsretention and development since 1990s. It hadbecome amply clear that no provisions of lawbeneficial to the poor, particularly Dalits andtribals would be implemented with any degreeof sincerity. Struggle alone would be the path totheir effective implementation.

4.2. The struggle for land - A journey inthe reclamation of humanpersonality

‘Shrama made…Panta made…Bhoomi mida Hakku made…’.

‘Shram hamara…Fasal hamara ….Jameenpar haq hamara’.

‘Right over land is also ours’

1 N Paul Divakar is the National Convener of National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights and previouslythe General Secretary of Dalit Bahujan Shramik Union and has been involved in Dalit land struggles forthe last decades in Andhra Pradesh.2 M David Sudhakar is a researcher on Dalit human rights especially on livelihood rights.


This became the popular clarion call of‘Bhoosadhana’ organised by DBSU in whichthousands of Dalits during August – October2003 entered the land in several places in 14districts of Andhra Pradesh. It means ‘labouris ours ….. The crop is ours …..The rightover the land is ours’.

For Dalits, land is for shelter and habitation -land is for water - land is for livelihood – land isfor self-respect and dignity and therefore landis life. Their identity, dignity, security and future,their very lives dependent on it.

Table 4.1 Important events, which awakened Dalits, developed and consolidated DalitLeadership in AP

S.No. Year Incident1. 1962 Sanjivaiah becomes the first Dalit Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh2. 1969 Kanchikacherla Kotesu burnt alive3. 1983 Burning of 4 Dalits in Padiri Kuppam in Chittoor district4. 1985 The Karmchedu massacre took place on July 17th in Prakasam district5. 1990 Tsunduru carnage took place on august 6th in Guntur District6. 1991 Centenary of Ambedkar’s Birth Anniversary – State wide Cycle

Yatra highlighting Dalit concerns7. 1992 A Dalit writers, artists and intellectuals collective formed in Hyderabad8. 1995-96 Promotion of Dalit NGO Platforms

Struggle against usurpation of lands assigned to Dalits1997-98 Struggles for protection and promotion of Dalit human rights

9. 1999-01 State-wide survey on untouchability practices2001 Setting up of Independent Dalit mass organizations2001 Emergence of National level dalit networks – NCDHR, NDF2001 Participation in World Conference Against Racism2003 Participation in WSF2003-04 Bhoosadana Programme across 14 districts2005-06 Networking with Dalit and non-Dalit organizations for Dalit human rights,

particularly against untouchability and access to, retention anddevelopment of land.

4.3 Triangulation Strategy

The struggle to reclaim lost identity, dignity andland goes beyond the emotional strategies to wellthought out strategies. There is need to look atland rights reclamation in a different light, with adiverse range of interventions, which includes,besides, ideological orientation, an innovativerange of interventions like - clear investigationto the land issue; mobilisation of the communityincluding the various faction in the Dalitcommunity and building solidarity with as many

87Chapter-IV

as possible; using executive litigation andreverting to civil litigation only to defend or toseek HC directions through writs; and finallyphysical possession or cultivation of the landafter exhausting the above means. Theseconstitute the triangulation strategy that thepeople’s initiatives have used with some tellingresults.

4.3.1 Ideological orientation

For Dalits, shelter, water and livelihoods dependon land. But, access to land for cultivation,tenancy, homestead, burial ground, water-wells/tanks, pathway, access to main-lands have beenused in one form or the other as a key factor tocontrol Dalits and to enslave them.

A clear understanding of history in which castehierarchy provided the necessary socio-cultural-political excuses to legitimise denial of land toDalits and their dominance over the Dalit womenand men is important in this ideologicalorientation. Every Dalit habitation in India hasgone through experience of denial, dominationby upper castes, and forced alienation from land.Land has become a perpetual mirage even inindependent India. This was evident in the threemajor attempts that were made to reverse thehistoric land alienation.

In 1892, the British assigned land to Dalitsdesignated ‘Depressed Class’ lands. During1914-30 these were alienated but were illegallyde-alienated away from Dalits. During 1950-65, land under the control of Princely states, theiragents, Zamindars etc. were purchased payinghuge royalty and was distributed to the ‘tillers’.

This land again hardly reached the Dalits but wasusurped by dominant castes.

During 1970-80, three major Land Reformswere introduced. 1. Ceiling on Agricultural lands.50% of the surplus declared was to bedistributed to Dalits and 10% to STs and therest to others. 2. Large scale assignment ofgovernment wasteland was to be distributed toDalits, Adivasis and other poor. 3. Legislationto protect the lands of the Dalits and Adivasisunder the acts 1/70 and 9/77.

4.3.2 Investigation into the nature of landissues

DBSU identified 1,02,086.46 across 14districts of Andhra Pradesh (where DBSU hasa presence) inaccessible to the Dalits despiteland reforms and special provisions.


Table 4.2 Details of land rights violations against Dalits surveyed in 120 mandals,14 Districts, of AP

Sl.N

o.N

ame o

f the

Dis

tric

tLa

nd in

occu

patio

nbu

t Titl

eD

eed

(Pat

ta)

not g

iven

Patta

(Titl

eD

eed)

giv

enby

govt

. but

land

not

give

npo

sses

sion

Dal

itla

nds

illeg

ally

occu

pied

byla

ndlo

rds

Land

held

by

inel

igib

ledo

min

ant

cast

es in

bena

mi

(fic

titio

us/

fals

e) n

ames

Land

inoc

cupa

tion

ofD

alits

but

indi

sput

ebe

twee

nFo

rest

and

Rev

enue

Dep

artm

ents

Tem

ple L

ands

in oc

cupa

tion

ofD

alits

but

are

now

bei

ngth

reat

ened

ofev

ictio

n

1Ch

ittoo

r55

45.4

657

.17

116.

6840

81.1

111

90.5

72

East

God

avar

i14

97.9

512

1.32

954.

8718

8.57

1986

.93

9222

.99

1249

0.02

3G

untu

r29

7.39

5.24

1716

.92

1.03

16

03.0

84

Kha

mm

am36

.00

5K

rishn

a55

0.00

120.

00

10

2.63

18.2

46

Mah

abob

naga

r95

9.24

535.

5811

34.2

134

7.00

1391

.14

2740

.27

7N

algo

nda

1699

.95

716.

008

Nel

lore

310.

0015

0.00

9Pr

akas

am72

22.8

122

6.44

12.0

2

7375

.36

19

461.

710

Rang

ared

dy

2877

.95

29

63.0

111

Vijay

anag

aram

816.

00

7.

0012

Visa

kaPa

tnam

2057

.25

45

.27

12

10.8

713

War

anga

l28

47.0

758

.07

13.2

7

24

0.65

43.0

914

Wes

t God

avar

i36

0.00

2361

.00

To

tal

2419

9.12

4810

.60

3933

.73

653.

2814

937.

1719

156.

2434

396.

32

Gra

nd T

otal

1020

886.

46

Lan

ds in

ille

gal

occu

patio

n of

inel

igib

lela

ndlo

rds

suita

ble f

oras

sign

men

t to

Dal

its

89Chapter-IV

DBSU had also identified the following problems/reasons, which are preventing Dalits fromaccessing their land rights. A case or twoexemplify the problems / reasons.

4.3.2.1 Land for which pattas have beengiven to Dalits but dominant -caste members deny physicalpossession

In Ellikatta village of Kalwakurthy mandal ofMahaboobnagar district 2 acres of land were inthe name of Varkala Venkamma w/o. Sayannain Suvey No. 153/90. Jana Reddy and MadhuReddy took this land on lease. Now they claimthe land as their own. Union has initiatedproceedings against the usurpers.

Similarly in the same village few years ago thelandlord Pandu Ranga Reddy tookBhimmaiah’s(SC) land (Survey No. 9) on lease.In this connection a complaint has been given tothe related officers MRO and RDO by theUnion. A case was registered on Pandu RangaReddy for occupying the land against Bhimaiah’sconsent. MRO and RDO intervened and 3 acresof the land was taken away from the land lordPandu Ranga Reddy and issued the same toBhimmaiah.

4.3.2.2 Lands in physical possession ofDalits but not having validdocuments

Government allotted land as rehabilitationmeasure, to Dalits who were redeemed frombonded labour during 1984-85. As aprecaution the land was registered in the nameof the state Governor. Dalits were not givenany documents (patta or passbook). Since,Dalits have no proof of landownership; they are

not able to raise any finance from banks or otherfinancial institutions. While the precaution was agood measure to ensure that the assignees donot dispose of the land, they are not able to usethe land as an asset. In Maheswaram mandalof Rangareddy district, 41 Dalit families weregiven physical possession of land but not issued pattas.

4.3.2.3 Dalit lands illegally occupied bylandlords

This is the most common form of land rightsviolation by dominant castes. The violationranges from outright occupation of land to subtleforms of cheating the gullible and illiterate dalitsby coercing them to put their thumb-impressionson documents. While the dominant castes usetheir caste status, money power and politicalclout to get away with these violations, dalitshave neither capacity to understand and therebyquestion what is written in the documents nordo they have the resources to take up the matterin the court. On the other hand dominant castesbribe their way through to get these illegaldocuments.

4.3.2.4 Government lands in illegalpossession of ineligible dominantcaste occupiers

In Navabpet mandal of Mahaboobnagar district,one Janapada Seva Parishad was registered associety under Public Society Registration Act1359 in 1952-53 and got 63.80 acres of landfraudulently allotted for developing herbal andmedicinal garden for public utility. This societynever used the land for the purpose for which itwas allotted. The dominant caste persons whogot into dispute with Dalits over this matter didnot even follow the directions of even MRO andDistrict Collector.


4.3.2.5 Government lands in illegalpossession of ineligible dominantcaste occupiers who have also

fraudulently obtained patta (titledeeds)

In Narmeta mandal, Warangal districtMadhusudhan Reddy from dominant caste hasillegally occupied the land in Survey No. 276.He has been in possession of the land since last7-8 years. Recently, he started building aPrimary Agricultural Cooperative Society in thesame land. According to land laws noconstruction can take place on such land. ButMadhusudan Reddy claimed that he has takenpermission and he continued the construction.When the Union came to know about this matterthey brought it to the notice of MRO, RDO andstopped the PACS office construction.

4.3.2.6 Lands in possession of ineligiblenon-Dalits person under benaminames

This is another way used to circumvent the landceiling act with connivance of revenue officials.Lands are transferred or registered in Dalit namesto cheat the state and retain lands, which comeunder the purview of land ceiling act. It is verydifficult to find out these kinds of ineligible landpossessions as long as the government officialsare in connivance with landlords.

4.3.2.7 Lands concealed from the purviewland ceiling act

SBPK Satyanarayana was the Zamindar ofKapileswarapuram in East Godavari district.For the last 30 years, he has been able to retain900 acres of land without surrendering it under

the land ceiling act. The High Court of AndhraPradesh gave judgment in 1975 and SupremeCourt gave its judgment in 1994. In spite ofthe two judgments, the erstwhile zamindarcontinues to retain the 900 acres of land. Thegovernment machinery has not implemented eventhe Supreme Court directions during the last tenyears.

4.3.2.8 TenancyThe existing tenancy system in India is not infavour of Dalits. It is exploitative and linkedeither to credit or product market. When Dalitlandless labourers take land as tenants, theirtenancy term is not entered into the land revenuerecords neither are their names. Majority of thetenancy arrangements between a Dalit tenant anddominant caste landowner are informal and theyare neither recorded nor registered. There is noguarantee of continuation of tenancy arrangementas there are no written agreements. The rent inmost of the cases is unfair. In AP, about 80-90% of paddy yields go towards rent and thetenant retains a small portion of paddy yield, hayand the second crop, which normally is green-gram. As a result, Dalit tenants are not able toaccess institutional finance for agriculturaloperations and other benefits like crop insurance;the income which they get from the cultivationafter deduction of the lease is not more than theirdaily wages for the family.

4.3.2.9 Incorrect entries in land records

Lands already assigned to the Dalits are beingfraudulently given to the rich and ineligiblepersons by tampering with land records withincorrect entries.

91Chapter-IV

4.3.2.10 Police favour dominant castelandlords

Despite the Memo (Home (Police. F) Dept),No.2854/police, F/77-1 dt.27.10.1977, whichdirects the Police not to encourage anycomplaints against the possession of governmentlands by rural poor, police frequently disturb thepossession of the poor Dalits and Adivasis whoare in possession of lands which were eitherallotted by government or which they have beencultivating for generations. Instead many are theinstances where Dalit lands were forcibly andillegally occupied by dominant castes, the stateis remaining a mute spectator. In Ravirala village,Maheswaram mandal of Rangareddy district,police failed to protect Dalits from the dominantcaste’s violence and safeguard the lands ofDalits.

4.3.2.11 Dalits and adivasis are preventedfrom access to allotted forest lands

As per the government records, a large extentof forestland is under the possession of eligiblepoor who are Dalits and Adivasis. CentralGovernment has given clearance to stategovernments to issue pattas for landless poorwho are in possession of land over 15-20 years.But the forest department officials don’trecognize the central government directions andforcibly evicted Dalits and Adivasis.

4.3.3 Mobilising the Community

Building Community pressure slowly to gainconfidence at each step rather than takingextreme steps in the early stages itself was astrategy adopted. This included petitioning theconcerned officials, building supporters amongthe non-Dalit community, neutralising theopposing forces as much as possible in the initialstages, building a steady legitimacy to the

demands in the villagers and wider public, andbeing inclusive with as many supporters aspossible in the struggle. The issue of PeddaThaiyyur – the conflict was with the Reddycommunity - was successfully resolved with thesupport of the other communities and castes.

4.3.4 Legal intervention throughExecutive and if necessaryJudicial Courts

Land litigation under normal circumstances needto be sorted out, in the case of assigned lands,in the Executive courts, i.e., RDO court, DROcourt or the Joint Collector or Additional DistrictMagistrate court. Legal action though civil courtsneed to be used only as last resort and neverthe first one. It cuts out community involvement,and enters into a long legal battle, which willmore often than not result in favour of landlords.At times High Court writs have come in handyand with sympathetic lawyers affordable too.

4.3.5 Direct Action

At some point, when the above interventionswere exhausted, entry and occupation of land,which was legitimately of the dalit communitywas initiated. This was often the culmination ofreclamation of human personality and dignity ofboth activists and people.

DBSU launched one such direct actioncampaign ‘Bhoosadhana’ in August 2003 in allthe 14 districts of Andhra Pradesh where theUnion is working. In the first round of thecampaign memorandums were submitted to allthe District Collectors with details of surveynumbers, nature of dispute and action neededfrom the government. A timeframe was alsogiven to the District Collectors to take action.In the second round, members of the Union


entered the land for which pattas had been given.In this ‘land appropriation’ the union membersreclaimed nearly 14,359.23 acres.

4.3.6 Recapacitation of skills andknowledge

The focus is on recapacitation of knowledge andskills of Dalit activists and leaders in collectingand analysing the Land Record of Rights,Adangal and other village land records. DBSUalso collects government orders; acts related toland and disseminates the information to Dalitcommunities. Training in filing cases in lowercourts and filing writs in the courts is also beingprovided.

4.3.7 Advocacy Strategy

Advocacy efforts need to be positive and open.The strategy adopted is to influence the legislativeprocess through appealing and pressurising.People in the government who are responsiveand provide space for interaction are the focusof advocacy. Efforts were made to engage andinfluence more number of policy makers andmembers of various commissions in this process.

The Congress Party and its allies which formedthe government in the centre in May 2004,United People’s Alliance, has been talking aboutland to Dalits from the pre-election days. Theirmanifesto includes special mention about landto Dalits. UPA government has started on apositive note regarding land rights of Dalits. Theelection promises have been incorporated in theCommon Minimum Programme of thegovernment. At this stage, it was essential forDalit Rights Activists to ensure that necessarypolicy changes are made to the existing policiesconcerning Dalits and land. New policies hadto be made wherever the existing policies were

felt inadequate. Policy interventions are the needof the hour to ensure effective implementationof land ceiling and land distribution policies andlaws. Similarly, structural changes are necessaryboth in legal and administrative systems, whichare playing negative role in implementing landreforms, and laws which are made to empowerDalits to access their right to land.

4.4 Paying the price in the struggle toreclaim human personality

Affirming dalit rights over land has not come theeasy way. It has come with an attendant increasein violence against the dalits: Violence has beenoccasioned when dalits:

try to buy land from the dominant castesare not willing to sell their landresist encroachments by dominant casteattempt use of legal structures to preventdominant caste from encroaching dalitlandsattempt to cultivate land assigned by thegovernmentapproach government for landquestion illegal assignments of governmentlands to ineligible dominant caste

A look at the Annexure11 gives one an idea ofthe severity of the problem of land relatedviolence against dalits.

4.5 Framework for action - CapitalizingExperiences

4.5.1 A concerted Dalit land rightscampaign across the country

Dalit organisations, activists, social movementsand other Human Rights organizations need tolaunch a concerted Dalit land rights campaign

1 Dalit Human Right Monitor 2003 – 2006, SAKSHI,page 52 - 63

93Chapter-IV

demanding government to come out with a timebound action plan to resolve the land questionof Dalits in all its expressions – whetherimplementation of the existing laws and reformslike restoration of alienated land of Dalits,ensuring possession of land to the eligible Dalits,acquiring all the surplus land and assigning it asper the provisions of the Acts, resolving therevenue and forest land tussle to ensure that thoseeligible Dalits get a secure land tenure and toensure that the ROR (Record of Rights) doindeed record the possession of Dalits wheneverthey occupy and gain control over governmentland.

4.5.2 Direct action of ‘Dalit land rightsappropriation

The campaign will have as its resolve to take up‘land rights appropriation’ initiative, which willbe used to move further the demand of resolvingthe land rights question of Dalits. This needs tobe taken up in waves across the country, usingthe cases of the worst affected communities withthe support of Media which highlights the DirectAction and the heinous crime committed to theDalit’s land rights.

4.5.3 Scheduled Castes / ScheduledTribes land (protection anddevelopment) Act

Necessary amendments for the existing laws andenactment for new laws for ensuring protectionof lands of Dalits need to be lobbied for. Effectiveimplementation of laws, acts and policies shouldbe the main focus. This will suggest ways toclear the legal, administrative, policy hurdles thathinder the land ceiling and land distributionpolicies implementation. These land policiesshould cover micro-economic policies of trade

& investment and also socio-economic policies.Combating poverty and hunger should becomethe main purpose. The basic SEC rights shouldbecome instrumental in ensuring land rights tothe deprived communities like Dalits, Adivasisand Women.

4.5.4 Lobby for policies concerningagricultural workers

85% of rural labour in India depends onagriculture for livelihood. Any land reforms,which result in change in labour relations/status,need to be considered carefully. Land reformsshould not displace rural agricultural labour thatis mostly Dalit. The state should be heldresponsible to relocate the displaced Dalitagricultural labourers through rehabilitationmeasures that fit the displaced Dalit agriculturallabour.

4.5.5 Not market viability but livelihoodrights of Dalits

Land policies need to be based on distributionof land to the Dalit landless poor rather thanaiming at market viability of land. Agrarianreforms need to supercede market needs. Theland policies should be aimed at benefiting morefamilies rather than viability. The process of landpolicy reforms should involve stakeholders fromlandless Dalit agricultural labourers, small andmarginal farmers. Organisations and movementsof Dalit landless poor and small & marginalfarmers should be treated as primarystakeholders in the land policy reforms. Civilsociety and private owners’ role should not beallowed to capture the process but should bemade to be part of the process as they have arole to play in implementing the policies.


4.5.6 Tackle impunity - Accountability ofthe government functionaries

Land policies should also aim at accountabilityof government, capacity building for farmers andfarmers’ organisations in understanding theimplications of intended land policies/reforms sothat they can participate in the land policyformulation and implementation.

4.6 Specific Suggestions:

1 Enactment of a comprehensive ScheduledCastes and Scheduled Tribes Lands(Protection and Development) Act on thelines of SC/ST (PoA) Act to protect andprevent encroachment and alienation of Dalitsand Adivasis lands as well as land basedatrocities on Dalits and Adivasis.

2 Appointment of a Commission to study thepresent status of government land enquiringinto its utilization, assignment, encroachment,alienation, land-based violations against theDalits and Adivasis.

3. Commencement of a crash programme evictthe illegal encroachers from all illegalencroachments of Governments lands andassigned lands of Dalits and Adivasis and givepossession to the eligible persons Dalits andAdivasis.

4. Implementation of the Supreme Court orders(WP No. 1333/87) which will makeavailable land for distribution to eligible Dalitsand Adivasis.

5. Against Impunity : Proceeding againstofficials under section 4 of the SC/ST (PoA)

for ‘willful negligence’ in preventing / notimplementing Supreme Court orders in landcases.

6. Issuance of pattas for landless poor who arein possession of forestland for 15-20 yearsas the central government has given directionsin this regard.

7. Making available the details of Bhoodan landsby publishing in Gazette and ensure thoselands are assigned to eligible Dalits andAdivasis and give them possession.

8. Evolving a policy to ensure land assignmentsare in the name of Dalit and Adivasi womenor in joint names of women in the families.

9. Ensuring land to Dalits in the ayucut area innew irrigation projects.

10.Extending special short-term credit allocationfor crop-loans as well as medium and long-term credit for investment for land and waterresource development to the eligible Dalitsand Adivasis.

References:

1. ‘Land Reforms: An overview’, CFrancis

2. ‘Re-emergence of Tenancy and PolicyOptions’, YV Krishna Rao

3. ‘Responses of the Supreme Courttowards Land Reforms’, S. Seshaiah

4. ‘Introduction-The Struggling Millionsof Telangana and other Parts ofAndhra Pradesh’, SR Sankaran

95Chapter-IV

5. Quarterly Progress Report(Cumulative) on Implementation ofLand Ceiling Laws for the QuarterEnding Sept. 1996, Annual Report1996-97, Ministry of Rural Areas andEmployment, GOI

6. Chief Commissioner, Directorate ofLand Administration, Andhra Pradesh,2001.

7. Field Data collected by Dalit BahujanShramik Union during 2002-03

8. Rural Labour Inquiry Report ofGeneral Characteristics of RuralLabour Households (1974-75, 1983-84, 1987-88, 1993-94) Labour Bureau,Ministry of Labour, Shimla).

9. The Maurya Empire Unites India as OnePolitical Entity, By Sudheer Birodkar

10. Consultation on the draft Land PolicyGuidelines of the EU

11. Globalisation:: Dalits’ Access To Land,NCDHR

12. Failed Land Distribution for Dalit- Actsof Commission-Acts of Omission - Areport to the United Nations Committeeon Economic, Social and CulturalRights- Habitat International Coalition.

13. Massacres by landlord militia rockIndia’s second most populous state, ByArun Kumar, 24 February 1999

14. Obanna, a dalit leader and activistof KNPS was murdered, in Kurnooldistrict of Andhra Pradesh a victimof caste-ridden feudal violence,K. Satyanarayana, State, Secretary,KNPS.

15. Southern News - Karnataka September2, 2004

16. India Current Affairs, December 031997

17. Frontline, April 12, 2003


Hum

an R

ight

s V

iola

tion

s ag

ains

t D

alit

s re

late

d to

Rig

ht t

o La

nd :

Apr

il 19

99 -

Dec

embe

r 20

06

S No.

Typ

e of

Vio

latio

nR

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illag

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(v)

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Land

iss

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15

dom

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dead

ly

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Mu

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6-0

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41

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to p

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file

com

plai

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and

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3.

Att

empt

to

Tela

ngan

aM

ahab

ub N

agar

Pech

heru

(m)

22-1

2-01

Dal

its

Bijj

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Ven

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, a

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not

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lt of

Dal

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g hi

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nd a

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ried

to

kill

belo

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g to

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by

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tab

lets

) in

to t

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k in

the

Dal

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y.

4.

Att

empt

to

rape

Ray

alas

eem

aC

udda

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Sam

avar

am (

v)27

-08-

002

1S.

Srin

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ulu

and

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bbar

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y b

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Land

iss

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erra

belli

(m

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su

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seve

re

head

in

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and

the

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e pe

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th

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itwad

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ttem

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to

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v)2

3-0

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31

For

the

past

30

yrs,

San

jeev

appa

, a

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as c

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give

n to

exs

oldi

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Mad

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ira

(m)

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even

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to

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by o

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his

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bec

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of

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and

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7.

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)2

4-0

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31

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n hi

m a

nd s

have

d-of

fhi

s ey

ebro

ws

and

also

m

oust

ache

.

Ann

exur

e-1

Con

t...

97Chapter-IV

Hum

an R

ight

s V

iola

tion

s ag

ains

t D

alit

s re

late

d to

Rig

ht t

o La

nd :

Apr

il 19

99 -

Dec

embe

r 20

06

S No.

Typ

e of

Vio

latio

nR

egio

nD

istric

tV

illag

e /M

anda

lD

ate o

fIn

cide

ntM

F

Vic

timB

rief

of t

he In

cide

ntA

llege

d C

ause

9.

Soci

al B

oyco

ttC

oast

alK

rish

naD

uggi

rala

pad

u (v

) ,

12-0

9-99

Dal

its

Dom

inan

t ca

stes

gra

zed

thei

r ca

ttle

in

the

field

of

Dal

it K

ovur

iD

alit

prot

este

d ag

ains

tK

ondu

ru (

m)

Buj

ji. W

hen

Buj

ji pr

otes

ted

the

dam

age

caus

ed t

o hi

s cr

op,

ado

min

ant

cast

edo

min

ant

cast

e gr

oup

atta

cked

Dal

it co

mm

unity

and

im

pose

den

croa

chm

ent

on D

alit

soci

al b

oyco

tt a

nd a

nnou

nced

Rs.

1000

for

vio

latin

g th

ela

ndso

cial

-boy

cott

.

10

.So

cial

Boy

cott

Coa

stal

Srik

akul

amSo

npur

07-0

5-00

Dal

its

In S

onpu

r gra

m p

anch

ayat

ther

e w

as a

figh

t bet

wee

n th

e A

diva

sisLa

nd d

ispu

tean

d D

alit

s ov

er l

and.

Hen

ce,

the

Adi

vasi

s bo

ycot

ted

Dal

its.

11

.So

cial

Boy

cott

Coa

stal

Kri

shna

Etu

ru (

v) C

hand

rala

13-1

0-01

Dal

its

Dom

inan

t ca

ste

peop

le g

rabb

ed l

and

from

Dal

its

and

For

ques

tion

ing

land

padu

(m

)at

tack

ed t

hem

, ab

used

the

m i

n th

e na

me

of c

aste

and

grab

bing

fro

m D

alit

sim

pose

d a

Soci

al B

oyco

tt o

n th

em.

12

.So

cial

Boy

cott

Ray

alas

eem

aC

hitt

oor

Mad

ibak

a (v

)23

-03-

01D

alit

sD

omin

ant c

aste

peo

ple

atta

cked

Dal

its a

nd so

cial

ly b

oyco

tted

Dis

pute

ove

r pa

thw

ayYe

radu

(m

)th

em o

ver

a d

ispu

te r

egar

ding

pas

sage

thr

ough

far

m l

and.

acr

oss

farm

.

13

.So

cial

Boy

cott

Tela

ngan

aM

edak

Cha

puru

(v)

13

-07

-03

1N

on-D

alit

s im

pose

d so

cial

boy

cott

on

Sara

ngi

Pedd

a Sa

ndR

efus

ed t

o su

rren

der

Arm

uru

(m

)an

na a

Dal

it b

ecau

se h

e re

fuse

d to

giv

e hi

s la

nd,

whi

ch w

ashi

s la

nd f

or b

uria

l-hi

s so

urce

of

livel

ihoo

d, f

or

buri

al g

roun

d to

non

-dal

its.

grou

nd

.

14

.So

cial

Boy

cott

Tela

ngan

aN

izam

abad

Gum

mir

yala

(v)

30-1

2-00

1R

ajan

na b

ough

t 5

acre

s of

lan

d w

itho

ut c

onsu

ltin

g an

dD

id n

ot t

ake

cons

ent

ofM

arth

ad (

m)

taki

ng t

he a

ppro

val

of v

illag

ers.

The

refo

re,

the

villa

gers

villa

gers

whe

n bu

ying

cond

ucte

d a

villa

ge c

omm

itte

e m

eeti

ng a

nd f

ined

him

land

Rs.

400

0- a

nd s

ocia

lly

boyc

otte

d hi

m.

15

.So

cial

Boy

cott

Tela

ngan

aM

ahab

ub N

agar

Puur

u (v

) G

adw

al (

m)

10-0

1-02

Dal

its

Dom

inan

t ca

ste

peop

le i

mpo

sed

Soci

al B

oyco

tt o

n th

eL

and

issu

eD

alit

s ov

er a

lan

d is

sue.

16

.A

ttack

Coa

stal

Kri

shna

Myl

avar

am v

illag

e25

-02-

00D

omin

ant

cast

e G

unta

ka M

arka

ndey

a R

eddy

, A

lava

la R

ama

Dal

it i

nfor

med

Kri

shna

Red

dy a

nd

Kar

eddi

Ven

kata

Nar

ayan

a at

tack

edau

thor

ities

of

land

J.V.

Pr

abha

kar,

Cen

tre

of I

ndia

Tra

de U

nion

(C

ITU

) l

eade

roc

cupi

ed i

llega

lly b

ybe

caus

e he

inf

orm

ed a

utho

ritie

s a

bout

ille

gal

occ

upat

ion

dom

inan

t ca

stes

of

Dal

it la

nds

by

dom

inan

t ca

stes

.

17

.A

ttack

Coa

stal

Nel

lore

Gud

ipad

u (v

)18

-09-

011

Dom

inan

t ca

ste

A.

A.

O.

Ayy

al R

eddy

bea

t u

p C

hinn

aA

sked

for

ret

urn

ofA

.S.P

et (

m)

Mur

alai

ah w

ith

chap

pals

whe

n M

ural

aiah

ask

ed h

im t

ola

nd g

rabb

ed b

yre

turn

lan

d, w

hich

was

in

illeg

al p

osse

ssio

n of

A

yyal

Red

dy.d

omin

ant

cast

e

18

.A

ttac

kC

oast

alN

ello

reA

arim

eni

padu

(v)

03

-12

-02

1K

ondu

ru M

ohan

, a

dom

inan

t c

aste

per

son

occu

pied

lan

dL

and

issu

eO

jeli

(m

)be

long

ing

to a

D

alit

wom

an,

Vee

ram

ma

and

then

atta

cked

her

.

Con

t...


Hum

an R

ight

s V

iola

tion

s ag

ains

t D

alit

s re

late

d to

Rig

ht t

o La

nd :

Apr

il 19

99 -

Dec

embe

r 20

06

S No.

Typ

e of

Vio

latio

nR

egio

nD

istric

tV

illag

e /M

anda

lD

ate o

fIn

cide

ntM

F

Vic

timB

rief

of t

he In

cide

ntA

llege

d C

ause

19

.A

ttac

kC

oast

alN

ello

reT

hant

u pa

lem

(v)

10

-08

-02

1A

Dal

it w

oman

, K

rish

nam

ma

was

giv

en l

and

by t

he g

ovt.

ente

red

onto

lan

d gi

ven

Kan

igir

i (m

)bu

t w

hen

she

ente

red

onto

her

lan

d, M

alak

onda

iah

and

by t

he g

over

nmen

tso

me

othe

rs a

ttac

ked,

thr

eate

ned

and

abus

ed h

er u

sing

her

cast

e na

me.

20

.A

ttack

Coa

stal

Prak

asam

Tan

gutu

ru06

-11-

001

Arj

una

Rao

was

con

stru

ctin

g a

boun

dry

in h

is f

ield

, fo

r l

and

issu

ew

hich

Mat

ta V

enka

tesw

arlu

an

d s

ome

othe

rs f

rom

the

sam

evi

llage

att

acke

d hi

m a

nd a

buse

d hi

m u

sing

his

cas

te n

ame.

21

.A

ttack

Coa

stal

Prak

asam

Elu

ru (

v) P

odili

(m

)07

-12-

00D

alit

sD

omin

ant

cast

e pe

ople

att

acke

d D

alit

s an

d ab

used

the

mSt

oppe

d do

min

ant

usin

g th

eir

cast

e na

me

beca

use

Dal

its

stop

ped

the

dom

inan

tcas

tes

layi

ng r

oad

inca

stes

fro

m l

ayin

g a

road

in

thei

r f

ield

s. A

dila

kshm

i an

dD

alit

s’ f

ield

sK

onda

mm

a in

par

ticu

lar

wer

e b

eate

n se

vere

ly a

nd l

ayin

jure

d ov

erni

ght

on t

he r

oad.

22

.A

ttac

kC

oast

alP

raka

sam

Suna

kesu

lu (

v)0

1-0

4-0

21

Dom

inan

t ca

stes

pe

ople

set

fir

e to

the

sta

ndin

g cr

op o

fA

sked

why

his

lan

dsPe

ddar

aved

u (m

)Sr

i R

amul

u, a

Dal

it.

Whe

n he

que

stio

ned

this

, do

min

ant

wer

e bu

rnt

cast

e pe

ople

att

acke

d an

d be

at h

im.

23

.A

ttac

kC

oast

alP

raka

sam

Mar

kapu

r, T

arla

padu

09

-09

-04

Dal

its

Dal

its

in t

his

villa

ge a

re f

ight

ing

for

bur

ial-

grou

nd f

or t

heSt

rugg

le f

or a

llotm

ent

past

20

yrs.

Sinc

e 50

yrs

the

y ar

e st

rugg

ling

to g

et b

ack

heir

of b

uria

l gr

ound

5 ½

acr

es o

f cu

ltiv

able

la

nd f

rom

the

ille

gal

poss

essi

on o

fno

n-da

lits.

The

y w

ere

atta

cked

by

non

-Dal

its

and

had

to

run

away

fro

m t

heir

hom

es.

24

.A

ttac

kC

oast

alE

ast

God

avar

iB

him

inap

alle

(v)

19

-05

-03

1K

olap

alle

Pul

laia

h, n

on-d

alit

att

acke

d an

d ab

used

Mul

apar

tiFo

r w

alki

ng o

n th

e U

ppal

agup

tam

(m

)Ve

nkan

na a

Dal

it b

ecau

se h

e w

as w

alki

ng o

n hi

s fa

rm-b

und.

bord

ers

of t

he f

ield

s

25

.A

ttack

Coa

stal

Gun

tur

Rom

pich

arla

(m

)19

-02-

021

Ram

mur

thy

and

som

e ot

her

peop

le a

ttac

ked

and

beat

Pra

sad

Lan

d is

sue

a D

alit

and

his

fam

ily o

ver

a la

nd i

ssue

. Po

lice

and

Telu

guD

esam

lea

ders

har

asse

d hi

m a

nd g

ave

him

ele

ctri

c sh

ock

for

com

plai

ning

. P

rasa

d w

as a

dmit

ted

in R

omip

icha

rla

gove

rnm

ent

hosp

ital

for

tre

atm

ent.

26

.A

ttack

Coa

stal

Gun

tur

Sari

pudi

(v)

03-0

6-00

1P

rasa

d R

ao

was

usi

ng t

he w

aste

-lan

d w

hich

was

adj

acen

t to

Usi

ng w

aste

lan

d by

Med

ikon

duru

(m

)hi

s ho

use.

Dom

inan

t ca

ste

Cha

vara

k L

aksh

mi

Nar

ayan

aho

use

atta

cked

and

abu

sed

Pras

ad R

ao u

sing

his

cas

te n

ame

for

this

.

27

.A

ttack

Coa

stal

Vis

akha

patn

amA

ddur

u (v

)04

-04-

02D

alit

sD

omin

ant

cast

e pe

ople

wan

ted

to g

rab

the

land

giv

en t

oL

and

issu

eC

hoda

vara

m (

m)

Dal

its

by t

he g

ovt.

and

for

thi

s th

ey a

ttac

ked

Dal

its.

Con

t...

99Chapter-IV

Hum

an R

ight

s V

iola

tion

s ag

ains

t D

alit

s re

late

d to

Rig

ht t

o La

nd :

Apr

il 19

99 -

Dec

embe

r 20

06

S No.

Typ

e of

Vio

latio

nR

egio

nD

istric

tV

illag

e /M

anda

lD

ate o

fIn

cide

ntM

F

Vic

timB

rief

of t

he In

cide

ntA

llege

d C

ause

28

.A

ttac

kC

oast

alV

isak

hapa

tnam

Nar

endr

apur

am (

v)0

5-0

7-0

31

Reb

aka

Rup

avat

hi a

Dal

it w

oman

, w

as c

ultiv

atin

g la

nd w

hich

Lan

d is

sue

Mun

akap

aka

(m)

gove

rnm

ent

ass

igne

d to

he

r. A

ppal

a N

aidu

, G

anis

etti

Shiv

a N

aidu

who

wer

e ow

ners

of

the

adja

cent

lan

d ab

used

her

.

29

.A

ttack

Ray

alas

eem

aA

nant

apur

Venk

atam

palli

(v)

22-0

3-00

1So

mpa

lli N

aras

aya

and

nine

oth

er n

on-D

alits

att

acke

d D

alit

Sann

-La

nd d

ispu

teN

arva

l (m

)lam

umi

whi

le

he w

as i

rrig

atin

g h

is fie

lds;

the

perp

etra

tors

al

sode

stro

yed

200

lem

on t

rees

of

San

nam

umi’s

.

30

.A

ttack

Ray

alas

eem

aC

hitt

oor

Mar

ugan

i (v

)15

-07-

002

4T

hoka

la G

anga

gula

mm

a w

alke

d th

roug

h do

min

ant

cast

es’

Wal

ked

thro

ugh

land

. C

hina

mm

al R

eddy

and

Siv

aram

Red

dy a

ttac

ked

Dal

it-

dom

inan

t ca

stes

’w

ada

for

this

rea

son.

Whe

n G

anag

ulua

mm

a qu

esti

oned

thi

s

fi

elds

atta

ck s

he a

nd h

er h

usba

nd t

oo w

ere

beat

en w

ith

chap

pals

and

her h

ouse

was

dem

olis

hed.

Sar

avat

hiam

ma

and

Venk

atar

aman

na,

who

tri

ed t

o st

op t

he a

ttac

k w

ere

att

acke

d an

d ur

ine

pour

edov

er t

hem

.Pap

pakk

a w

as a

lso b

eate

n w

ith c

happ

als

and

stri

pped

nake

d. R

edda

ppa,

who

was

goi

ng t

o co

mpl

ain

to t

he p

olic

ew

as t

ied

to a

tre

e a

nd t

ortu

red.

Whe

n D

alits

file

d a

com

plai

ntw

ith

the

polic

e,

the

polic

e re

fuse

d to

bo

ok a

FIR

.

31

.A

ttack

Ray

alas

eem

aC

udap

pah

Chi

nako

mer

la (

v)19

-11-

011

Bas

eddu

la

Siva

Ted

dy a

nd

Jaya

venk

ata

Red

dy

atta

cked

Dis

pute

ove

r la

ndM

ylav

aram

(m

)A

bhis

heka

m a

nd a

buse

d h

im u

sing

his

cas

te n

ame

beca

use

bord

ers

of a

dis

pute

ove

r la

nd b

orde

rs.

32

.A

ttack

Ray

alas

eem

aC

udap

pah

Ved

urur

u (v

)10

-03-

021

Dom

inan

t ca

ste

Subb

i R

eddy

att

acke

d O

baia

h w

hen

heFo

r re

ject

ing

to s

ell

Cha

padu

(m

)re

fuse

d to

sel

l la

nd w

hich

was

giv

en t

o hi

m b

y th

e G

over

nmen

t.la

nd t

o do

min

ant

cast

e

33

.A

ttack

Ray

alas

eem

aC

hitt

oor

Ray

alap

eta

(v)

01-0

1-01

1D

alit

s w

ere

atta

cked

by

dom

inan

t ca

ste

peop

le

and

Lan

d R

ef-

Lan

d is

sue

Pedd

a Pa

njan

i (m

)or

ms

Com

mit

tee

mem

ber

Ram

ana

was

bea

ten

sev

erel

y o

ver

land

iss

ue.

34

.A

ttack

Ray

alas

eem

aC

hitt

oor

Ote

rupa

lli (

v)16

-11-

012

2D

omin

ant

cast

e in

divi

dual

s gr

abbe

d la

nds

of D

alit

s, a

ttac

ked

Que

stio

ned

land

Yada

mai

r (m

)th

em a

nd

beat

the

m u

p w

hen

they

pro

test

ed t

his.

grab

bing

by

dom

inan

t ca

stes

35

.A

ttac

kR

ayal

asee

ma

Kur

nool

Ban

avas

i (v

)2

6-0

4-0

31

Nar

sann

a w

as c

ulti

vati

ng w

aste

lan

d fo

r fe

w y

ears

. N

on-d

alit

sFo

r cu

ltiv

atin

g th

eE

mig

anan

uru

(m)

Srin

ivas

u R

eddy

, Ja

gadi

swar

a R

eddy

, N

agen

dra

Red

dyw

aste

lan

dat

tack

ed a

nd a

buse

d N

arsa

nna

and

thr

eate

ned

him

to

mov

eaw

ay f

rom

the

lan

d.

Con

t...


Hum

an R

ight

s V

iola

tion

s ag

ains

t D

alit

s re

late

d to

Rig

ht t

o La

nd :

Apr

il 19

99 -

Dec

embe

r 20

06

S No.

Typ

e of

Vio

latio

nR

egio

nD

istric

tV

illag

e /M

anda

lD

ate o

fIn

cide

ntM

F

Vic

timB

rief

of t

he In

cide

ntA

llege

d C

ause

36

.A

ttack

Ray

alas

eem

aK

urno

olK

onda

may

apal

le (

v)28

-11-

021

Man

ikya

mm

a, a

D

alit

wom

an

obje

cted

w

hen

non

- d

alits

Obj

ecte

d to

bor

e w

ell

Rud

rava

ram

(m

)st

arte

d di

ggin

g a

bore

- w

ell

in h

er l

and.

For

t h

is

they

bein

g su

nk o

n he

r la

ndat

tack

ed h

er,

abus

ed h

er a

nd c

ut o

ff h

er h

air.

37

.A

ttack

Tela

ngan

aM

ahab

ubna

gar

Nar

sapp

agud

a (v

)10

-09-

011

Dom

inan

t ca

ste

Srih

ari

atta

cked

Lak

smai

ah f

or e

nter

ing

Wen

t on

to d

omin

ant

Kot

huru

(m

)on

to h

is l

and.

cas

te’s

land

38

.A

ttack

Tela

ngan

aW

aran

gal

Pond

uru

(v)

04-0

9-01

Dal

its

Dal

its

wer

e at

tack

ed a

nd s

ever

ely

beat

en u

p fo

r qu

esti

onin

gQ

uest

ione

d ill

egal

sal

eG

hanp

ur (

m)

brok

ers

selli

ng

sand

fro

m D

alit

s’ l

ands

to

sand

con

trac

tors

.of

san

d fr

om D

alit

s’fi

elds

39

.A

ttack

Tela

ngan

aK

arim

Nag

arG

andh

i N

agar

(v)

06-1

2-01

11

12 a

cres

of

land

was

allo

tted

to

back

war

d cl

asse

s an

d ho

uses

Lan

d is

sue

Hus

naba

d (m

)w

ere

built

17

year

ago

. A

t th

at t

ime

som

e la

nd w

as a

llott

edfo

r th

e ro

ads.

Whe

n th

e D

alits

sta

rted

lay

ing

road

, do

min

ant

cast

e pe

ople

obs

truc

ted

the

wor

k, s

ayin

g th

e la

nd b

elon

ged

toth

em.

The

y at

tack

ed V

enka

vva

and

Kan

akai

ah w

ith

iron

rod

s,w

ho tr

ied

to st

op th

e at

tack

. Bot

h D

alit

s wer

e se

vere

ly in

jure

dan

d un

derw

ent

trea

tmen

t in

a p

riva

te h

ospi

tal

in H

usna

bad.

40

.A

ttack

Tela

ngan

aR

anga

Red

dyA

lwal

(v)

30-0

8-01

1D

omin

ant

cast

e B

hiks

hapa

ti a

ttac

ked

Srin

ivas

and

bea

t hi

mL

and

issu

eup

sev

erel

y ov

er a

lan

d is

sue.

41

.A

ttack

Tela

ngan

aN

izam

bad

Anj

uman

(

v)07

-10-

011

Dom

inan

t ca

ste

peop

le

atta

cked

Moh

an o

ver

a la

nd d

ispu

te.L

and

issu

eN

avip

eta

(m)

42

.To

rtur

e in

Tela

ngan

aM

ahab

ub N

agar

Ram

apur

am (

v)14

-09-

991

Dom

inan

t ca

ste

Satn

aray

ana

Red

dy a

nd h

is w

ife h

aras

sed,

Stat

e vi

olen

cePo

lice

Cus

tody

Sant

hina

gar

(m

)at

tack

ed a

nd fa

bric

ated

a fa

lse c

ase

agai

nst D

alit

Jaya

raj i

n a

land

disp

ute.

At t

he p

olic

e st

atio

n, th

e Su

b-In

spec

tor

tort

ured

Jay

araj

.

43

.Se

izur

e an

dC

oast

alV

izia

naga

ram

Vee

lupu

rthi

(v)

,08

-03-

001

Yedu

vaka

Nar

siba

bu,

Paid

thal

li an

d th

ree

othe

r do

min

ant

cast

eLa

nd i

ssue

Des

truc

tion

Vep

adu

(m)

villa

gers

abu

sed

Dal

it w

oman

Tha

laya

ni G

umm

ala

Dev

edam

ma

of P

rope

rty

and

forc

eful

ly o

ccup

ied

0.5

acre

s of

her

lan

d.

44

.Se

izur

e an

dC

oast

alV

isak

ha p

atna

mM

uche

rala

(v)

Ana

n17

-08-

00D

alit

sPa

ncha

yat

acq

uire

d 50

acr

es o

f la

nd b

elon

ging

to

dom

inan

tFi

ght

for

la

ndPr

oper

tyD

apur

am (

m)

cast

e pe

ople

and

gav

e 36

acr

es t

o D

alits

. W

hen

Dal

its s

tart

edde

stru

ctio

ncu

ltiv

atin

g th

e la

nd,

dom

inan

t ca

ste

peop

le a

ttac

ked

Dal

its

and

dest

roye

d th

eir

prop

erty

wit

h th

e co

nniv

ance

of

the

poli

ce.

Con

t...

101Chapter-IV

Hum

an R

ight

s V

iola

tion

s ag

ains

t D

alit

s re

late

d to

Rig

ht t

o La

nd :

Apr

il 19

99 -

Dec

embe

r 20

06

S No.

Typ

e of

Vio

latio

nR

egio

nD

istric

tV

illag

e /M

anda

lD

ate o

fIn

cide

ntM

F

Vic

timB

rief

of t

he In

cide

ntA

llege

d C

ause

45

.Se

izur

e an

dC

oast

alE

ast

God

avar

iA

rem

pudi

(v)

25-1

1-00

Dal

its

23.6

1 ac

res

of l

and

was

gi

ven

by

the

Kan

chup

arth

i fa

mily

40

Den

ial

of l

and

toPr

oper

tyA

nnav

aram

(m

)ye

ars

back

to

VA

O t

o di

stri

bute

to

loca

l D

alit

s. B

ut t

he V

AO

,D

alit

sde

stru

ctio

nus

ed t

his

land

for

him

self.

In

1998

Dal

its s

tart

ed c

ultiv

atin

g th

ela

nd,

in r

etal

iati

on f

or w

hich

the

VA

O b

ooke

d a

fals

e ca

se o

nth

em.

Thi

s is

sue

cam

e b

efor

e th

e IP

F gr

oup

and

so t

he V

AO

,fe

arin

g da

nger

, ha

nded

ove

r th

e la

nd t

o D

alit

s bu

t de

man

ded

eith

er 1

2 ac

res

land

or

2 la

kh r

upee

s. W

hen

Dal

its w

ere

culti

va-

ting

padd

y, c

hilli

and

gro

undn

ut h

e V

AO

was

una

ble

to t

oler

ate

this

an

d g

ot

his

ser

vant

to

le

t lo

ose

catt

le t

o de

stro

y D

alit

s’cr

ops.

46

.Se

izur

e an

dC

oast

alE

ast

God

avar

iT

hipp

araj

upal

em (

v)12

-01-

011

Kak

amm

a h

as b

een

culti

vatin

g v

illag

e w

aste

-land

for

the

pas

tD

enia

l of

lan

d to

Prop

erty

Kaj

ulur

i (m

)20

year

s to

sup

port

her

self

and

her

sick

hus

band

. B

ut t

he v

illag

eD

alit

sde

stru

ctio

nla

ndlo

rds

grab

bed

her

padd

y an

d de

stro

yed

it,

in c

onni

vanc

ew

ith

the

polic

e.

47

.Se

izur

e an

dC

oast

alK

rish

naC

hilla

boyi

nipa

lli (

v)25

-07-

00D

alit

s40

Dal

its h

ave

been

cul

tivat

ing

20

acre

s of

lan

d fo

r th

e pa

st 5

0D

enia

l of

lan

d to

Prop

erty

Mus

unur

(m

)ye

ars.

Land

lord

s of

adj

acen

t la

nds

hav

e be

en h

aras

sing

Dal

itsD

alit

sde

stru

ctio

nfo

r t

he p

ast

15 y

ears

cl

aim

ing

tha

t th

e la

nd

belo

ngs

to

them

.W

hen

the

Dal

its

book

ed a

cas

e to

en

d th

is

disp

ute,

dom

inan

t ca

stes

abu

sed

Dal

its

usin

g th

eir

cast

e na

me.

48

.Se

izur

e an

dC

oast

alN

ello

reR

atna

giri

(v)

11-1

0-00

1L

and

allo

tted

by

R

even

ue

offi

cial

s to

a D

alit

wid

ow,

Das

ari

Den

ial

of l

and

toPr

oper

tyPo

dala

kuru

(m

)A

nasu

yam

ma

was

occ

upie

d by

Kop

polu

fam

ily m

embe

rs f

rom

Dal

its

dest

ruct

ion

the

sam

e vi

llage

.

49

.Se

izur

e an

dC

oast

alN

ello

reYa

llasi

ri (

v)22

-11-

00D

alit

sFo

r th

e pa

st 1

0 ye

ars,

Dal

its h

ave

been

cul

tivat

ing

fore

st l

ands

.D

enia

l of

lan

d to

Prop

erty

Chi

ttam

uru

(m)

Whe

n D

alits

gav

e ap

plic

atio

ns f

or

patt

as t

o R

even

ue o

ffic

ials,

Dal

its

dest

ruct

ion

the

dom

inan

t ca

ste

land

lord

s s

tart

ed f

ight

ing

with

the

D

alits

,cl

aim

ing

that

the

land

bel

ongs

to

them

. The

y m

anag

ed t

o fo

rce

Rev

enue

off

icia

ls to

allo

t la

nds

to t

hem

and

not

to

Dal

its.

50

.Se

izur

e an

dC

oast

alN

ello

reD

amar

avar

am (

v)25

-11-

00D

alit

sLa

nds

give

n to

D

alits

by

the

Gov

ernm

ent

have

bee

n o

ccup

ied

Den

ial o

f la

nd t

oPr

oper

tyD

agap

arth

i (m

)by

dom

inan

t ca

ste

land

lord

s. E

ven

com

plai

ning

to

the

Punn

aiah

Dal

its

dest

ruct

ion

Com

mis

sion

did

not

get

the

Dal

its j

ustic

e.

51

.Se

izur

e an

dR

ayal

asee

ma

Ana

ntap

urH

anum

apal

li (

v)12

-09-

992

Dom

inan

t ca

ste

villa

gers

Chi

kkan

na a

nd A

kkan

na f

orce

fully

Unt

ouch

abili

tyD

estr

uctio

n of

Shet

tur

(m

)oc

cupi

ed 6

.00

acre

s of

lan

d be

long

ing

to D

alits

Bom

man

na a

ndPr

oper

tyVe

e-ra

ppa.

T

hey

seve

rely

bea

t D

alits

.

Con

t...


Hum

an R

ight

s V

iola

tion

s ag

ains

t D

alit

s re

late

d to

Rig

ht t

o La

nd :

Apr

il 19

99 -

Dec

embe

r 20

06

S No.

Typ

e of

Vio

latio

nR

egio

nD

istric

tV

illag

e /M

anda

lD

ate o

fIn

cide

ntM

F

Vic

timB

rief

of t

he In

cide

ntA

llege

d C

ause

52

.Se

izur

e an

dR

ayal

asee

ma

Cud

dapa

hR

ajup

alem

(v)

18-0

4-00

Dal

its

Red

dy c

aste

peo

ple

set

fire

to D

alit

hous

es a

nd a

ttac

ked

them

To p

reve

nt D

alit

s fr

omPr

oper

tyB

. K

odur

(m)

as p

art

of a

co

nspi

racy

to

pr

even

t D

alit

s fr

om c

laim

ing

cult

ivat

ing

lan

d gi

ven

dest

ruct

ion

gove

rnm

ent

land

allo

tted

to

Dal

its.

by g

over

nmen

t

53

.Se

izur

e an

dR

ayal

asee

ma

Chi

ttoo

rST

V N

agar

, T

irup

athi

23-1

1-00

Dal

its

For

the

past

35

year

s, T

irup

athi

ST

V N

agar

Dal

its h

ave

been

Den

ial

of l

and

toPr

oper

tyto

wn

usin

g l

and

for

the

ir s

epar

ate

gra

veya

rd.

One

day

, w

hen

they

Dal

its

dest

ruct

ion

wen

t to

bur

y a

Dal

it’s

dead

-bod

y, t

hey

wer

e st

oppe

d by

dom

inan

t ca

ste

Nar

asim

ha Y

adav

, cl

aim

ing

that

the

pla

cebe

long

s to

him

. In

the

ens

uing

arg

umen

t b

etw

een

Dal

its

and

dom

inan

t ca

stes

, po

lice

lath

i-ch

arge

d D

alit

s.

54

.Se

izur

e an

dTe

lang

ana

Mah

aboo

b N

agar

Bijj

aram

, K

osgi

06-0

6-99

1G

over

nmen

t of

ficia

ls ga

ve d

omin

ant

cast

e vi

llage

rs p

erm

issi

onD

alit

appe

aled

to

lega

lD

estr

ucti

onto

bui

ld a

sch

ool

on l

and

owne

d an

d cu

ltiva

ted

by 6

0-ye

ar o

ldre

cour

se in

an

atte

mpt

to

of P

rope

rty

Dal

it f

arm

er C

hett

igar

i C

hand

raia

h. W

hen

Cha

ndra

iah

rest

rain

dom

inan

t ca

ste

appe

aled

to

appr

opri

ate

lega

l au

thor

ities

, a

grou

p of

dom

inan

ten

croa

chm

ent

on D

alit

cast

e m

en b

eat

him

and

abu

sed

him

by

his

cast

e na

me.

land

55

.Se

izur

e an

dTe

lang

ana

Ran

ga R

eddy

Prag

anpu

r, Gajw

el (m

)04

-05-

991

Dom

inan

t ca

ste

villa

ger

Pech

arla

Jag

anat

ham

occ

upie

d 1.

3gun

tas

Not

kno

wn

Des

truc

tion

(less

tha

n on

e ac

re)

of la

nd b

elon

ging

to

Dal

it Er

ukal

a Po

chai

ah,

of P

rope

rty

and

beat

him

w

hen

he p

rote

sted

aga

inst

the

ille

gal

occu

patio

n.

56

Seiz

ure

and

Tela

ngan

aH

yder

abad

Srik

rish

napu

r (v

)11

-12-

00L

and

was

allo

tted

to

wea

ker

sect

ions

and

pat

tas

also

wer

eD

enia

l of

lan

d to

Prop

erty

Khu

tubl

lapu

r (m

)gi

ven.

Des

pite

thi

s, la

ndlo

rds,

with

the

hel

p of

gov

t. of

ficia

ls,D

alit

sde

stru

ctio

npo

litic

al l

eade

rs a

nd b

roke

rs,

cons

truc

ted

apar

tmen

ts i

llega

lly.

57

.Se

izur

e an

dTe

lang

ana

Niz

amba

dB

ichk

onad

a (m

)12

-12-

011

Dom

inan

t ca

ste

Lat

if P

asha

oc

cupi

ed a

D

alit

wom

an’s

Den

ial

of l

and

to D

alit

sPr

oper

tyla

nd a

buse

d he

r us

ing

her

cast

e na

me.

dest

ruct

ion

58

.Se

izur

e an

dTe

lang

ana

Med

akC

hery

ala

(v)

22-1

2-00

Dal

its

Dal

its

have

be

en

culti

vatin

g l

and

in s

urve

y n

umbe

r 74

1D

enia

l of

land

to

Dal

itsPr

oper

tySa

ngar

eddy

(m

)fo

r th

e pa

st 3

0 ye

ars.

Pat

tas

wer

e al

so g

iven

to

them

.de

stru

ctio

nB

ut e

x-ar

my

peop

le o

ccup

ied

this

la

nd.

59

.Se

izur

e an

dTe

lang

ana

Nal

gond

aSu

ryap

eta

(v)

16-0

1-01

Dal

its

Gov

t. a

llott

ed

land

abo

ut 1

00 y

ears

ago

for

bur

ial

- gr

ound

Den

ial o

f la

nd t

oPr

oper

tyto

Dal

its

but

now

dom

inan

t ca

ste

peo

ple

have

ille

gally

dest

ruct

ion

occu

pied

Dal

it’s

land

.

60

.Se

izur

e an

dTe

lang

ana

War

anga

lG

avic

herl

a (v

)01

-12-

00D

alit

sFo

r th

e pa

st 4

5 ye

ars

Dal

its

have

be

en c

ulti

vati

ng l

and

onD

enia

l of

lan

d to

Dal

its

Prop

erty

Sang

am (

m)

the

bord

ers

of

irri

gati

on t

ank.

But

lan

dlor

ds

dest

roye

dde

stru

ctio

nst

andi

ng c

rop

of D

alit

s an

d oc

cupi

ed D

alit

s’ l

and.

Con

t...

103Chapter-IV

Hum

an R

ight

s V

iola

tion

s ag

ains

t D

alit

s re

late

d to

Rig

ht t

o La

nd :

Apr

il 19

99 -

Dec

embe

r 2006

S No.

Typ

e of

Vio

latio

nR

egio

nD

istric

tV

illag

e /M

anda

lD

ate o

fIn

cide

ntM

F

Vic

timB

rief

of t

he In

cide

ntA

llege

d C

ause

61

.Pr

actic

e of

Coa

stal

Eas

t G

odav

ari

Giy

yalla

pale

m (

v)12

-09-

002

Man

ya

Jyot

hi

NG

O c

hair

man

Sim

hadr

i an

d co

ordi

nato

rL

and

disp

ute

Unt

ouch

abili

tyG

anga

vara

m (

m)

Vid

-am

arth

i w

ere

tryi

ng t

o so

lve

a la

nd d

ispu

te,

dom

inan

tca

ste

Bhi

mar

aju

abus

ed t

hem

usi

ng t

heir

cas

te n

ame.

62

.Pr

actic

e of

Coa

stal

Kri

shna

Ach

empa

lem

(v)

22-0

5-00

Dal

its

Dal

its

have

bee

n tr

ying

for

allo

tmen

t of

w

aste

-lan

d fr

om g

ov-

For

tryi

ng a

llotm

ent

Unt

ouch

abili

tyG

hant

asal

a (m

)er

nmen

t. D

omin

ant

cast

e p

eopl

e w

arne

d th

em n

ot a

pply

for

of g

over

nmen

t la

ndla

nd.

The

y th

reat

ened

Dal

its t

hat

they

will

not

giv

e th

em w

ork.

63

.Pr

actic

e of

Coa

stal

Vija

yana

gara

mN

adup

uru

(v)G

urla

(m

)26-

05-0

01

Lak

shm

aiah

was

abu

sed

by

cas

te n

ame

by K

uche

rlap

ati

Cas

te d

iscr

imin

atio

nU

ntou

chab

ility

Ver

ma

and

Sure

sh o

ver

land

dis

pute

.

64

.Pr

actic

e of

Coa

stal

Kri

shna

Van

i La

nka

(v)

Tho

ta17

-01-

02D

alit

sD

omin

ant

cast

e M

ohan

Rao

rem

oved

st

one

bord

er o

f D

alit

s’Q

uest

ione

d re

mov

alU

notu

chab

ility

Val

luri

Pal

i (m

)la

nd.

Ram

a R

ao a

buse

d so

me

othe

r D

alit

s w

hen

they

of s

tone

bor

ders

ques

tion

ed t

his.

dem

arca

ting

thei

r lan

d

65

.Pr

acti

ce o

fC

oast

alW

est

God

avar

iU

ndi

(v)

(m)

04

-10

-02

1N

aray

an, o

wne

r of

a

fact

ory

abus

ed

Dal

its

usin

g t

heir

ca

ste

For

aski

ng t

o va

cate

Unt

ouch

abili

tyna

me

whe

n th

ey

aske

d hi

m

to v

acat

e th

e la

nd o

ccup

ied

byla

ndhi

m i

llega

lly.

66

.Pr

acti

ce o

fC

oast

alG

un

tur

Pedd

apul

ivar

ru (

v)1

2-0

9-0

31

Arr

ey

Solm

on

purc

hase

d l

and

whi

ch w

as

not

lik

ed

by

Purc

hase

d la

ndU

ntou

chab

ility

Bat

tipr

olu

(m)

non

dalit

s. G

utta

Nag

eshw

ara

Rao

, G

utta

Sha

nkar

Rao

, G

utta

Subb

a R

ao,

Gut

ta

Cha

ndra

R

ao

atta

cked

So

lmon

an

dab

used

hi

m

usin

g hi

s ca

ste

nam

e .

67

Prac

tice

of

Coa

stal

Srik

akul

amK

umm

riku

nta

(v)

15

-07

-04

1B

huja

mm

a w

as a

buse

d by

l.

Sree

nu,

Ram

anna

, P.

San

tosh

Ask

ed r

etur

n of

lan

dU

ntou

chab

ility

Sara

vkot

(m

) w

hen

she

aske

d re

turn

of

her

land

68

.Pr

actic

e of

Ray

alas

eem

aK

urno

olK

auth

alam

man

dal

24-1

2-99

1M

RO

abu

sed

Byg

eri

Bhe

eman

na u

sing

his

cas

te n

ame

beca

use

Unt

ouch

abili

tyU

ntou

chab

ility

Bhe

man

na r

eque

sted

MR

O t

o gr

ant

him

the

tit

le f

or t

he la

ndhe

had

bee

n cu

ltiva

ting

for

the

past

fift

y ye

ars.

69

.Pr

actic

e of

Ray

alas

eem

aK

urno

olJo

nnag

iri

(v)

11

-12

-03

1Se

shi

Red

dy a

nd o

ther

s ab

used

Ram

aanj

eyan

eyul

u us

ing

his

Cas

te a

buse

Unt

ouch

abili

tyTu

ggal

i (m

)ca

ste

nam

e ov

er a

lan

d di

sput

e .

70

.Pr

actic

e of

Ray

alas

eem

aC

udda

pah

Eri

kala

agir

i (v

)11

-11-

021

Chi

nnag

angu

, w

as a

buse

d by

cas

te n

ame

by d

omin

ant

cast

eD

ispu

te o

ver

land

Unt

ouch

abili

tyM

ylav

aram

(m

)C

hinn

a G

anga

ppa

ove

r a

disp

ute

rega

rdin

g la

nd b

ound

arie

sbo

unda

ries

71

.Pr

actic

e of

Tela

ngan

aA

dila

bad

Dev

apur

(v)

25-0

5-00

1A

nasu

yam

ma’s

la

nd

was

oc

cupi

ed

by d

omin

ant

cas

te V

enka

tC

aste

dis

crim

inat

ion

Unt

ouch

abili

tyT

hala

mad

ugu

(m)

Red

dy

and

Jag

an.

Whe

n th

e su

rvey

or c

ame

to s

urve

y th

e la

nd,

in t

he p

rese

nce

of

the

vill

ager

s V

enka

t R

eddy

, hi

s w

ife,

Vin

oda

and

son,

Jag

an a

buse

d A

nasu

yam

ma

usin

g he

r ca

ste

nam

e.

Con

t...


Hum

an R

ight

s V

iola

tion

s ag

ains

t D

alit

s re

late

d to

Rig

ht t

o La

nd :

Apr

il 19

99 -

Dec

embe

r 20

06

S No.

Typ

e of

Vio

latio

nR

egio

nD

istric

tV

illag

e /M

anda

lD

ate o

fIn

cide

ntM

F

Vic

timB

rief

of t

he In

cide

ntA

llege

d C

ause

72

.Pr

actic

e of

Tela

ngan

aN

izam

bad

Thi

mm

apur

(v)

07

-12

-02

1G

anga

ram

an

d L

inga

nna

abus

ed G

anga

ram

usi

ng h

is c

aste

Gav

e ev

iden

ce i

n a

land

Unt

ouch

abili

tyM

orth

adu

(m)

nam

e fo

r gi

ving

evi

denc

e in

fro

nt o

f th

e M

RO

in

a la

nd

issue

. i

ssue

73

.Pr

actic

e of

Tela

ngan

aK

arim

naga

rPe

daka

lval

a (v

)08

-09-

011

A l

andl

ord,

Pol

raj

occu

pied

the

bur

ial-

grou

nd l

and.

He

Que

stio

ned

dom

inan

tU

notu

chab

ility

abus

ed S

anje

ev f

or q

uest

ioni

ng t

his.

cast

e’s o

ccup

atio

n of

land

74

.Pr

acti

ce o

fTe

lang

ana

Kar

imna

gar

Jula

palli

(m

)0

7-0

7-0

41

Ram

esh

a D

alit

was

abu

sed

by P

. D

omad

ar R

ao a

ndD

ispu

te i

n la

nd i

ssue

Unt

ouch

abili

tyva

duka

apur

(v)

Pus

hpal

eela

ove

r a

land

iss

ue.

75

.Pr

actic

e of

Tela

ngan

aK

arim

Nag

arK

atna

palli

(v)

30-0

3-02

1N

aras

amm

a w

as g

iven

4.0

0 ac

res

of l

and

by G

over

nmen

t, bu

tG

iven

lan

d by

Uno

tuch

abili

tyC

hopp

adha

ndi

(m)

dom

inan

t ca

ste

peo

ple

abus

ed h

er

usin

g he

r ca

ste

nam

e a

ndG

over

nmen

tst

atin

g th

at t

he l

and

belo

ngs

to

them

.

76

.Pr

acti

ce o

fTe

lang

ana

Kar

im N

agar

Siva

jinag

ar K

arim

06

-07

-03

1N

arsa

mbo

ju B

hram

am a

buse

d K

alla

palle

Sus

hila

a D

alit

Lan

d is

sue

Unt

ouch

abili

tyN

agar

tow

nus

ing

her

cast

e na

me

whe

n sh

e re

sist

ed h

is a

ttem

pts

tooc

cupy

her

lan

d.

77

.Pr

acti

ce o

fTe

lang

ana

Med

akN

arsa

pur(

v)2

7-0

4-0

21

Dom

inan

t ca

ste

Dur

gesh

abu

sed

Sath

yana

raya

n, a

Dal

it,

Lan

d is

sue

Unt

ouch

abili

tyby

his

ca

ste

nam

e ov

er a

la

nd i

ssue

78

.C

aste

Coa

stal

Nel

lore

Ker

gunt

a (v

)05

-02-

021

Am

araj

eevi

w

ent

to

MR

O’s

off

ice

to

que

stio

n a

llotm

ent

Que

stio

ned

allo

tmen

tD

iscr

imin

atio

nD

agad

arti

(m

)of

lan

d to

out

side

rs a

nd n

ot t

o lo

cals

. M

RO

att

acke

d an

dof

lan

d to

out

side

rsin

Sta

te A

genc

ies

thre

w f

iles

at

Am

araj

eevi

, an

d ab

used

him

usi

ng h

is c

aste

nam

e an

d fi

lthy

lan

guag

e.

79

.C

aste

Coa

stal

Gu

ntu

rTu

rkap

alem

(v)

21

-05

-04

1D

alit

s w

ho w

ere

resi

ding

at

the

gove

rnm

ent

land

wer

e at

tac-

Dis

pute

ove

rD

iscr

imin

atio

nke

d an

d be

aten

up

by 4

5 no

n-da

lits.

Dal

it w

omen

wer

e al

sogo

vern

men

t la

ndin

Sta

te A

genc

ies

beat

en u

p.al

lotm

ent.

80

.C

aste

Ray

alas

eem

aC

udda

pah

K.Y

erra

gudu

(v)

06-1

0-01

1W

hen

sar

panc

h N

arsi

naya

k w

ent

to M

RO

to

talk

ab

out

Tal

ked

abou

t lo

ngpe

n-D

iscr

imin

atio

nC

herk

ayap

eta

(m)

the

dist

ribu

tion

of

lan

ds

to p

oor

peop

le,

whi

ch h

ad b

een

ding

dis

trib

utio

n of

in S

tate

Age

ncie

slo

ng p

endi

ng,

MR

O a

buse

d t

he

sarp

anch

and

ins

ulte

dla

nds

to t

he p

oor

him

wit

h fi

lthy

lan

guag

e.

81

.C

aste

Tela

ngan

aM

ahab

ub N

agar

Am

man

apal

li (v

)25

-05-

002

Kri

shna

iah

and

B

alai

ah

shou

ld

be

gran

ted

lan

ds

for

Cas

te d

iscr

imin

atio

nD

iscr

imin

atio

nV

eepa

naga

ndla

(m

)do

ing

RO

R,

but t

he V

AO

has

bee

n d

elay

ing

for t

he p

ast

thre

ein

Sta

te A

genc

ies

year

s be

caus

e he

is

expe

ctin

g m

oney

fro

m D

alits

.

82

.C

aste

Tela

ngan

aN

izam

abad

Kot

agir

i (m

)1

3-0

7-0

41

Push

pala

Vee

rash

am w

as a

ttac

ked

by l

ocal

non

-dal

it S

ingh

aD

ispu

te o

ver

a la

ndD

iscr

imin

atio

nK

otth

apal

li (v

)R

eddy

, V

enka

tesh

war

Red

dy o

n la

nd i

ssue

issu

e in

Sta

te A

genc

ies

Con

t...

105Chapter-IV

Hum

an R

ight

s V

iola

tion

s ag

ains

t D

alit

s re

late

d to

Rig

ht t

o La

nd :

Apr

il 19

99 -

Dec

embe

r 20

06

S No.

Typ

e of

Vio

latio

nR

egio

nD

istric

tV

illag

e /M

anda

lD

ate o

fIn

cide

ntM

F

Vic

timB

rief

of t

he In

cide

ntA

llege

d C

ause

83

.M

urde

rR

ayal

asee

ma

Kur

nool

Sudd

ham

alla

(v)

02

-05

-06

1D

asu

a D

alit

giv

en h

is c

ulti

vati

on l

and

for

leas

e to

ano

ther

For

givi

ng l

and

onU

uyal

avad

a (m

)pe

rson

. Fo

r th

is r

easo

n M

adha

v R

eddy

and

Sri

niva

s R

eddy

leas

ew

hose

lan

d is

bes

ide

Das

u’s

land

be

aten

up

and

kille

d hi

m.

84

.A

ttac

kC

oast

alE

ast

God

avar

iB

utta

ya G

udem

11

-10

-06

Dal

its

A l

and

disp

ute

betw

een

two

part

ies

CPI

ML

New

Dam

ocra

cyL

and

disp

ute

and

CPM

L le

ad t

o at

tack

on

Dal

its

of t

he t

riba

l are

as.

85

.A

ttac

kTe

lang

ana

Adi

laba

dN

arqa

di K

onda

(m

)3

1-0

1-0

61

1D

alit

s, L

axm

i an

d In

dur,

wer

e b

eate

nup

by f

ores

t of

ficer

sL

and

disp

ute

whi

le t

hey

wer

e cu

ltiva

ting

in

rese

rve

fore

sts

dry

land

.

86

.A

ttac

kTe

lang

ana

Ran

ga R

eddy

Ura

llu (

v)0

3-0

9-0

6D

alit

sN

on-d

alit

s ill

egal

ly o

ccup

ied

Dal

its’

lan

ds a

nd b

eate

n th

emL

and

Che

vella

(m

)up

whe

n D

alit

s qu

esti

oned

thi

s.

87

.A

ttac

kR

ayal

asee

ma

Kur

nool

Alv

akon

da (

v)1

0-0

3-0

61

Dam

ala

Dev

aiah

, a

Dal

it,

was

att

acke

d by

Mah

abub

Bas

haL

and

disp

ute

Sanj

amal

a (m

)ov

er l

and

disp

ute.

88

.Pr

acti

ce o

fC

oast

alW

est

goda

vari

Pat

uru(

v)1

8-0

4-0

6D

alit

sIn

Pat

uru

villa

ge,

Dal

its

wer

e m

anag

ing

4.5

3 ac

res

of c

ashe

wL

and

disp

ute

Unt

ouch

abili

tyK

amav

arap

kota

(m)

plan

tati

on.

But

in

2002

, n

on-d

alit

s of

the

vill

age

occu

pied

the

land

s an

d ta

ken

away

the

cro

p.

Whe

n as

ked

abou

t th

at t

hey

atta

cked

and

bea

tup

Dal

its.

89

.Pr

acti

ce o

fC

oast

alPr

akas

amA

mba

pura

m (

v)1

4-1

0-0

6D

alit

sIn

Pra

kasa

m d

istr

ict,

Dug

gam

pudi

Kon

da R

eddy

a n

on-d

alit

Land

rel

ated

Unt

ouch

abili

tyPe

ddar

avid

u (m

)en

croa

ched

the

gra

veya

rd o

f D

alit

s.

90

.Pr

acti

ce o

fTe

lang

ana

Adi

laba

dD

hara

mra

opet

a (v

)0

7-0

6-0

6D

alit

sN

irat

i Li

ngai

ah p

urch

ased

one

-acr

e la

nd f

rom

Das

ari

Yerr

aiah

,un

touc

habi

lity

Dan

depa

lle (

m)

Sarp

anch

20

year

s ag

o fo

r R

s. 1

2000

/-.

At

that

tim

e he

dit

not

regi

ster

the

lan

d in

his

nam

e th

ough

he

cons

tent

ly a

sked

him

to r

egis

ter.

Rec

ently

, Ye

rrai

ah h

as t

aken

bac

k th

e la

nd f

orci

bly

from

Lin

gaia

h an

d pa

id h

im o

nly

Rs.

400

0/-.

91

.Pr

acti

ce o

fTe

lang

ana

Hyd

erab

adB

oduu

ppal

(v)

26

-08

-06

11

War

dmem

ber,

ex-S

urpa

nch,

and

Pad

ma

abus

ed G

nane

shw

arL

and

unto

ucha

bilit

yan

d hi

s w

ife R

enuk

a us

ing

thei

r ca

ste

nam

e an

d in

sulte

d th

emov

er a

dis

pute

in

conv

erti

ng l

and

purp

ose.

92

.Pr

acti

ce o

fTe

lang

ana

Upp

ada

(v)

29

-10

-06

Dal

its

In K

otha

pelle

vill

age,

MR

O g

rabb

ed t

he w

aste

lan

ds o

f D

alit

sR

elat

ed t

o la

ndun

touc

habi

lity

Kot

hapa

lle (

m)

Land

and

giv

en t

o A

nni

Sett

i B

ulla

bbai

.gr

abbi

ng

93

.C

aste

Coa

stal

Eas

t G

odav

ari

Mat

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People’s Initiatives for access to Land -Case studies

Estharla Krishna Rao

Chapter V

108 People’s initiatives for access to land - Case studies

109Chapter-V

People’s Initiatives for access to Land -Case studies

- Estharla Krishna Rao

This study takes up cases related to the various acts enacted in Andhra Pradesh to give effect to itscommitment to land reforms. In addition to primary data collected from those involved in landstruggles in these nine case studies from the three regions of Andhra Pradesh; Costal Andhra (2),Rayalaseema (4) and Telangana (3) we have also relied on secondary data available in governmentdocuments, court records and news clippings. We have chosen these nine cases to examine and tohigh light the various dynamics that come into play as struggles are initiated and carried through.

While conducting the fieldwork, the author met the victims, local leaders particularly from the dalitcommunity and local NGOs who have stood by those involved in the struggles. Along with thoseengaged in the struggles he also visited the lands under dispute. The primary information has beengathered through interviews and focused group discussions. The table below gives the samplestaken up for study.

Sl.No Name of Village Region District Type of Land Survey No. Extent (acres)

1 Vengamukkala Costal Prakasam Assigned Land 122/10, 122/12 99.36-palem Andhra

2 Kedarlanka Costal East Ceiling Land 439/1 897.72Andhra Godavari

3 Meerkhan Pet Telangana Ranga Government 120/1 200Reddy Poramboku

Land4 Thaiyur Rayalaseema Chittoor Government Schedule 52 47

Land5 Kappad Telangana Ranga Ceiling Land 120/21,177,178 99.16

Reddy6 Tadiparthi Telangana Ranga Assigned Land 155 14

Reddy7 Avulapalli Rayalaseema Chittoor Bhoodan Land 6 10008 Moravapalli Rayalaseema Chittoor Assigned Land 772/2,3,6,774/1, 15.42

4 and 775/19 Marellamadaka Rayalaseema Kadapa Assigned Land 441/1, 4, 5, 37.1

460/1, 2, 6, 465


Profile of Vengamukkalapalem

Household size 4.0

Number of Households 374 Proportion of Urban population (%) 0.0

P M FPopulation - Total 1,560 798 762 Sex Ratio (females per 1000 males) 955

Population - Rural 1,560 798 762 Sex Ratio (0-6 Years) 811

Population - Urban 0 0 0 Sex Ratio (SC) 934

Population (0-6) 201 111 90 Sex Ratio (ST) 0

P M FSC Population 998 516 482 Proportion of SC population (%) 64.0 64.7 63.3

ST Population 0 0 0 Proportion of ST population (%) 0.0 0.0 0.0

Number of literates 792 499 293 Literacy Rate (%) 58.3 72.6 43.6

Number of illiterates 768 299 469 Illiteracy Rate (%) 56.5 43.5 69.8

Total workers 831 475 356 Work Participation Rate (%) 53.3 59.5 46.7

Main workers 827 473 354 Proportion of Main Workers (%) 53.0 59.3 46.5

Marginal workers 4 2 2 Proportion of Marginal Workers (%) 0.3 0.3 0.3

Non-workers 729 323 406 Proportion of Non Workers (%) 46.7 40.5 53.3

Cultivators 65 64 1 Proportion of cultivators 7.8 13.5 0.3to total workers (%)

Agricultural labourers 583 249 334 Proportion of agricultural labourers 70.2 52.4 93.8to total workers (%)

Workers in household 4 2 2 Proportion of workers in household 0.5 0.4 0.6industries industries to total workers (%)

Other workers 179 160 19 Percentage of Other 21.5 33.7 5.3workers to total workers (%)

Source : Census of India, 2001

Village : Vengamukkalapalem

Sub-District : Ongole

District : Prakasam

State : Andhra Pradesh

111Chapter-V

Case Study I

5.1 Land Struggle inVengamukkalapalemVillage

For Dalits, getting for themselves legally assignedlands has always been and continues to be arelentless struggle. The land struggle inVengamukkalapalem village proves this beyondany doubt. The saga of their struggle goes wayback to early 1940s. But only on 19th July 2004,when the grand children of those who began thestruggle attempted suicide outside the chambersof the Prakasam District Collector, did the statesit up and take notice. One of the six whoattempted suicide died. His sacrifice andmemory continues to inspire the struggle. Thestruggle itself is a constant reminder to us that alllaws in this country beneficial to the poor havecome after prolonged battles and by the samelogic they will be implemented only if one isprepared to continue the battle on.

5.1.1 Land appropriation by dalits

The land under dispute measures 99 acres and36 cents in Survey Numbers 122/10 and 122/12. It is situated at Mamidipalem village, hardlytwo kilometres from Ongole off the GoldenQuadrilateral bye-pass, the symbol of the “IndiaShining” campaign. The land is recorded as“Vagu Poramboke”. The present struggle is toget the D.K. pattas for this land for whichprovisional pattas were assigned to 60 landlessdalit families of Vengamukkalaplem in 1984 asthey had been tilling that land since 1940s.

5.1.2 Grand of provisional pattas

The adjoining land owners belonging to dominantReddy community perceiving this as an affront

had been obstructing the dalits from cultivatingthe land from the very beginning itself. An attemptwas made on the life of Nathala PattabhiRamayya who was the leader of the struggle.He was severely beaten up and left to die. Hehad a miraculous survival and the strugglecontinued. Since then the Dalits had beenapproaching the Revenue authorities for assigningthe said land to them. Ultimately on 25/11/1970,the Revenue authorities granted provisional pattasto them for the entire land in Survey Number122/10 and 122/12. 31 individuals wereprovisionally granted pattas in S. No. 122/12to an extent of Ac. 52-02 cents (The total extentof the land in S. No. 122/12 is 57.94 cents).Provisional assignment was also made in favourof 38 individuals in S. No. 122/10 to an extentof 47 acres and 34 cents (The total extent of theland in S. No. 122/10 is 45 acres and 04 cents).The difference in the extent is due to theduplication of a beneficiary’s name to an extentof 2 acres and 30 cents. The land is classified as“Vagu Poramboke”. The particulars of theprovisional assignment are available in C.B. Dis.No. 30/85 and Rc. No. 3361/83 of the MandalRevenue Officer, Ongole.

Surprisingly some of the ryots belonging to theupper castes who were occupying another pieceof land adjoining these lands were assigned DKpattas, where as the Dalits were granted onlyprovisional pattas. This stands as a starktestimony to the bias of the local authorities infavour of the socially and economically powerfulsections of the society. The possession of Dalitsover the land and their cultivation was recordedin the adangal. Land revenue was also collectedfrom them for the cultivation of the land. It


appears that till the year 1996 land revenue wascollected and their possession was entered inthe concerned records.

5.1.3 Initial attempts to displace the Dalits

Although the landlords had been obstructing thedalits from cultivating the land the first attemptsto dispossess the dalits of their land was madeonly in the year 1988. By then the dalits hadstarted growing cereals. Commercial crops liketobacco were also being raised. On the pretextof assigning the land for the landless poor, therevenue authorities made their move by makinga proposal for eventual conversion from “VaguPoramboke” to “Assessed Waste”. Conversionproposals were submitted to the RevenueDivisional Officer, Ongole, vide Tahasildar andOngole Rc. A713361/83 dated 09-04-1984.The Revenue Divisional officer, Ongole, in hisL.Ds 5224/84 dated 08-08-1984 returned theproposals to the Tahsildar, Ongole, with thedirection to resubmit proposals after lifting theban on the assignment of N.S.P lands. TheTahasildar (MRO) and his officers inspectedthese lands and submitted a report saying thatthe provisional patta holders were not inpossession of the land at the time of theinspection. But the fact was that the assigneeswere paying revenue tax on that land and thesame was also entered in the revenue records.The revenue authorities had not even tried tocheck the official records before concluding thatthe dalits were not in possession of the land.The MRO, Ongole, in his letter Rc. HA/2016/86, dated 04-11-1988, requested the RDO,Ongole to convert the entire land into a “villagesite” on the pretext that there were severalrepresentations from the public requesting house

sites in and around Ongole Town and that thiswas the only government poramboke landavailable in the vicinity of Ongole municipality.As a result, ignoring the long pending applicationof the dalits for the issue of DKT pattas for theirland, the Joint Collector of Ongole issued orders,vide Rc. B3/11455/88, dt. 31-12-1988, forconverting an extent of 139 acres 28 cents ofland in S. No.122/6, 122/12 and 122/10 ofMamidipalem village from “Vagu Poramboke”to “Village Site Poramboke”. Some tokenhouse pattas were issued to a few poor peoplein the same year.

5.1.4 Seeking legal intervention -favourable order from the HighCourt?

When the revenue authorities issued thenotification that the land was being assigned infavour of some others, the dalits (Sri K. AppaRao and 28 others) approached the High courtof Andhra Pradesh and filed a writ petition, W.P.No. 1854/1989. The petition challenged theaction of the revenue authorities in attempting toassign the land to other persons ignoring thosewho were in actual possession and enjoymentof the same. The provisional beneficiaries hadneither been given notices nor had theirprovisional assignment been cancelled, theycontented. The High Court allowed the WritPetition and held the action of the revenueauthorities allotting house sites to others asarbitrary, illegal and against the principles ofnatural justice. The High court, however, alsoheld that the revenue officials would not bebarred from evicting the petitioners (the dalitsof Vengamukkalapalem) from the land afterconducting an enquiry in accordance with law.

113Chapter-V

5.1.5 Indifference of revenue departmentto court orders

Revenue authorities did not initiate any action inpursuance of the orders of the High court. Tothis day notices have not been given to them asdirected by the court. Instead even after thedirection of the High Court, the revenueauthorities continued their attempt to help theland grabbers by assigning the lands periodicallyin their favour. House site pattas were grantedto 900 people from 1988-2003 in various spells.

On many occasions dalits resisted theoccupation of the land by others. In 2003 whenthe struggle for the protection of the land fromthe land grabbers was intensified by the dalits,the revenue authorities imposed prohibitoryorders under 145 Cr.P.C.

5.1.6 Direct action to reclaim land

When dalits realized that legal action was makingno headway and illegal occupation of their landswas continuing with the connivance of the officialsof the revenue department, they resorted tohunger strike before the office of the districtcollector demanding that the entire land be givento them, first by restoring their provisional pattaand thereafter by issuing permanent pattas. Therelay hunger strike continued for more than 45days. The concerned authorities did not initiateany action either of granting permanent pattasor of preventing further illegal encroachments ofthe land. Emboldened by the inaction of therevenue authorities, the village sarpanch, Mr.Linga Reddy, intensified the illegal encroachmentof the land. The dalits again approached thedistrict collector to apprise her of the hecticoperations being carried out by the landgrabbers. Not only was the collector indifferent

to their representation but was also callous totheir desperate threat of attempting suicide.Unable to bear the rebuff and insult they carriedout their threat by consuming pesticide right infront of the collector’s chamber on 19th July2004. Timely intervention by friends saved thelives of five youth. The sixth, NathalaHanumantha Rao died. By a cruel coincidencethe one who died was the grandson of NathalaPattabi Ramaiah who survived the attempt onhis life in the early years of the struggle.Hanumantha Rao’s sacrifice was not in vain; thestruggle continues to this day, just as the strugglecontinued even after the attempt on the life ofPattabi Ramaiah.

5.1.7 Other significant developments inthe struggle

5.1.7.1 Response of State SC/STCommission

When the Revenue authorities converted the landinto village site for provision of house sites toothers instead of granting D.K. pattas to themSri Dasari Seetharamulu S/o Kotaiah and fiveothers of Vengamukkalapalem village of Ongolemandal petitioned the Justice Punnaiah, SC/ STCommission, Hyderabad. He visited the villageon 24th June 2004 and after a thorough inquiryinto the details of the case recommended thecancellation of all pattas given from 1988 to2003 and restoration of land to the originalassignees. The Three Member Committee(TMC) constituted by the District Collectorunder the chairmanship of the Joint Collector,Ongole with R.D.O, Ongole and ProjectDirector, DWMA, Ongole was asked to enquireinto the eligibility of each beneficiary and the statusof the original assignments. TMC came out withthe following conclusions and recommendations:


The land situated in the S.Nos. 122/10 and 122/12 was given to the Dalits of Vegumukkapalemby way of provisional pattas in the year 1970.Since the land which the agitators are claiminghad already been assigned as house sites oralienated for Public purposes and to A.P. PoliceHouse Building Society the following alternativescould be considered.

A) An extent of Ac. 10-00 of land can beprovided to the agitators in proportion to whatthey were originally and provisionally assignedas

a) Ac. 5-00 in S.No. 122/10 which wasgranted for house sites and keptvacant on ground as on today and

b) Ac. 5-00 in S.No. 122/12 which wasgranted for house sites and which iskept vacant on ground as the housesite pattadars have not occupied thesites. And for this purpose, house sitepattas granted earlier be cancelledafter following due procedure as perLaw.

B) An extent of Ac. 29-92 cents in S.No.122/10 which was assigned to the A.R. Policecan be taken back and allotted to the agitators

OR

C) Since the legal hurdles like issue ofnotices, cancellation of pattas, cancellation ofalienations are involved in alternatives of Aand B, wet land by way of purchasing of landunder purchase scheme can be allotted.

A Fact Finding Committee consisting of(1) Sri Bojja Tharakam, President, RepublicanParty of India; (2) Sri M. Kodanda Ram,Associate Professor, Osmania University;

(3) Sri J. John Wesley, State Secretary of KulaNirmulana Porata Samiti and (4) Dr. SDJMPrasad, Director, Sakshi set up by leaders ofmass movements. They visited the place andconducted their enquiry on 25th July 2004. Thesewere their conclusions and recommendations:

5.1.7.2 Commission Recommendations

The lands situated in the S.Nos. 122/10 and 122/12 had been assigned to dalits ofVegumukkapalem by way of provisional pattasin the year 1970. Since then they have been inpossession of the said land and had beencontinually paying revenue taxes for the same.These lands shall be totally restored in theirfavour and final pattas be given to them.

Apart from the above the FFC committeerecommended the following:

1. Action be initiated against the concernedauthorities who made assignments defyingthe prohibitory directions of the High court.

2. Action shall also be taken against thesarpanch who instigated illegalencroachments of the land and held outthreats and committed other violations ofcivil rights of the Dalits.

3. Further encroachments over the land shallbe immediately stopped.

4. All the assistance announced by the Districtauthorities for the family of the deceasedshall be immediately provided.

Movement leaders met the Chief MinisterRajasekhar Reddy in his chambers soon afterthe suicide attempt and apprised him of thesituation. Responding to their representation andto the discussions which followed in the

115Chapter-V

assembly, a one man commission of Sri T. K.Dewan, IAS (1969), Special Chief Secretaryto Government Housing Department, was askedto go into the matter and report within a fortnight.Despite the passing of three years his report hasnot been tabled in the assembly.

While Vengamukkalapalem Dalits’ long wait forjustice continues those who attempted suicideand those who stood by the aggrieved weresentenced to imprisonment by the PrincipalAssistant Sessions Court. They had been earlierbooked on 19/07/2004 vide Cr.No.112/2004under sections 309 and 109. This sentence waslater set aside by the Additional District SessionsCourt on 04th May 2007. Some consolation yes,sufficient enough continue the struggle.

Analysis of Assembly Proceedings

We made attempts to match case studieswith discussions in the State Assemblyregarding the same. As the case studies takenup were long pending ones this exercise didnot yield the desired results to the extent thatwe had hoped for. It was difficult to narrowthe cases down to a particular point in timewhere it would have found mention in theAssembly through the elected representativesof the places concerned. But the generaltrend we noticed is that cases get referredto in the assembly only when there is anaccompanying extreme violence on the dalitswho stake their claim on land.

A case in point is this case we have dealtwith now. The struggle as mentioned earlierhad gone on for 40 years, from 1996 in amore concerted manner. Prior to the secondsuicide attempt in which NathalaHanumantha Rao died there was an earlier

attempt at self immolation by the same youth.It found mention in the assembly throughMr.Kishen Reddy, BJP MLA from far awayHyderabad and not through therepresentative from the constituency of theaggrieved.

The second attempt too figured in theassembly proceedings1 the day after thetragedy. It had by then caught the nation’sattention. The elected representatives fromthe area began a blame game and did notseem intent on finding a solution to theproblem. Instead the proceedings have itsabundant measure of tall claims and rhetoric,rationalization by the people’srepresentatives of Ongole and surroundings,support from sympathetic members,promises to do justice to the victims by theHonourable Home Minister K. Jana Reddy.The submission by the minister is detailed,clear and reflects his complete understandingof the case. Yet it lacks the commitment todo what must be done while manifesting areadiness to do what is just expedient andbuffer it with welfare measures.

To this day the promises made to find asolution to the alienation of the land onceassigned to the dalits of Vengamukkapalelmhave not been honoured.

1 Full text of Assembly proceedings regardingthe suicide attempt of Ongole youth and thedeath of N.Hanumantha Rao. Annexure I.

117Chapter-V

Profile of Kapileswarapuram

Household size 4.0


P M FPopulation - Total 11,793 5,917 5,876 Sex Ratio (females per 1000 males) 993

Population - Rural 11,793 5,917 5,876 Sex Ratio (0-6 Years) 1011


Population (0-6) 1,506 749 757 Sex Ratio (ST) 1214

P M FSC Population 2,477 1,285 1,192 Proportion of SC population (%) 21.0 21.7 20.3


Number of literates 6,441 3,381 3,060 Literacy Rate (%) 62.6 65.4 59.8

Number of illiterates 5,352 2,536 2,816 Illiteracy Rate (%) 52.0 49.1 55.0

Total workers 4,749 3,474 1,320 Work Participation Rate (%) 40.7 58.7 22.5

Main workers 4,025 3,286 739 Proportion of Main Workers (%) 34.1 55.5 12.6


Non workers 6,999 2,443 5,556 Proportion of Non Workers (%) 59.3 41.3 77.5


Agricultural labourers 3,170 2,102 1,068 Proportion of agricultural labourers 66.1 60.5 80.9to total workers (%)


Other workers 1,109 899 210 Percentage of Other 23.1 25.9 15.9workers to total workers (%)


Village : Kedarlanka(Hamlet of KapileswarapuramRevenue Village)

Sub-District : Kapileswarapuram

District : East Godavari



Case Study II

5.2 Land Struggle in Kedarlanka,Kapileswaram Mandal

Ms.Badda Jayalakshmi is the one of the activemembers of Kedarlanka village sangha formedby People’s Action For Rural Awakening(PARA), Ravulapalem. Their village sangha waspart to the DBSU, the dalit agriculturallabourers’ trade union that had been set up withefforts of NGOs committed to the dalit cause.In a training session related to land alienationshe brought to the notice of the union leadersthat 12 members of the village had lostpossession of lands once assigned to them.Mr.Inavarappu Surinarayana’s – the then districtunion secretary – efforts brought to light thefollowing interesting facts through a verycircuitous route. Inquiries by the staff of PARAled them first to the case details of Writ Petition(Civil/Crl.) NO. (6) 1333/87 Kolla VenkiahPetitioner (s) State of Andhra Pradesh & AnotherRespondent (s). Kolla Venkiah a veteranCommunist leader had taken up the issue of landceiling at the highest level and the details of thatcase gave us an understanding how the loss ofland of the 12 from this little hamlet was part ofa very large litigation involving more that 116Special Leave Petitions disposed of in 1990 bythe Supreme Court. These 116 Special LeavePetitions (SLP) involved an extent of over10,000 acres of ceiling lands across the variousparts of Andhra Pradesh. The SPL invalidatedthe High Court judgement that bestowed validity

to “plain paper” sale deeds done in order tocircumvent the retrospective provisions of theLand Ceiling Act.

In the case relating to Kedarlanka the land inquestion had belonged to the erstwhile Zamindarand later Education Minister in RajagopalachariMinistry in 1952, Mr. SBP Pattabi Ramaiah andhis brothers.

This was but one part 897.72 of the ceiling landthat was to be taken over under Land CeilingAct of 1973. The Act was being implementedin 1975 with retrospective effect from January24th 1971.To circumvent the law SBP PattbiRamaiah alienated the following extents of landon the dates noted below:

1. 16th December 1971 486.99 acres



All these alienations were made by back datedsale deeds knowing well in advance that whenthe law would take effect it would be withretrospective effect. But he had not calculatedfor the actual period of retrospective effect thelaw would provide. Thus as all these sales wereeffected after 24th Jan. 1971 they were declaredillegal and his lands were declared excess landsunder the relevant provisions of the Land CeilingAct by the Land Tribunal, Rajahmundry. Onreview by the same Tribunal the land was againdeclared under Land Ceiling Act. In Civil appealNo. 1346 of 1976 decided on March 5th 1982Supreme court set aside the order by the High

119Chapter-V

Court which had earlier declared as valid unregistered sale of lands on plain paper in CRP 743 of1976 dated on 17-9-1976. Only SBP Rama Mohan Rao’s ceiling land 68 acres 38 cents wasdistributed to 140 persons (SC. 73, BC. 47, OC 20) out of 897.72 acres. The 12 members ofKedarlanka belonged to this group of 140 persons. These details emerged as the union wasinvestigating the alienation of the lands given to the 12 dalits from Kedarlanka.

More interesting details continued to emerge. The State is yet to take over the remaining landsdeclared so by the relevant tribunals for distribution for landless poor. The union was able to get thedetails of the case nos. under Land Ceiling Act concerning the members of erstwhile Zamindarfamily:

LCC No. 69/75 SBP Madan Mohan

LCC No. 71/75 SBP Chalapathi Rao

LCC No. 72/75 SBP Sarvarayulu

LCC No. 73/75 SBP Rama Mohan Rao

LCC No. 74/75 SBP Pattabi Ramaiah

LCC No. 205/75 SBP Rama Mohan Rao

LCC No. 97/75. SPBK Satyanarayana Rao

The union’s intervention also unearthed other useful information. On September 7th, 1949 ZamindariAbolition Act had declared that all government banjar lands and lanka lands under occupation ofzamindars had to be taken over by government for distribution for landless poor. In the year 1956the supplemental survey was conducted. The MRO Kapileswarapuram reported that the landmeasuring acres 818-92 cents of Bollanka – which is government land – stood registered in thename of Sri SBPK Pattabiramarao and his family members (Ex Jamindar) and others. This extentof land situated as an island being a shifting mass was lost in the recurring Godavari floods. Afterseveral years the land accreted. The Zamindar’s family laid claim to it.

On coming to know the legal status of the land Arjuna Field Labour Co-operative Society(Scheduled Caste Society), Kedarlanka occupied a major portion of the Bollanka land. The struggleis on for getting pattas for the land under occupation of Arjuna Field Labour Society and also forrestoration of the land lost by 12 members of the AFLCS of Kedarlanka.


SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

(FOR PREL. HEARING)

WRIT PETITION (CIVIL/CRL.) NO. (6) 1333/87

Kolla Venkiah Petitioner (s)

State of Andhra Pradesh & Another Respondent (s)

(With Officer Report)

Date : 8-7-91 This/ these petition (s) was/were called on for hearing today.

Hon’ble the Chief Justice of India

Hon’ble Mr. Justice P.B. Sawant

For the petitioner (s) : Mr. V. Shekhar, Adv.

For the respondents (s) : Mr. TVSN Chari, Adv.

UPON hearing counsel the Court made the following

ORDER

Civil Appeal No. 3388 of 1984 has, in the meantime, been disposed of the by the

Constitution Bench a judgement dated March 29, 1990 (Yedida Chakradhararao (dead)

through L.rs. Vs. State of Andhra Pradesh - 1990(2) SCR 220.

The net effect of the decision is that the claim of the petitioner has to be accepted and,

therefore, we direct that the State of Andhra Pradesh respondent before us and its

officers shall effective steps to implement the enforcement of the Andhra Pradesh Land

Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973 and every officer before whom

proceedings are pending should immediately dispose of such proceedings keeping in

view the decision of this Court and implement the Statute in an effective way. The writ

petition is disposed of.

(I.L. DHINGRA) (P.K. BAJAJ) Court Master Court Master

121Chapter-V

Household size 5.0













Non workers 695 327 368 Proportion of Non Workers (%) 41.3 37.5 45.5






Village : Kappapahad

SubDistrict : Ibrahimpatnam

District : Rangareddi


Profile of Kappapahad


Case Study III

5.3 Land Struggles in Kappapahad VillageThis case study revolves around the strugglelandless labourers from SC and BC communityof undertook to gain possession of landsdeclared as ceiling surplus. Kappapahad islocated in Ibrahimpatnam of Rangareddi district.Pattawari Buchi Reddy alias Sudharshan Reddy,a resident of Kappapahad, registered his 99.16acres of land in the name of his relatives ofTugarthi Mandal (survey no. 120, 121, 177,178, 179, 210, 197, 206, 207, 253 and 254)and wanted to circumvent the Land Ceiling Actof 1973. In 1987-88 the village people, however,identified it as ceiling surplus land. The strugglefor this land started in the name of ‘VyavasayaCooli Sangam’, under the leadership of GeetaRamaswamy. The struggle continues to this dayas the just demands of the dalits have not beenmet.

The author has collected the data regarding thisissue from Merupula Janghaiah who participatedin this struggle. The landless people who weremostly SCs, STs and BCs, altogether fifty innumber, occupied this land and started tocultivate it from 1985-86. In retaliation, thedominant caste people burnt the hut of JangariBuggaiah, the leader of the struggle, and cut offone of his hands. Conniving with the police falsecases were registered on those who participatedin the struggle for the ceiling lands. Despiteconstant threat by the land lords and harassmentby the police the landless agricultural labourerswere bold enough to hold on to the ceiling lands.The Munsif, District and High courts gave ordersfavourable to the landless agricultural labourers.Sudharshan Reddy moved the Supreme Courtand obtained a stay order in his favour.

But with the support of Dalit organizations likeDBSU, DBF and NCDHR in a direct actioninitiative the villagers organized themselves againand occupied 96 acres of the land and startedto cultivate the land from 16th of October, 2003.Sudharshan Reddy offered a compromisesolution of surrendering 40 acres of the land.The villagers refused the compromise solutionand the struggle is on to take possession of theentire extent of land that rightfully ought to accrueto them under the provisions of the Land CeilingAct of 1973.

Apart from legal action that took the case rightup to the Supreme Court and direct action underthe auspices of the Dalit Bahujan Shramik Union,concerted advocacy and lobbying efforts werealso made. The people on several occasionsinteracted both with ruling party people’srepresentatives and also opposition partymembers. This effort took them to the chiefminister’s chambers of both Telugu Desam andCongress governments.

As of now despite the indifferent attitude of bothpolitical leaders and administrative officers theyare in possession of 46 acres of land. Since 1997they are cultivating this land and the struggle togain access to the remaining land continues witha great sense of determination.

123Chapter-V

Profile of Thaiyur Village

Household size 4.0






P M FSC Population 1,293 649 644 Proportion of SC population (%) 57.1 57.0 57.2


Number of literates 1,383 805 578 Literacy Rate (%) 70.9 82.6 59.1


Total workers 1,094 612 482 Work Participation Rate (%) 48.3 53.8 42.8



Non workers 1,170 526 644 Proportion of Non Workers (%) 51.7 46.2 57.2






Village : China Thayyur

Sub-District : Srirangarajapuram

District : Chittoor



Case Study IV

5.4. Thaiyur Land Issue - Chittoor District

In 1970, Fifty-one Dalit (Scheduled Caste)families in Pedda Thaiyur village under ThaiyurPanchayat were given 47 acres of GovernmentAssessed waste land under schedule 52,Kanikapuram. Further, to protect the land andthe continued stake of the Dalits on the land, thestate also helped them to register the land as acooperative under the ‘Chittoor Joint FarmingSociety’ (CJFS).

None of the Dalit families had owned any landprior to this despite being agricultural workersfor generations. It was the first time they ownedasset of any kind. Their lives had been spentaround working in the farms of the Reddylandlords, skinning and disposing dead animals,leather works, cleaning the village, carryingmessages of deaths, watching over the dead,beating the drums in all village festivals andoccasions. Getting a piece of land for themselveswas a novel experience, expanding their selfimage and sense of possibilities ahead. TheRevenue Divisional Officer who came to theirvillage to distribute the land title deeds to themwas none short of ‘his highness’ to them.

5.4.1 Reddy landlords lay claim to govt.lands assigned to Dalits

When the government surveyor came to measureout the land and distribute it to the 51 families,the Reddy landlords from Kanikapuram villageobstructed the measuring claiming that the landbelonged to them and the state cannot distributeit to the Dalits. The local karnam (villageaccountant) had played a major role in informingthe landlords about the proposed distribution ofland to Dalits. The Dalits were confused,

nevertheless decided to pursue their right bygetting further information on the issue.

Dalit elders – Thangavelu, Buddaiah, Jadaiahand others met with a Dalit leader in Chittoortown and also engaged a lawyer. It was foundthat the Dalits were given the land under the‘eksaal patta’ which is one of the ways ofassignment where the assignment is made forone year and further renewed.

5.4.2 Dalits did not figure in the courtprocedures

As the Government surveyor was preventedfrom doing his duty in distributing the land, thestate filed a complaint against the landlords inthe district court. The landlords provided falsedocuments to say that the land belonged to themciting survey numbers of their lands adjacent tothe said land.

During the period from 1970 to 1986, the Dalitsdid not come anywhere in the court proceedings.The case was filed by the state against thelandlords and the public prosecutor dealt withit. However it is seen that the state did notprotect its own jurisdiction on the land or protectthe rights of the Dalits to whom the land wasassigned. Despite the fact that the state hadrecognised the piece of land as ‘assessed waste’(banjar) land under its authority, they did nottake sufficient care to prove the same, whichcould have been easily done by them. The Dalitshad engaged a lawyer on their own to attendthe court on their behalf, bearing all theexpenditure for the lawyer’s fee as well as theirmany trips to the court hearings. The case wasshifted to the court at Tirupathi.

125Chapter-V

5.4.3 Court rules in favour of thelandlords

On 29th Jan. 1986, despite all the efforts of theDalits, the court gave a judgement in the favourof the Reddy landlords, allowing them tocultivate the land till any further orders from theSettlement Court regarding the status of the land.The court further issued orders prohibiting theDalits from entering the land. (OS. 134/78).

5.4.4 Dalits decide to implead in the case

In the meanwhile in all government records theland continued to be government banjar land andthe SC Corporation sanctioned an Irrigation borewell for the land. When the staff of the IrrigationDepartment came to mark the site for the borewell, the landlords again objected. All this while,the Dalits had been watching the landlordscultivating the land while they themselves had tofight the case from the outside.

The Dalits resenting the judgement in favour ofthe landlords, decided to fight the case on theground now. They were supported by a localNGO Prajwala Sangham that began their workin the district. Many efforts were made to gointo the land and plough it, standing crops werecut. A full fledged fight broke out and many Dalityouth and women were injured. The Dalits nowfiled a complaint against the landlords under theSC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. Thejudgment awarding jail or fine to the landlordswas a big victory to the Dalits. The landlords ofcourse paid the fine and got out.

The landlords were angry and ordered a socialboycott on the Dalits, preventing theiremployment in all the 18 villages in the periphery.This was a period of intense hardships, wherefamilies migrated to different parts of the state.

In 1987, Dalits were able to implead as thirdparty petitioners in the Settlement court inNellore with the help of Sri Balakrishna Reddy,a pro-poor lawyer. This gave them theopportunity to legally represent themselves.After some proceedings when the settlementcourt was wound up, the case was forwardedto the Joint Collector at Chittoor. After mucheffort to verify the classification of the land (whichwas the main basis for the landlord’spossession), the joint collector judged that theland belonged to the government and thegovernment has the authority to assign it tolandless poor. (RP No. 52/97 of F1dt.7.3.2001)

5.4.5 From 2001 to 2007

Having lost the case before the Joint Collectorin the district, the landlords filed the case in theCommissioner for Land Revenue (CLR) atHyderabad in 2001. For three years, the casewent on at Hyderabad and in 2004, the casewas referred back to the district again. Thefinding of the Commissioner was also that theland was government owned ‘assessed waste’land and can be assigned by the state to eligiblepeople. Further to this, the district Collector hasreferred the matter to the Mandal RevenueOfficer (MRO) to give pattas to the Dalits anddistribute the land. The MRO however isdelaying the process saying that she has to getsome more papers from the CLR related to thefinal judgement.

5.4.6 To conclude

The land today is in the possession of the Dalitsand they are cultivating it during the rainy season.Many of those who began the struggle in 1970are not alive today. Their children have continuedthe struggle. Yet another generation is born inthe village. The struggle has not been easy. For


Profile of Meerkhanpet Village

Household size 5.0








Number of literates 1,734 1,148 586 Literacy Rate (%) 50.6 65.3 35.2

Number of illiterates 2,299 935 1,364 Illiteracy Rate (%) 67.1 53.2 81.8





Cultivators 1,022 576 446 Proportion of cultivators 44.2 44.9 43.4to total workers (%)





Village : Meerkhanpet

Sub-District : Kandukur



127Chapter-V

such a long drawn out struggle, the cost has beenhigh. The community had to manage manyconflicts related and unrelated to land in thevillage. They had to overcome many divisiveplans of the landlords, pressure of the police,neglect from the administration and many others.The number of families has grown from 51 tomore than 80 today. After 37 long years, eachfamily in the village today has ownership of theland, but are yet to get their title deeds.

Case Study V

5.5 Land Struggle in Meerkhanpet VillageTwenty years and running is the saga of thestruggle by the Dalit Bahujans of Meerkhanpetvillage, Kandukur Manadal, RangaReddyDistrict. Theirs is a struggle for obtaining “patta’for the government land which they have beentilling since 1983.

This village is 35 Kms from Hyderabad, thecapital of Andhra Pradesh. In order tounderstand the history of this struggle, we madeenquiries of some villagers who were part of thisstruggle from the beginning. We have thisnarration in the words of Dubaka Pentaiah (56)

“Around twenty years back (1983), we, theSC’s BC’s and construction workers ofMeerkhanpet and the poor and landless of theBegari Kanche village decided to cultivate 200acres of land under the survey no. 120/1 in thevillage of Meerkhanpet. At first we thought thatthis land belonged to the temple, but later wefound that it was government Poramboke land.Initially, the leaders of the Communist party hadmade us aware of our rights, explained to us thevarious Land Reforms measures initiated by thestate and thus motivated us to initiate the struggle.

In 1986, with support from Ms. GeethaRamaswamy, the President of AgriculturalLabour Association (Vyavasaya CoolieSangam), about two hundred of us, all landlesspoor, mostly from dalit bahujan castes, brokedown confining fences and cleared the shrubsand useless undergrowth in preparation for tillingthe land. The upper caste landlords, B.VittalReddy S/o Bhoopal Reddy, B.Sripathi ReddyS/o Bhoopal Reddy, and B. Malla Reddy S/oBhoopal Reddy, who had illegally claimedownership of the said land attacked us with thesupport of their community people. This led toa stand off between Dalits and the upper castepeople. Instigated by the rich and politicallyinfluential upper caste landlords the police fileda case against us under section 307. In all 56 ofus were implicated in the case. Five of those 56are now dead. When we applied for bail wewere granted conditional bail. We were askednot to step into the village for three months. Inthose three months, we lived a most miserablelife. No food to eat, no work and, no place tostay. At the expiry of the three months, around96 of us (60 SC’s, 36 BC’s) again began to tillthe same land.”

“When we started farming that Poramboke land,the upper caste landlords, bribed the M.R.Oand got the documents of that land written intheir names. We resorted to protest in front ofthe Mandal Office, R.D.O’s office andCollector’s office. Finally in 1998, the DistrictCollector appointed a committee to look intothe matter. After the enquiry, we were vindicatedas the collector declared the land as governmentland. In 1986 itself, we had applied for grant ofpattas as we were in possession of the land. Butthe revenue authorities at the mandal level had


seen to it that there would be neither evidenceof our pending application nor of our being inpossession of the land.”

As per Land Reforms Act, the 200 acresPoramboke Government land should have beenassigned to the 96 people who had been notonly in physical possession but also cultivatingthe same. They had been knocking at the doorsof officialdom since 1986. Many times since1986, the landless poor had submittedapplications to the Mandal Revenue Office,conducted Dharnas and Rastarokos in front ofthe same office. As there was no positiveresponse and justice was denied to them, theypetitioned the High court. Responding to thepetition in 1989 the High Court gave a stay onthe decision of the mandal officer in favour ofthe landlords (W.P.No. 11515/89). On 11-12-1995, the office of the Joint Collector, RangaReddy District stated that the land transfer-facilitated by the MRO - was illegal and gave aJC.O (No. B1/2003/91 dated 11-12-1995)

Despite the orders issued by the State high court,District Joint Collector and Collector to distributethe land to the Dalits and landless poor, till nowthe land has not been legally transferred to thepetitioners. This has not prevented them fromasserting their right over the land. With supportfrom mass organizations they are continuing theirefforts to legalize their right over the land.

Case Study VI

5.6 Land Struggle in Tadiparti VillageThis study highlights the nexus between dominantcaste people who occupy government assignedlands and get them registered for themselves inconnivance with corrupt government officialswho do it for a consideration. It is this nexus that

The order of the Joint Collectorregarding Meerkhanpet Landproblem

“As per the sethwar of Meerkhanpetvillage, the land bearing S.No. 120 Ext.Ac. 673-6.36 gts, is governmentPorambok kanchaland.

The then thasildar, Maheswaram hassanctioned mutation irregularly in respectof the land in S.No. 120/1 extentAc. 200.00. Since it was irregularmutation, a show cause notice u/s.166-B of L.R. Act has been issued videno. b3/13738/87, dt 4-7-88 forcancellation of mutation. While thematter was under enquiry the respondentobtained stay orders from the Hon’bleHigh court in W.P.No. 11515/89. Thusthe mater was subjudice.

Sri M. Pochaiah and others, Narsimha,Rachaiah, Bikshapati S/o Jangaiah fileda claim petition in form NO. X beforethe Mandal Revenue Officer under theprovision of A.P.ROR Act for validationof the sale document executed by Smt.Challamma w/o Bhoopal Reddy for anextent of Ac 113 in Sy. No. 120/1. Theland in question is Government land andthe vendor has absolutely no right overthe property. The Mandal Revenueofficer without examining the revenuerecords passed orders beyond hisjurisdiction. Therefore the orders of theMandal Revenue Officer are set aside.”

129Chapter-V

Household size 5.0









Number of illiterates 1,061 434 627 Illiteracy Rate (%) 69.1 54.2 85.4










Profile of Tadiparti Village

Village : Thatiparthy

Sub-District : Yacharam




in most cases deny rightful share of land to dalits.

Tadipatri village is located in Machavarammandal in the district of Ranga Reddy, AP. TheGovernment gave 14 acres of ceiling land inS.No.155 to 14 landless agricultural labourersbelonging mostly to the SC, ST, and BCs. These14 acres of land is located beside the lands ofBokka Srinivasa Reddy and Lakshmi Reddy,who are from upper caste community. Prior tothe allocation of the said land to landless peoplethese land lords have been illegally cultivatingthe 14 acres of land.

Bokka Srinivasa Reddy and Lakshmi Reddydid not allow the assignees to cultivate theassigned land even though the ceiling lands werelegally assigned to them. As a result, theassignees threatened by dire consequence bythe land lords and with no support from theofficials did not dare to cultivate the landsassigned to them. Their interaction with Dalitorganizations involved in land rights issues,particularly Dalit Bahujan Shramik Union gavethem the necessary courage to claim their rightover the land. The land lords with the supportof other dominant caste people forcefullyharvested the produce. The issue is nowsubjudice and the revenue officials have anexcuse for not going ahead with necessary actionfrom their side. But taking support from DBSUthe people of Thatiparti on April 14th 2007,Ambedkar’s Jayanti re-entered the land andstaked their claim to the same.

Case Study VII

5.7 Land Struggle in Avulapalli Village

A 1000 acre plot of land in S.N. 6, ofDevalakuppam of Avulapalli village, Somalamandal was donated by one Janab SyedHuyssain (who had been given this land by thePunganur Zamindar in lieu of non-payment of aloan taken by the latter) to the Bhoodan YagnaBoard. After nearly a decade the BhoodanYagna Board woke up to the task and theAndhra Pradesh state government made agazette publication on 16-9-1971 under theAndhra Pradesh Bhoodan and Gramdan Act,1965 (Andhra Pradesh Act XIII of 1965) underwhich all persons interested in the lands wererequested to file their objections if any in writingto the Andhra Pradesh Bhoodan Yagna Boardwithin two months from the date of publicationof the said notice. “A second and final notificationwas published on 2-10-1975. But even afterthat date no further action was initiated by theBhoodan Yagna Board to distribute this land tolandless poor of surrounding villages. 20 yearsafter the second gazette publication by the govt.of Andhra Pradesh, one Sri Syed Noor, a sonof the original donor Sri Janab Syed Hussain,filed a writ petition in the high courtW.P.No.023767/95 requesting for earlydistribution of the land to landless poor and alsoto include him and a few other family membersin the list of landless poor beneficiaries.

In the year 1996 getting to know of the Bhoodanland and other such land in the area thePunganur Taluka Bhooporata Committeewas formed by local social workers KullaiRamanaz of Charala village of Chowdepallemandal, Sri M. Ramulu of Ambedkar Rural

131Chapter-V

Profile of Avulaplli Village

Village : Avulapalle

Sub-District : Somala

District : Chittoor


Household size 4.0








Number of literates 1,793 1,080 713 Literacy Rate (%) 57.1 70.0 44.7

Number of illiterates 1,843 716 1,127 Illiteracy Rate (%) 58.7 46.4 70.6






Agricultural labourers 1,074 509 565 Proportion of agricultural labourers 49.6 44.0 55.9to total workers (%)





Development Society, Rayalpeta, Peddapanjanimandal and a few others. They conductedPadayatras in the area and mobilized the locallandless poor and petitioned and correspondedwith the Bhoodan Yagna Board at Hyderabad.They were informed that a case was pending inthe court and till such time as it is disposed offthe land could not be distributed. Interestinglythe case was all about early distribution of theland to the landless poor. As the land was meantfinally to be distributed to the poor and fearingsome bigwigs/ middle men would knock awaythe land (monetary offers – one such offer wasto the tune of Rs.3 lakhs - were being made tothe office bearers of the Punganur TalukaBhooporata Committee to drop the issue) in mid1996 the Bhooporata Committee led by the locallandless poor tried to occupy the Bhoodan landand clear the bushes. It was then that the forestDepartment personnel entered the scene andobjected to the clearing saying that it wasreserved forest and not revenue land. TheBhooporata Committee then approached theRevenue officials. The M. R. O. insisted that itwas Revenue land. The Forest departmentpersonnel refused to accept the M.R.O.’sclarification. The matter was referred to the Asst.director, survey and settlement, Chittor, whovisited the site along with the Additional DistrictForest officer and other personnel of revenueand forest departments on 21-3-1997. Afterexamining the site and maps of both forest andrevenue departments she clarified that it wasclearly revenue land and asked the forestpersonnel to demarcate their boundary jointlywith the revenue surveyors after broadlyindicating the boundaries of the Bhoodan Landin S. No. 6 of Devalakuppam of Auvalapallivillage (corresponding to the earlier Paimashinumbers 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 & 38).

However the forest department personnel failedto do the demarcation of boundary. At the sametime they would not allow the poor people toclear the area and threatened them with arrests.

As the situation reached a stalemate, thePunganur Taluka Bhoopoorata Committeeappealed the Bhoo SamskaranalaKaryacharanodyamam a district wide federationof organizations fighting for the implementationof land reforms. On 15th August 1998, theNational flag was hoisted in the Bhoodan landin the presence of landless poor of nearly 32surrounding villages and representatives ofvarious mass organizations from all over Chittoordistrict. The forest range officer entered the areaalong with a large posse of forest personnel andpolice. The udyama (struggle) leaders and theBhoopoorata Committee leaders showed theGazette publication copy to the Range officerand also reminded him of the clarification givenby the Asst. Director of survey and settlementsand the M.R.O., Somala mandal. The Rangeofficer then requested the Committee membersnot to proceed with the action of clearing thebushes till the joint survey demarcating the forestand revenue boundaries was clarified. He askedfor 15 days time. The committee membersagreed and suspended the activities. However,the range officer and their personnel made someattempts to demarcate the boundary for twodays in September but seemed to haveabandoned the idea soon after. With no furtheraction forthcoming from the forest departmentofficials, the convener of theBhoosamskaranala Karyacharanodyamamwrote to the Divisional Forest Officer, WestDivision, Chittoor and also the Joint Collectorand the Asst Director of Survey and Settlementsat Chittoor and gave them a list of such lands

133Chapter-V

spread through out the district in some of whichcultivation and been going on for over 40 to 50years but which the forest department wasclaiming to be “reserved” and demanded earlyjoint inspection and demarcation of theboundary. Despite some efforts by the seniorofficials there was no movement on the field.Vexed with the state of affairs, over 250 landlesspoor of 32 surrounding villages under the bannerof the Punganur charanodyamam, supported bythe Bhoosamskaranala KaryacharanodyamamChittoor Dist, once again entered the Bhoodanland on 5-11-1997 and cleared the land ofbushes in an operation lasting 10 days. Whenforest officials objected they showed them thedocuments and reminded them of their earlierpromises and told them to demarcate thereserved forest. After repeated requests and ajoint appeal by the M.R.O. Somala and theRange officer, Punganur range the movementleaders’ once again suspended further activityon the Bhoodan land.

Once more an attempt was made by the forestdepartment officials to delineate their boundarybut once agin failed to include the Bhoodan land.The Udyamam leaders appealed to the JointCollector who visited Somala Mandal office onJune 1998 and sent the asst. director of surveyand settlement along with the sub D.F.O. andconcerned officials to the spot. While theAssistant Director of Survey and Settlementsinsisted that it was revenue land, the forestdepartment officials continued to insist that it wasreserved forest lands. The maps of the RevenueDepartment and the forest department were notto the same scale and hence the Asst. Directorof survey and settlements suggested that theyobtain revenue maps from the survey and

settlement officer at Hyderabad whichcorresponded to the scale of the mapspossessed by the forest department. The matterdragged on till January, 1999. The asst. directorwas transferred. It took the new asst. directortwo more months to visit the site. Once again hecomplained of lack of co-operation from theforest department to correctly demarcate theboundary. Given this stalemate and non-cooperation from the forest department thelandless poor of surrounding 32 villages enteredthe Bhoodan lands on 16-6-1999 and startedclearing the bushes. The forest personnel onceagain raised objections and threatened to arrestthe landless poor who then offered to courtarrest. The forest personnel then requested thecommittee members to suspend clearing ofbushes till the maps were obtained and boundaryfinally marked.

As per the directive principles of the constitutionand fundamental rights of the people toimplement land reforms and distribute land tothe landless poor it is the duty of the state toensure that the forest department personnel donot obstruct the peaceful possession andenjoyment of the Bhoodan land located inSurvey Nos. of Devalakuppam village ofAvulapalli by the landless poor led by thePunganur Taluka Bhooporata committee ofSomala Revenue Mandal, Chittoor Dist, till suchtime as the boundary between the revenue landsand the reserved forest lands in the area is clearlydemarcated. There is no reason why the poorshould be made to suffer for reasons of laxityand inefficiency on the part of the officialdom.

The issue is now in the High Court seekingdirections to the Forest Department.


Profile of Marellamadaka Village

Village : Marellamadaka

Sub-District : Chakrayapet

District : Cuddapah


Household size 4.0



















135Chapter-V

CASE: VIII:

5.8. Land Struggle in Marella MadakaVillage

For the last 20 years members belonging to thedalit community of Marella Madaka Village,Chakrayapet Mandal of Kadapa District havebeen on a struggle for restoration of the landswhich had been assigned to them. In the year1974 the A.P Government assigned 40 acresof land in Survey No. 375/3, 375/4, 441/1, 441/4, 460/2, 460/1, 460/4 460/5, 460/8, 460/9523/8, 523/12, 524/5, 524/7, 525/3, 525/4,525/5 to 12 landless Dalit people. From thenonwards they were cultivating the assigned landup to 1985. But in 1985, unfortunately theassignees’ houses were destroyed in anaccidental fire. Three of the assignees, namelyMusalaiah, Rathniyalu and Kadiriah approachedthe village sarpanch, Mr. Musal Reddy andborrowed some money (ranging from 1000-3000) to construct their houses. While lendingthe money the sarpanch had not stipulated anyconditions. After an year he asked them to repaythe money and some of them made partialpayments on demand. Due to their economicbackwardness they couldn’t repay the remainingsmall amount of money. He insisted that theyeither sell or lease their land to him. Finally theyagreed to lease out their land. The Sarpanchthen took their thumb impressions on blankstamp papers and told them that he wouldcultivate this land (10 acres) in lieu of the theiroutstanding debt. Since then he has beencultivating that land. Since 1986, due to droughtsituation prevailing in the area no assignees couldcultivate the land.

Taking advantages of this situation the Sarpanchslowly grabbed the neighbouring lands too and

ultimately all the 40 acres of assigned land cameinto his possession. Due to their social andeconomic backwardness, the assignees couldnot dare to oppose the sarpanch’s illegalactivities. From 1986 to 1988 the Sarpanch hadbeen in adverse possession of the land.Fortunately “Kadapa Zilla Dalita Vedika”extended their activities into this village and theyeducated the people regarding their land rights.With support of Dalita Vedika they began theirstruggle to reclaim their lands. Dalita Vedikahelped the people to submit memoranda to theMRO, RDO and J.C. Meanwhile they heldseveral protests in front of the MRO, RDO andJC offices. Enquiry by the MRO confirmed thatthose lands indeed were originally assigned tothe petitioners and the process of restoration oflands were set in motion. The sarpanch with thehelp of corrupt officials within the revenuedepartment created fake Patta Passbooks in hisfavour. The struggle continued till 2004 wherein a direct action led by Dalit Bahujan ShramikUnion and Dalita Vedika the original assigneesforcibly took over the land. Finally the JointCollector was forced to restore the lands to theoriginal assignees. The order excludes 3 acresas that extent is under adjudication by court.


Profile of Moravapalli Village

Village : Mungilipattukothapalle(Moravapalli is the hamlet ofMP kothapalle revenue village)

Sub-District : Chandragiri

District : Chittoor


Household size 4.0





Population (0-6) 259 129 130 Sex Ratio (ST) 1026P M F

SC Population 414 199 215 Proportion of SC population (%) 18.5 17.9 19.0


Number of literates 1,426 794 632 Literacy Rate (%) 72.0 81.0 63.2


Total workers 1,110 684 426 Work Participation Rate (%) 49.6 61.7 37.7









137Chapter-V

S. Survey Extent Name of Present heirNo. No. (in acres) Assignee1 771/1-4 2.84 Sangeetam S.Venkataswamy

Chennaiah2 772/4 1.95 Dandugan D.Gangulaiah

Yellaiah3 772/2 1.05 Sangeetam S.Kannaiah

Chengaiah4 772/3 1.58 Sangeetam S.Gangulaiah

772/6 1.55 Gangulaiah5 774/1 2.04 Sangeetam S.Siddaiah

PedaGuravaiah6 774/4 1.45 Sangeetam S.Doraswamy

Pedda Mogaiah7 775/1 2.99 Mallarupu M. Gangulaiah

GangulaiahGuardianNagamma

Case Study IX

5.9 Land Struggle in Moravalli VillageAn extent of 15.42 acres of land, in survey Nos771, 772 774 and 775 of Morvapalli Village,hamlet of Mungilapattu of Kothapalli Revenuevillage of Chandragri Mandal was granted asassigned to seven Dalit landless poor (Madigacommunity). The relevant documents wereissued by Thasildar, Chandragiri, dated27-8-1938, vide his order Rc 148/47 andissued DK pattas. The details of assignmentsare given below:

Source: Appeal No: MW 6938/03: E4/0545 dt 4-11-03 by Bhoosamskaranala Karyacharanodyamam,Chittor Dist, p : 2

The assignees cultivated the land up to 1969without any one hindering them. Unfortunatelyforced by severe economic problems theydeposited their pattas and affixed thumbimpressions on blank promissory notes in lieuof their respective borrowings. This happenedbetween the 1961-1980. During this period the

entire extent of assigned land changed hands fromreal assignees to the upper caste people (mostof the land to P. Krishnama Naidu andD.Doraswami Naidu Family). 2.96 acres were“sold” in 1969, 0.43 acres in 1974, 0.50 acresin 1976, 0.50 acres in 1977 January 4th, 1.14acres in 1977 April, 1.04 acres in 1978 and 2.93acres in 1989 respectively. The reason for eachof them to “sell” their assigned lands is aninteresting study.

5.9.1 Case - 1

An extent of 2.04 acres was originally assignedto Sangeetham Pedda Guraviah in S.No.774/1in 1938 by the then Tahsildar of ChandragiriTaluk. Guruviah owed an amount of Rs.1500/-to Paladugu Krishnamanaidu. In 1968Krishnamanaidu called Guruviah to his house andpressed for repayment of his loan amountimmediately. When the assignee, Guruviahexpressed his inability to do so, Krishnama Naiduforced him, to part with the 2.04 acres inS.No.774/1which was in his enjoyment.Guruviah was given to understand that he wasmortgaging his land to Krishnamanaidu till suchtime as he repays the loan amount to KrishnamaNaidu. Agreeing to the conditions, the assigneePedda Guruviah, his wife and son SangeethamSiddiah, all illiterate, affixed their thumbimpressions on the deed document assuming thatit was a mortgage deed. When after a few years,Siddiah saved Rs.1500/- and went toKrishnama Naidu to return the money andreclaim the land, the landlord dismissed himsaying that the land had been registered in hisname long ago on 21-7-1973 and on2 0 - 6 - 1968. As one can see the abovetransaction was not done in good faith and forvaluable consideration. The transaction should


attract action by the concerned authorities underSec.7 Sub. Sec. 7, Sub. Sec. 1 Andhra PradeshAssigned Lands (prohibition of transfers) Act,1977.

5.9.2 Case - 2

In the case of Mallarapu Gangulaiah S/oMallarapu Subbaiah who was a young orphanin 1969 under the guardianship of his auntNagamma, P. Krishnamanaidu, approached herto part with the lands under S.No.775/1 to anextent of 2.99 acres promising to look after thewelfare of the orphan boy and perform hismarriage as well if she were to part with the aboveland in his favour. He thus obtained Nagamma’sapproval and thumb impression on the registeredSale Deed No: 37, dt.29-1-1969. It is commonknowledge in the village of Moravapalli that allthat Nagamma got out of the bargain was a goatand the promised money for the sale never camethrough.

5.9.3 Case-3

The plots of land acquired from the originalassignors and/or their descendent in S.No.772/2 to an extent of 1.05 acres, S. No. 772/3 to anextent of 1.58 acres and in S. No. 772/6 to anextent of 1.55 acres from S.Nagiah, Erraiah,Chengaiah, S.Ganguliah and his sonSubramanyam, are through secondary sales,acquired by P. Krishnama Naidu. 1.95 aces inS.No.772/4 were in the possession of DanduYelliah, the original assignee. His wife fell ill in1962, so he borrowed some money from oneVolet Peddabba Naidu of Moravapallimortgaging the land. After two years when Yelliahwent to return the money taken as loan andreclaim his land, he was informed that it wasalready given in exchange to one Nellore Pardesi

Naidu. P. Krishnama Naidu acquired the aboveland from Pardesi Naidu. All the abovetransactions were of a similar nature resultingprimarily from money lending activities ofP.Krishnama Naidu and other farmers of thevillages who had earlier acquired these lands.

5.9.4 Case - 4

Enquiries from the village of Moravapalli, thenative place of Krishnama Naidu also confirmedthe money lending profession of P.KrishnamaNaidu. More than anything else, the deed ofmortgage executed by Nagiah alias PeddaMoogiah in favor of P.Krishnama Naidu inS.No.774/4 measuring an extent of 89 centsagainst a loan of Rs.1000/- together with interesttill such time as it is repaid on 2-4-1974 wassufficient proof for the same. So it was clearthat the transactions entered into by P.KrishnamaNaidu were not in good faith and for valuableconsideration. So he cannot seek protection ofSec. 3, Sub. Sec. 5 of the A.P. Assigned Lands(Prohibition of Transfers Act, 1977. On thecontrary, these transactions should attract actionby concerned authorities under Sec.7, SubSec.1 of the above Act.

5.9.5 Case - 5

The land in S.No.771/1-4 to an extent of 2.84acres was assigned to Sangeetham Changiahoriginally in 1938. Chengiah had borrowedRs.350/- from one Nagamma Naidu s/oY.Vengama Naidu of Moravapalli. WhenChengiah died, Nagamma Naidu, egged on byDevabhaktuni Doraswamy Naidu, demandedrepayment of his loan amount from the widowof Chengiah, Sangeetham Yellamma. When sheexpressed her inability to repay the loan heimmediately suggested that she part with 1.42

139Chapter-V

acres, which would accrue to her as her shareof the above property. Bowing to the pressure,Yellamma put her thumb impression on the saledeed papers along with her sonS.Venkataswamy. The above land was lateracquired by D. Doraswamy Naidu in the nameof his wife D. Kamalamma.

From the above narration of cases it is veryevident that the nature of these transactions,whether the land was alienated to P. KrishnamaNaidu who acquired 8.55 acres out of the 15.42acres assigned to the poor SCs of Moravapalli,or to other ryots, all follow a similar pattern. Dueto financial stress, the assignees or theirdescendents approach the wealthy ryots of thevillage for loans. Either immediately or later theassignee’s land is acquired by the creditor /loaner either as lease / mortgage or sale. Attimes the debtor / loanee/ assignee’s have beengiven to understand that he/she would get backthe land soon after repayment of the loan (whichis often a paltry amount.) The land oncealienated continues to be in the possession andenjoyment of the creditor/loaner/money-lender/well-to-do ryot, despite the passage of theAndhra Pradesh assigned lands (prohibition oftransfers) Act, 1977. It is thus very evident thatthe above transactions were not in good faithand for valuable consideration, a critical featureof Sec. 3 Sub.Sec. 5 of the Andhra Pradesh /Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers)Act,1977, for any such sale/alienation to be validfor transactions done prior to 21-1-1977.

As a matter of fact due to lack of awarenessabout these acts and their economic problemsthey sold their land. The assigned lands changedtwo or three hands finally and presently it existsin the hands of two dominant upper caste people

namely Krishnama Naidu and DoraswamiNaidu. These two persons cleverly bribed theThasildar and got the fake patta pass books on25-5-1977 (issued order L.Dis. No 8/ 43610).Fortunately “BhoosamskaranalaKaryacharanodayamam Committee” hadextended their activities into this village and hadeducated the people regarding their land rights.The assignees, who hadlost their lands, made their problems known tothis committee. With the support of theorganisation the original assignees appealed theMRO to do justice to them. After due enquiry,the MRO Chandragiri passed orders inhis proceedings Dt. 14-08-1996 in favour ofreal assignees and also delivered possession tothem on 16-08-96.

Aggrieved by the order of MRO, the uppercaste people have filed a Writ Petition inW.P.No.17845/96 before the Hon’bleHigh Court of A. P. Hyd. Meanwhile they alsoapproached the Tirupati Civil Court andobtained an “Exparte Permanent Injunction”against the descendents of the assignees fromentering the above land. With the support ofMROs order and BhoosamskaranalaKaryacharanodayamam Committee, thedescendents of the assignees entered into theland and ploughed them on 3-4-1996. With thisactivity the upper caste people - the sons ofDoraswamy Naidu and agents of KrishnamaNaidu - who were illegally enjoying this land,beat up these Dalits on 4-9-96 in front of theHeritage Factory at Kasipentla. The Dalits thenheld protests in front of the Police Station andfiled a case under PoA (Prevention of Atrocity1989), but later it was compromised with moneyand political power at primary level. Upto12-11-2002 the land possession was enjoyed


by the two upper caste people. On 12-11-2002the High Court disposed the W.P and directedthe petitioners to file appeal before the nextappellate authority, the RDO in Tirupati. TheRDO in turn confirmed the orders passed bythe MRO vide his proceedings D. D is G / 2594/ 02 dated 08-08-2003.

The petitioners have again filed a Writ Petitionin W. P. No 17827/2003 against the order ofRDO, Tirupati. The Hon’ble High Court in itsorder dt.25-09-2003 in W.P.No. 17827/2003,disposed off the Writ Petition filed by theappellants at the admission stage itself. The highcourt order is as follows:

The petitioners, P.Krishnama Naidu and fiveothers again filed an appeal petition before thejoint Collector, as per the directions of theHon’ble High Court. The case was taken on fileand notices were issued to both parties. The casewas posted for initial hearing on 6-11-2004 andunderwent several adjournments. The advocatefor the respondents filed memo on 29-10-2005

and advocate for the appellants filed writtenarguments on 27-12-2005. The case was finallyposted for hearing on 26-08-2006. The JC gavethe Judgment in favour of the real assignees andstated that restoration of the land in favour ofpurchasers cannot be considered.

Thus finally the descendents of the assignees gotthe land and since that date are cultivating theland without any problem.

Summing up

The case studies reveal to us how the poorgullible dalit agricultural labourers are dispossedof their lands and the tortuous route that theyhave to travel to get justice. The very systemsestablished to protect the interest of the poor,landless agricultural labourers especially, of thedalit community, become their biggest hurdle injusticing their rights. Every loop-hole of lawbecomes handy to the land grabbers to try andretain their ill gotten possessions with theconnivance of both police and the revenueofficials. It is small mercy that once in a whilethey find support from the courts and concernedofficials.

Lead by mass organisations and NGOscommitted to taking up land struggles the dalitagricultural labourers and other landless people

Order of the Joint Collector“I therefore hereby order that the orderspassed by MRO, Chandragiri inprogs.NO.A/152/96,dt.14-8-96 isappropriate and as per rules and henceI find no reason to interfere with theabove orders of MRO. Accordingly, therevision petition is dismissed”.

“Without expressing any opinion on thequestion raised by the counsel for thepetitioners, liberty is given to the petitionersto approach the revision authority within aperiod of two weeks from the date ofreceipt of a copy of this order. As andwhen such revision is filed, the revisionalauthority shall pass appropriate orders inaccordance with law after giving notice tothe petitioners. Learned counsel for thepetitioners submits that even while thematter is pending before the appellateauthority, there was an order of status quoas to possession. If the land is not resumedor the land is not assigned to landless poorpersons, status quo shall be maintainedas on today with regard to possession”

141Chapter-V

are waging a relentless battle to gain access toland. These struggles are every where. DalitBahujan Shramika Union (DBSU) working in16 districts*, covering just 10 mandals per districthas documented the struggles being taken upby its members. The area under dispute is around1,22,188 acres. Out of this total dalits havegained access to around 14,359.23 acres of landthrough struggles. This works out to just 11.75%of the land for which struggles is on. The road islong and right in the forefront are dalit womenshoulder to shoulder with the men and sometimes leading their men in many of the struggles.In three districts they lead from the front takingthe responsibilities of guiding the district unionas district secretaries.

All this churning on the ground did wake up thepolitical class and the slumbering administration.The present Congress government embarked ona land distribution programme. During 2005-2006 about 4.3 lakh acres were distributed to3.2 lakh landless poor. Private studies havehowever observed that most of the lands shownas distributed were already in the possession ofthe beneficiaries. For instance the AP governmentdistributed nearly 1,11,330.86 acres on 19-10-

2006 in its third land distribution programme.But out of this total land 82 per cent of land wasalready under the possession of the beneficiaries.Only 18 percent of the land had been newassignments.(the details can be seen in the Table1.25). As a matter of fact this land distributionprogramme is nothing but the officialconfirmation of existing possession.

All this indicate the enormity of the struggles thatare being waged daily by a community that hasbeen for generations deprived of their right toeven a small piece of land that they can call theirvery own. Compare it with the ease with whichthe hawkers of today’s globalised economy gainaccess to immeasurable extents of land just forthe asking. Couple that with the government’sefforts to dilute the provisions of the AndhraPradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition ofTransfers) Act, 1977 by the enactment of theAndhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition ofTransfers) Act, 2007- Act 8 of 2007 (for fulltext see annexure 2), and one realises howdifficult the process of reclaiming the lands lostby the poor will be. Concerned citizens andmass organisations had petitioned the governoragainst the proposed act at its ordinance stagewith out success. Ostensibly aimed at restoringlands to those whose assigned lands were


alienated, the act purports to use the same for “public purpose”. It is another matter that thesepublic purposes will be totally unrelated to the lives of the poor.

But every dark cloud they say has a silver lining. On the last working day before the High Courtrose for the summer vacation, responding to a Public Interest Litigation filed by InavarapuSurinarayana on behalf of Dalitha Bahujana Vyavasaya Karmika Union it gave a favourable order.The order reads (.....in the meanwhile the respondents and officers working under them throughout the state of Andhra Pradesh are restrained from regularising in any manner whatsoever,transactions involving transfer of lands in violation of Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibitionof Transfer) Act, 1977).1

Dalit community has found its feet and is willing to march on their own steam, under their ownleadership in search of that elusive goal of securing their share of land. They also realise that in thiseffort they will need the support of all progressive thinking citizens and human rights organisations.There is no stopping the fight now for in this lies their identity, security and future.

“Ours is a battle not for wealth or power, It is a battle for the reclamation of human personality”- Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

* Chittoor, Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur, Krishna, East & West Godavari, Vishakapatnam,Vijayanagaram, Khammam, Nalgonda, Warangal, Mahaboobnagar, Rangareddy, Kadapa, Srikakulam

1 For the full text of the order see annexure 3

Table: 5.2 District wise and Category wiseAssignment of Government Land during 26-01-2005and 21-08-2005 (area in acres)

Table: 5.1 Details of Pending Land Cases ofSC/ST with the Government

Sl. District No. of Land No. ofNo. cases Acres

1 Chittor 91 7246.05

2 Eastgodavari 81 2220.46

3 Guntur 2 23.34

4 Krishna 6 504.93

5 Mahabubnagar 46 755.54

6 Nellore 1 140.00

7 Prakasam 31 718.36

8 Rangareddy 86 5129.69

9 Vishakapatnam 8 549.00

10 Warangal 6 145.63

Total 345 17433.00

Total Total Social group wiseDistrict allotted benefi- SC ST BC Others

land ciaries

Srikakulam 19338 19258 2530 8122 5866 2740

Vizianagaram 9798 9444 2630 2933 3656 225

Visakhapatnam 36771 18860 1479 118.20 4177 13584

EastGodavari 7860 4117 681 2772 412 252

West Godavari 10962 10629 3887 609 3843 2290

Krishna 8125 7762 3382 429 2647 1172

Guntur 6098 5166 1857 1034 1416 797

Prakasam 20400 13548 6132 799 3749 2688

Nellore 28728 23235 8975 3511 7619 2665

Chittor 9408 7940 3338 697 2361 1323

Cuddapah 14978 8868 3464 643 2228 2338

143Chapter-V

Source: Chief Commissioner of Land Administration, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, Note Figures in the parenthesis indicates the percentages

Total Total Social group wise

District allotted land beneficiaries S C ST BC OthersSrikakulam 19338 19258 2530 8122 5866 2740Ananthapur 15727 6727 1826 700 2930 1202Kurnool 12420 6861 2382 502 3254 502Khammam 9224 6580 1515 3348 1149 439Warangal 6630 6531 2011 1869 2465 167Karimnagar 8997 11469 5702 865 4464 403Adilabad 25850 10497 2220 5104 2784 320Medak 32287 29825 10397 2404 14256 1554Mahabubnagar 10835 8010 2929 959 3634 452Nizamabad 949431 7535 2090 1625 3288 359Nalgonda 16334 15019 4826 3558 5699 829Rangareddy 5338 3254 1029 629 1322 236

Total 325639 241135 75282 54932 82919 24337(31.22) (22.78) (34.39) (11.61)

Table: 5.3 Details of Land Problems recorded in 14 Districts of Andhra Pradesh Till 2006

Extent AchievedS. No. Type of problem of area through Has to be

(in acres) struggle achieved(in acres) (in acres)

1 Land in occupation but till deed(patta) not given 19195.19 6802.97 12392.22(100.00) (35.44) (64.56)

2 Patta(Title deed) given by govt but land not given 9334.50 1270.64 8063.86possession (100.00) (13.61) (86.39)

3 Land illegally alienated from Dalits by dominant 13700.77 1331.59 12369.18castes (OCs) (100.00) (9.72) (90.28)

4 Land held by ineligible dominant castes in Benami 14063.16 1641.74 12421.42(fictitious/false) names (100.00) (11.67) (88.33)

5 Land in occupation of Dalits but in dispute between 9933.85 1918.46 8015.39forest and revenue departments (100.00) (19.31) (80.69)

6 Temple lands in occupation of Dalits but are now being 11362.24 645.32 10716.92threatened of eviction (100.00) (5.68) (94.32)

7 Land in illegal occupation of ineligible dominant 34,396 — 34396castes (OCs) (100.00) (100.00)

8 Ceiling surplus, Bhoodan land Dalits are strugling for 4741.95 586.07 4155.88(100.00) (12.36) (87.64)

9 Pending in Courts 5460.34 162.44 5297.90(100.00) (2.97) (97.03)

Total Land 122188 14359.23 107828.77(100.00) (11.75) (88.25)

Source: DBSU, working Report. Note: Figures in the parenthesis indicates the percentages in total problematic land issue based


Table: 5.4 Net Availability of Surplus Land in Andhra Pradesh, 2006

Dis

tric

tG

eogr

aphi

cal

Are

a un

der

Are

a su

rplu

sA

rea

Net

Cul

tivab

leTo

tal

Are

a ava

ilabl

eA

rea

in h

ect.

litig

atio

n in

decl

ares

indi

stri

bute

dav

aila

bilit

yw

aste

avai

labl

efo

r dist

ribu

tion

acre

sac

res

in a

cres

of c

eilin

gin

acr

esex

tent

for

as p

er G

ovt.

surp

lus i

ndi

stri

but-

reco

rds

acre

sio

n

Adi

laba

d16

2038

187

8761

290.

847

148.

8655

54.9

439

815

4516

9.94

0

Ana

ntap

ur19

1349

266

42.5

364

049

5685

6.19

550.

2812

9507

.513

0057

.78

0

Chi

ttor

1498

770

5165

.01

1626

5.28

9584

.49

1515

.78

9882

2.5

1003

38.2

80

Cud

daph

a15

3783

814

08.8

111

612.

1153

20.2

948

83.0

117

7500

1823

83.0

114

08.8

1

East

God

avar

i10

8184

319

064.

534

347.

6914

534.

874

8.39

4171

542

463.

3949

.81

Gun

tur

1132

824

1252

.494

18.7

874

27.5

673

8.82

8965

090

388.

820

Kar

imna

gar

1188

499

2545

.39

3921

8.94

2828

9.45

8348

.148

085

5643

3.1

0

Kah

amm

am15

8093

623

989.

6855

744.

5429

684.

220

70.6

652

702.

554

773.

160

Kris

hna

8796

9480

53.4

622

379.

913

390.

8193

5.63

7287

7.5

7381

3.13

0

Kur

nool

1760

034

5115

.31

6561

9.47

6035

1.87

152.

2919

6428

.22

1965

80.5

199

Mah

abob

naga

r18

4724

147

69.0

851

247.

0344

088.

7623

89.1

937

060

3944

9.19

0

Med

ak95

1903

1566

6.11

5973

6.66

4238

6.01

1234

.54

4128

2.5

4251

7.04

109.

3

Nal

gond

a14

2232

453

84.4

442

776.

7433

370.

5340

21.7

770

407.

574

429.

270

Nel

lore

1316

042

5528

.09

6498

8.89

5639

6.51

3064

.29

2212

8022

4344

.29

173.

63

Niz

amab

ad80

6215

429.

3414

595.

212

948.

3412

17.5

237

697.

538

915.

020

Prak

assa

m17

1406

216

47.4

1795

7.06

1586

7.28

442.

3815

8307

.515

8749

.88

0

Pran

ga R

eddy

7532

4717

382.

5458

178.

9933

522

7274

.45

5398

2.5

6125

6.95

0

Srik

akul

am58

4290

1722

.07

9915

.68

8168

.27

25.3

411

7512

00.3

40

Vis

akap

atna

m11

3428

488

2.66

1275

910

642.

4311

33.9

2224

523

378.

934

.99

Viza

yana

gar

6300

3829

43.9

811

239.

6664

75.6

218

20.0

610

365

1218

5.06

63.5

6

War

anga

l12

8355

242

34.7

452

748.

9837

215.

9811

298.

2685

202.

596

500.

760

Wes

t God

avar

i77

9538

4770

1382

181

14.8

493

6.16

6273

563

671.

1695

.91

Hyd

erab

ad23

002

7607

.576

07.5

Tota

l27

4400

4914

7384

.54

7865

7758

2235

.09

6015

5.76

1756

450.

7218

1660

6.48

2035

.01

145Chapter-V

Table: 5.5 The facts data of third time land distributedby AP Govt on 19-10-2006

Name of Distributed Already possessed Percentage Newly collected Percentage the District area by by beneficiaries in total by Govt. in total

(in acres) distributed land (in acres) distributed land

Srikakulam 6618.29 6597.69 99.69 20.6 0.31

Vijayanagaram 6000 6000 100.00 0 0.00

Vishakapatnam 5878 5878 100.00 0 0.00

East Godavari 2247 2247 100.00 0 0.00

West godavari 5002 4865.93 97.28 136.07 2.72

Krishna 1947 1911.25 98.16 35.75 1.84

Guntur 3975 3182.56 80.06 792.44 19.94

Prakasam 6731 3439.07 51.09 3291.93 48.91

Nellore 6008 2843.75 47.33 3164.25 52.67

Chittor 8050 4975.97 61.81 3074.03 38.19

Kadapa 6902 2505.67 36.30 4396.33 63.70

Ananthapur 11705 11667.54 99.68 37.46 0.32

Kurnool 4770 3967.67 83.18 802.33 16.82

Mahaboobnagar 3593 2655.75 73.91 937.25 26.09

Medak 4786 4641.65 96.98 144.35 3.02

Nizamabad 4202 3395.9 80.82 806.1 19.18

Adilabad 4725 3942.49 83.44 782.51 16.56

Karimnagar 5502 4758.94 86.49 743.06 13.51

Warangal 4545 4515.7 99.36 29.3 0.64

Khammam 3250 2962.85 91.16 287.15 8.84

Nalgonda 4350 4088.62 93.99 261.38 6.01

Rangareddy 595 595 100.00 0 0.00

AP 111381 90638.71 81.38 20742.29 18.62


Annexure - IAssembly Proceedings of Vengamukkalapalem Land issue

Discussion on the incident of six Dalits trying to commit suicide resulting in one person’s death inOngole Collectorate on 19-7-2004

Mr. Speaker: Yesterday the Home Minister has read out a statement regarding the incident inOngole. Members can ask one or two clarifications on the issue.

Sri Chenyala Venkatrao: Mr. Speaker Sir! The incident in Ongole is very unfortunate. I bring to thenotice of the House the death of one Dalit person by committing suicide and five others strugglingfor their lives in the hospital. The incident of attempted suicide a month back on 21st June wastaken up in the House by Hon. Member Kishan Reddy garu on 23rd. Hon. Home Minister hasreplied to this. The Government did not take any action since last once month. Justice was notmeted out to them and that is why this incident has occurred today. The Congress Government isnot sincere in the issues of Dalits. This is not suicide. I submit that this is the murder of Dalits by theCongress party. If action was taken that day itself, today we wouldn’t have lost a valuable life. Thishas happened due to the negligence of the district administration. In the past when Sivareddy garuhas begged for security in the same house, the Government did not provide any protection. Ultimately,his life was taken. The people of the state are watching what is happening. We are incurring croresof rupees expenditure to conduct the meetings of the House, but the Assembly has no meaning ifprotection is not provided to the needy. Yesterday the Home Minister made a statement. We areasking for only one thing. This Dalits problem is present all over the state. The issue of Dalits beinggiven lands and pattas but not having possession of the land is not limited to Ongole only, it is allover the state.

(Interruption from the members of the Congress Party.)

Mr. Speaker! Let me talk. Doesn’t a Dalit has right to speak in this House? If we are talking aboutthis issue in the Assembly today, thanks are due to Ambedkar. I appeal to all my brethren, allshould respond to this issue irrespective of the Party to which they belong. Otherwise we will notbe able to talk on such issues in the future. I appeal that it is not just to interrupt in this manner whileI am talking. I request the Government to announce an ex-gratia of Rs. 10 lakhs to the kin of thedead person. The Hon. Minister should specify the time within which this demand would be fulfilled.The Minister said that (the government has) conceded some demands while some demands werenot conceded. There is no clarity in this. These days importance is not given to the issues of theDalits. I demand that the family of the dead person Hanumantha Rao be paid an ex-gratia of Rs. 10lakhs. The dead person’s wife should be provided with a Government job, his family should begiven a pucca house and agriculture land of 2.5 acres. The families of five persons who haveattempted suicide by consuming person and who are undergoing treatment in the Guntur Hospitalshould each be given an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakhs. As this incident occurred as a result of thenegligence of the district administration, I demand that the Government should take action on the

147Chapter-V

Officers present there and the MRO. If the Government is really concerned about the issues ofDalits I demand that justice be done.

Sri G. Sayyanna (Secunderabad – Cantonment): Mr. Speaker, the Home Minister explained theincident that occurred yesterday in Ongole by making a statement. On 19.7.2004 six Dalit youthtalked to the Collector in the Collector’s Office on the first floor. They said that the Governmenthas taken over their land and demanded that the land be given back to them, to which the Collectordid not agree. The Collector said that they will be provided land elsewhere by procuring it throughthe S C Corporation. The youth did not agree to this and attempted suicide demanding that theirland be given back to them. Earlier to this incident about a month back when these youth haveattempted suicide by sprinkling kerosene over them, the BJP Hon. Member Kishan Reddy garuraised this issue in Zero hour and brought it to the notice of the Government. We were told thatreplies to the issues raised in Zero hour would be provided within three days or at the most withinfive days. But there was no reply on this issue? What did the Government do? Dalits have undertakenrelay hunger strike for the past 45 days in the Ongole Collectorate. If the Government would haveconsidered the issue and taken action one Dalit person’s life would have been saved. Is this not asin? We are told that the issues raised by members in the Zero hour are being noted down and thatappropriate actions would be taken. What did you do after noting down this issue? Why thisAssembly if action is not taken up on the issues raised here? Why this Zero hour? If the Governmentwould have taken action since the ongoing relay hunger strike for 45 days the Dalits wouldn’t haveattempted suicide the second time and there wouldn’t be this unfortunate death. Nowhere has theGovernment taken back the lands given to Dalits. But this has happened in 1990. Court has orderedthat the land be given back to the Dalits. Despite this the same land was given as pattas to othersand injustice was done to the Dalits. This resulted in the death of Hanumantha Rao, belonging to aDalit family. He is a youth of 20 – 25 years. His family is left in the dark. That is why his familyshould be paid an ex-gratia of Rs. 10 lakhs. This is an issue of land struggle. The person did notcommit suicide because of any problems. The Government should have come to the rescue of theDalits as in the case of the farmers. But this did not happen. No action was taken even after 45days of bringing it to the notice of the Government. And the Dalit committed suicide with lot ofanguish. What has the Government to the Dalits who are struggling for their lands? I take leave withthe demand that in the Ongole incident the dead person’s family be given an ex-gratia of Rs. 10lakhs and the dead person’s wife be given a Government job.

Sri G. Demudu: Mr. Speaker, we should understand what has happened prior to the OngoleCollectorate issue. Whatever has happened we cannot bring back the dead to life. Governmentshould take measures so that such issues do not get repeated. In the Ongole Dalits land issue, in1970 21 SCs were given 31 acres of land in the S. No. 122/10 and 122/12.

This land was given for agriculture purpose. Before the officials give the land they should seewhether it is suitable for agriculture. But the Dalits were given lands that were unfit for agriculturenear the burial grounds, on the outskirts of the village. As the land was saline they could not take up


agriculture in this. They were not shown alternative land for agriculture. 31 acres of land was givento 21 members. Officials allocated part of the land for the construction of Power station, WaterScheme for 2 Town Police Station and the Police Station itself. As the land is saline it was notcultivated until now. House site plots were allocated in the same land for those who lost their housein the road widening. Some have even constructed their houses. Whatever happened has happened.Action should be taken against the officials who have erred. AS the 31 acres of land given to 21members is not fit for cultivation I demand that the Government immediately provide land fit forcultivation to the suffering Dalit families, if need be they should even buy the land for the purpose.I take leave with the demand that the dead and those undergoing treatment in the hospital be paidex-gratia.

Sri M A Gafoor: Mr. Speaker, the issue of Dalits should be handled very sensitively. When the landwas given in 1970 they have all rights over them. Mr. Speaker Sir, does the mind change when everthe officials change? Once the Government alienates the land, isn’t it their right? When the land wasgiven two, three generations ago is it taken back with the change of Governments and change ofofficials? How can such an atrocity occur? Assistance should have been provided after finding outwhy they could not cultivate the land. The land should be restored to them immediately. It is grossinjustice that the land is occupied by the Government departments. When the issue is raging fromthe past 45 days why the Collector did not bring it to the notice of the Government? Such anunfortunate situation has occurred and they are being oppressed. Such negligence and coldheartedness on their problems is not correct. The dead should be given ex-gratia. If there areeducated persons in their families they should be provided with jobs. Even the British might showsome pity, but the present district officials do not show sympathy towards those who are on relayhunger strike or hunger strike unto death. I request that this should be taken seriously and thedistrict administration should respond immediately, take a decision and be steadfast on it.

Sri L. Rajarao (Paderu): Mr. Speaker, there is negligence on the part of the officials and theGovernment in the issue of Dalits attempting suicide in Ongole Collectorate. Hon. Member KishanReddy garu brought this to the notice of the government when they attempted suicide. However,the Government did not take any responsibility to save them. Why was the land given to them wastaken back? In the past when these persons approached the District Collector they were not giveninterview and their problem was neglected. Home Minister garu in his statement said that NattalaAnil, Kasukurthi Rajanikanth, Chundu Baburao were shifted to the Guntur Government Hospitalfor better treatment and that Nattala Hanumantha Rao was not shifted for better treatment. Whenhis condition was critical and needed better treatment, why was he not taken to a better hospital?The negligence of the officials in issues related to the Dalits can be seen in every aspect. As they arefinancially backward we should think of a permanent solution. In Narayankhed a (Dalit) studentwho went to offer a coconut (in the temple) was beaten up. The villagers were not provided withwork and were socially boycotted. I submit to the Government that the problem would be solvedif the landless SC, ST and Minority people are given 5 acres of land each in the command area ofthe 26 projects.

149Chapter-V

Sri P. Srinivasa Reddy (Kovuru): Mr. Speaker, as the local MLA I will put forth some facts in thisissue. The Dalits who have attempted suicide were given provisional patta in the 1970. The Dalitscultivated these lands for a while. After canceling their pattas between 1996 – 2003 several pattaswere given to others. During the Telugu Desam Government their pattas were cancelled and wereallocated to others. Under the leadership of Balarama Krishnamurthy, who was then the Memberof Parliament, injusticeink of a permanent solution.In Narayankhed af the officials in issues relatedto th was done to the Dalits and pattas allocated to others. Some of those who were given pattasconstructed their houses and even named it as Balarama Krishnamurthy Colony. They are nowblaming the present Government. This is not right. We are being blamed for the past mistakes. Ibring to your notice it is the Telugu Desam Government that did injustice to the Dalits. Whateverhappened has happened. I take leave with the demand that the Government should give ex-gratiato those people.

Mr. Speaker: Several people have spoken. I gave opportunity for two members from your side.Two Members have sought clarifications. Should I give to everybody? All of you give your opinion.What is this? I have already allowed two Members from your side. From the Ruling Party, only oneMember is allowed. How can you go on like this? You wait for the Minister’s reply.

Sri Karanam Balarama Krishnamurthy: Mr. Speaker, Ongole Member of Assembly Srinivasa Reddyhas made an allegation. This is totally fictious. They are adept at distorting the facts. This problemis sizzling for the past 40 days in Ongole. It is a fact that I was Member of the Parliament. I was toldthat the pattas were cancelled way back in 1996. I am not totally aware of these things. After I waselected as Member of Parliament Dalits such as domestic workers, rickshaw pullers, auto drivershave demanded for house sites in the encroachments; the Revenue department has assured them ofpattas. As a result some of them were given pattas. However, the Member who has just spokenhas said that a colony was constructed in my name. There is no such thing. I do not know where theColony is. However, all this happened when this person was the Member of Assembly there. Ourrole as Member of Parliament is very limited. I want to know what they did at that time. The issuehas not come to my notice. This issue is also of recent origin. Dalits have put up tents. Though theDalits have attended the Zilla Parishad meetings they did not make any allegations against me.When the present Member of Assembly was entering the meeting the Dalits have obstructed him.Twice or thrice their problem was brought to the notice of the Commissioner. It is not correct tomake such allegations out of thin air. In this context I convey through you that as a responsibleMember of Assembly one should not talk without full comprehension of the issue. Several thousandswere given pattas, but not in that place. Pattas were given in the surrounding areas. He is talkingabout the problem at other place and without being fully aware of the facts, this is not correct. Asummer storage tank was constructed there. I do not know the survey numbers correctly. It is afact that some development activities were taken up by the Government in that area. A sub-stationwas established there. Similarly a RTA office was established there. We are also demanding thatjustice should be done to them (that is the Dalits). There is about 120 acres of land there. As perthe Home Minister’s statement land was given way back in 1970. It was stated that 21 Dalits weregiven 31 acres. If one is concerned about the problem everyone should come together and think


about helping them. I demand that as the Members have raised be it be ex-gratia, or wherever it isagreeable to them land should be purchased and given to them.

Sri B. Srinivasa Reddy (Ongole): Mr. Speaker, the Hon. Member of Assembly stated that issue israging since the last 40 days but he does not know what has happened before. Pattas were givenwhen he was the Member of Parliament. Then I was Member of the Assembly. At that time theofficials were connected to them and whatever we said was on deaf ears. Everything happened asper their wish. At that time Dalits were afraid of Balarama Krishnamurthy. You are aware of hisconduct. Even in front of you…

(Interruption)

Now he is talking like this. Such distortion is not correct. All of you know about his character.

(Interruption from the Members of Telugu Desam Party.)

Mr. Speaker: What is this? Please take your seat now. The issue gets diverted when both the sidestalk. Now the Minister will speak. Let the issue be not diverted. Minister for Home will give replynow.

Sri Karanam Balarama Krishnamurthy: Mr. Speaker: We were not in politics when the issue cameup in 1970. I was not there when these were cancelled in 1996. I am not aware of it also. We onlysaid that those who lost their houses in road widening, those who are living by petty trades and jobsbe given land. We did not ask for their land. Such allegations are not correct. Another thing is thatwe have protested in some issues. We are not chicken hearted like them. If any issue is there wehave the courage and strength to stand up. Bo not try to gain mileage by making unnecessaryallegations. I told that this is happening since 40 days, I did not tell that I do not know what ishappening since the 40 days. However, I am not aware what has happened prior to that in thisissue.

(Interruption from the Members of Telugu Desam Party.)

Mr. Speaker: You have clarified your point. No more. The issue should not be diverted. Pleasetake your seat. Do not divert the problem. Nobody else. Please take your seats. Anythingunparliamentary from either this side or that side will be expunged. Minister for Home will cover allthe aspects in his reply.

Sri K. Jana Reddy: Mr. Speaker, the issue is that justice should be done to the Dalits, whatever hashappened has to be rectified and justice should be meted out. There is obligation on the part of theGovernment, the government machinery to rectify the situation. In these aspects if the Members donot talk about their lapses and advise after thoroughly brooding on where it has happened, when ithas happened and what is to be done, there is nothing to be objected to. However, I submit that theattitude of the opposition to pinpoint that the entire mistake is on the Government and limiting toonly this aspect is not correct. Whenever the Government is either on that side or this side, oneshould not loose their temper. The problem should be comprehended fully. Right advise should be

151Chapter-V

provided, if needed the Government should be questioned to solve the problem and to function inthe interest of the public. However, this is not happening. I request the Members to take note ofthis. Mr. Speaker, in 1970 21 Dalits were given 32 acres of land for cultivation. Our friends havejust informed that either the land was not fit for cultivation, or though the land was fit for cultivationit was beyond their means and that it was not cultivated. Because of this alternative land wasoffered to them which they refused. Now you should reply to this. The Government is ready toprovide alternative land as is being demanded by you. Mr. Speaker, I request you to make a noteof what has happened first. Observing that the land was not taken into possession and that it wasnot being cultivated by them making use of the rules the then Government has canceled the assignmentin 1988. This land was allocated for house sites in 1988. One has to note that after leaving the landgiven for house sites if the remaining land were assigned this problem would not have arisen.

Mr. Speaker, one has to understand the issue. In 1988 when the land was given to the house sitesthe Dalits have approached the courts. However, they did not follow the procedures and haverequested for canceling the house sites and giving land back to them. The court has turned downtheir plea that they have not followed the procedure. The problem would have been resolved if theland were restored in 1988 itself. All these lapses wouldn’t have occurred. Everyone should takenote of this. About 900 people were given house sites in this land. Of these 300 are Dalits, 50 areGirijans, 250 Backward Classes and Others 300. Seven acres were allocated to Regional TransportOffice, NCC was given one acre 24 guntas land, A P Transco 1 acre 3 guntas. In this manner about193 acres was allocated in S. Nos. 122/1012 6,7. 29 acres were given to police on cost forhousing sites. This help was long due to them. As the prices were increasing they wanted possessionon their land. Added to this upon instigation by some Bhoo Porata Samithi has taken up agitationon June 4th. Starting from that day they organised relay hunger strike upto June 21st. When theyattempted suicide on the 21st the police immediately came to their rescue and prevented them fromit. The issue was brought to the notice of the Cellector immediately for redressal. One has to notethat by then pattas were given and they were in possession of the pattas. Earlier the court foundfault that the right procedure was not followed, now if anything has to be done immediately thesame thing might recur again. Collector has repeatedly requested for time to solve the problem.Before the issue could be solved the movement leaders and the petitioners once again approachedthe Collector. We have invited all of them on 19th itself and discussed all the issues. The Collectortold three things at that time. He said that land would be taken back from those who have notconstructed their houses and part of the land given to the A R Police and arrangements would bemade to give the 30 acres of land assigned to them for which some time would be needed.Government has already issued orders giving land to some. In 2003 land was given to the police.If the Government has to give the land again he said that he would write to the Government and getthe orders. But the petitioners who were animated have attempted to consume the poison. Thepolice also tried to stop them. The situation of one or two persons was critical. The Members wererequesting for help to these persons. Attempts were made to provide better facilities immediately.He was in critical stage and moving him would have cost his life. So he was given assistancewithout moving from there. As others were slightly conscious they were immediately taken to theGuntur Government hospital. They did not agree to the proposal of providing them with land bybuying it elsewhere. This problem is in existence since 20 years. If the problem was solved long


back this situation wouldn’t have arisen. It is not enough if one owns up responsibility for the 21st

incident. One should think who is responsible for not solving the issue since 1988. This Governmenthas tried to solve the problems of the Dalits, Dalit leaders and the deceased families by all means.It was assured that a house site plot under Indira Awas Yojana will be allotted to Sumalatha, wifeof the deceased and five acres of dry land somewhere in the district will be allotted to the wife ofthe deceased as per the eligibility. The widow of the deceased will be provided a job in the SocialWelfare Hostel. NSFDC loan will be sanctioned to the mother of the deceased. It was assured thatRs. 1.5 lakh will be arranged to the wife of the deceased and RS. 10,000/ to each of the personswho are in the hospital at Guntur.

Note: The Assembly Proceedings (Telugu) free translation into English by K. Suresh

153Chapter-V

Annexure - II

155Chapter-V

157Chapter-V


Annexure - III

159Chapter-V


HC bars regularisation of assigned lands Express News Service, Hyderabad May 1stA division bench comprising Chief Justice G. S. Sighvi and Justice C. V. Nagarjuna Reddytoday’s bench directed the state government not to regularize transfer (of) any assigned land in the state.

The Dalita Bahujana Vyvasaya Karmika Sangham complained that the rich and influential sectionof the society had an eye on the land assigned to the poor and are making concerted efforts tousurp them.

The Court further directed the governement authorities not to act against the Andhra PradeshAssigned Land (Prohibition of Transfer) Act and admitted the writ petition and issued notice tothe respondents.

Assigned lands’ development is possible

B.D.A. Satya Babu Bose

Chapter-VI

162 Assigned Lands Development is Possible

163Chapter-VI

6.1 Introduction

In India, the agricultural labourers, peasants andvarious political parties struggled for more thana century for land reforms and for the entitlementof the land. The Constitution was amended 13times to incorporate 277 land laws enacted byvarious State Governments till to date. As a resultso far land rights were given for 156.31lakhacres under tenant’s rights, 73.35 lakh acresunder land ceiling surplus, 147.44 lakh of acresunder government wastelands and 21.75 lakhsacres under Bhoodan land to the poor. (DetailsTable 6.1). The broad objectives of the landreforms are to achieve an egalitarian socialstructure, land entitlement to the tiller, enlarg theland base of the rural poor and increasingagricultural productivity.

In the last 60 years, though land was given tothe poor, it couldn’t become a productive assetsince the poor did not have the resources to

Assigned lands’ development is possible

invest for its development. Despite being awareof this the government made no serious effortsto allocate funds so that the poor could makethe land productive. For the first time in the 5th

Five Year plan the Government made tokenallocations to help the assignees. The allocationin no way matched the intended requirement.The meager allocations in the budgets were thetangible evidence of the enormous gap in thewishing and the willing. This article takes a lookat the government policy, its promise and itsattempts to fulfill the same.

6.2 The initial attempts

While formulating the National Policy on landceilings in 1972, the government felt that it wouldnot be sufficient merely to distribute surplus landto the landless poor but it would call for supportfor its development. Because;

The poor did not have financialresources

The land given to the poor was ofpoor quality

Unless the land became productive,the agriculture growth would nottake place

Without it rural employment wouldnot be generated

The poor would not be able to out ofpoverty and social misery

The Government of India, therefore, launched a

B.D.A. Satya Babu Bose

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165Chapter-VI

scheme during the 5th Five Year Plan for givingfinancial assistance to the allottees of the surplusland. Rs.1,000 per hectare was given as anoutright grant for both inputs / consumption forland development in one lump sum. Half of theamount was provided by the CentralGovernment and the other half by theState Government. The programme whichcommenced in the year 1975-76, did not receivemuch attention as many of the StateGovernments were formulating land ceilinglegislations and were developing rules toimplement the Acts.

In the 6th Five Year Plan more emphasis wasgiven for the development of the assigned landsby the Government of India. The plan said that15.74 lakh hectares were declared as surplusby March 1980 in different states, out of which9.56 lakhs hectares were taken into possessionby the states and 6.79 lakh hectares weredistributed. 11.54 lakh landless persons, ofwhom 6.13 lakh beneficiaries belong to thescheduled castes and scheduled tribes benefitedthrough the land distribution. However, notmuch effort seems to have been made to assistthe allottees to develop the land. In addition to

the distribution of ceiling surplus land, 20.1 lakhsacres of Government waste land were distributedduring 1975-78. Majority of it was distributedto the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes andother weaker sections. It further says that thecentrally sponsored scheme of assistance toallottees of ceiling surplus land, which wasapplicable only to areas other than whereprogrammes of Small Farmer DevelopmentAgency (SFDA), Integrated Rural Development(IRD), etc. were in operation, will be continued,to cover the whole country in conjunction withassistance available from the IRD programme.The State Governments were asked to workout a specific programme of development ofallotted lands so that the funds available underthe scheme are meaningfully utilised. Anallocation of Rs.30 crores was made from 1980-85 for this scheme in the Central Sector and anequal amount was expected to be provided asmatching outlay by the States.

However, at the end of the 6th Five Year Plan itwas realized the actual utilization of funds wasvery low because the States had not been ableto provide their matching share. They also failedto submit the utilization certificates of the allottedfunds which led to the non-release of funds bythe Centre. It was also found that there was nolinkage between this programme and theIntegrated Rural Development Programme(IRDP) or the National Rural EmploymentProgramme (NREP), Rural LandlessEmployment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP)which were implemented through Blocks andDistrict Rural Development Agency (DRDAs).The land development programme wasimplemented through Revenue Agencies inisolation. So the anticipated results were notachieved.

Graph 6.2


While reviewing the performance of land reformsin the 7th Five Year Plan, the plan document saysthat a scheme for providing financial assistanceto assignees of ceiling-surplus land which wasstarted in 1975-76 for the landless poor is to belaunched, to enable them to take to profitablecultivation on the assigned lands. Financialassistance upto Rs.2,500 per hectare was givenas a grant to the assignee to take up variousactivities like simple land development, and otherinputs as well as immediate consumption needs.Since the inception of the scheme only a meager,Rs.25.07 crores have been released to the statesunder this programme. Needless to say, this isby far very inadequate.

The objective in the 7th five year plan was toincrease the growth in agriculture productionwhich would eliminate poverty andunemployment. It was also felt that substantialpart of the additional production will come fromsmall and marginal farmers and from rain-fedand dry land areas

The scheme for financial assistance to theassignees of ceiling surplus land was continuedduring the Seventh Plan. It was instructed thatthe land development activities should be forgedwith IRDP and other rural developmentprogrammes. The assignees should be givenpriority in identification and in the implementation.Monitoring systems were suggested to assessthe performance of the assignees.

During the 7th Five Year Plan a CentrallySponsored Scheme for the strengthening ofrevenue administration and updating of landrecords was introduced. Under this scheme, bythe end of the Seventh Plan Rs.25.57 croreshave been released to 29 States and UnionTerritories for purchase of equipment andstrengthening of training infrastructure.

In the 8th Five Year Plan it was further stressedthat landlessness is the root cause for the ruralpoverty. It was lamented that in a country whereagriculture is the principle means of livelihoodaccess to land has not become a major sourceof employment and income. In places where landreforms have been successfully implemented ithas led to increase in both employment andagricultural output.

So it was envisaged that allottees of surplus landand tenants would be provided modern inputsso as to enhance the yields from the land. Thestrategy was to meet the objectives of povertyalleviation and output growth. A centrallysponsored scheme as in the previous plans wasbudgeted with Rs.2,500 per hectare for landdevelopment, purchase of inputs and for meetingother needs.

The planners also had the confidence that smallfarming was viable both in terms of creation ofemployment and income to the family. Theywere also of the opinion that land is the singlemost important asset in India and landdevelopment can be an intrinsic part of the antipoverty strategy. They felt that facilitating landbased development will alone answer the crucialissue of removal of rural poverty.

Though the Five Year Plans showed thecommitment of the Government for the landreforms and for the land development of theallottees of the assigned lands there weremajor shortcomings to achieve its objectives.

I. Very insignificant financial allocations weremade in the Five Year Plans for the landdevelopment compared to the size of the landdistributed and needed development.

II. The land records were not updated

167Chapter-VI

III. The revenue machinery was notstrengthened.

IV. The administration did not inculcateconfidence among the allottees of theassigned lands on their rights and possession.

V. The revenue administration was not madeaccountable for the errors or for notachieving the targets.

VI. The total passive approach by the stateGovernments towards the assigned landsdevelopment from their side.

6.3 Watershed development programmebypassed the assignees

The soil and moisture conservation works takenup from 1961 and the watershed developmentprogrammes in 1990 by the Ministry ofAgriculture-GOI under different schemes andDrought Prone Areas Programme(DPAP), andIntegrated Watershed Development Programme(IWDP) in 1988 and Desert DevelopmentProgramme (DDP) in 1994 by the Ministryof Rural Development got better deal inbudget allocations. The objectives of theseprogrammes like development of rain-fedareas, treatment of degraded areas, increasingthe productivity of land and increasing thecrop production have overshadowed theobjective of assigned lands development. Thewatershed programme also aims at theimprovement of the socio economicconditions of the rural poor and disadvantagesections.

However this broad agenda has shifted thefocus, and sidelined the issue of developmentof the assigned lands. The studies show that 40%of the funds in the watershed developmentprogramme were spent on water harvestingstructures. The treatment of the lands helped

mostly the rich and medium farmers. Thecomplexity of convergence of various activitiesand the technicalities by passed the poorfarmers. Of late, it was realized that the poorshould be included in the programme, but theywere confined to off farm activities. Thewatershed development strategy and approachreinstated the social hierarchy in the villagesystem and the Hariyali scheme has directly rolledinto the hands of the politicians.

The total area covered in the watershedprogrammes according to the data is 4 crore55 lakhs hectares. But the data either on thearea of land reclamation or the data ofassigned land development is not available atall. No inbuilt efforts were made to collect suchan important data. From the time of inceptionand upto March, 2005, an amount ofRs.17,037.42 crores was spent on theseprogrammes. (Details as Table 6.2)

6.4 Assigned land developmentactivities in Andhra Pradesh

As a follow-up of the national plans, sporadicinitiatives of land development were madein Andhra Pradesh. The funds accessed wereallocated for watershed developmentprogramme as the major intervention. Theamount spent under NREP, EmploymentAssurance Scheme (EAS), RLEGP, EGS &National Food for Work Programme(NFWP), which was meant for creation ofwage employment, could have contributed tothe land reclamation works also. But there isno accurate data available on the acreage ofdevelopment of assigned lands under any ofthese activities. And there were no consciousefforts made except by the AP Schedule Casteprogramme. A periodical status report of the


Tabl

e 6

.2A

rea

trea

ted

(MH

A) a

nd in

vest

men

t und

erta

ken

(Rs.

cror

es),

wat

ersh

ed p

rogr

amm

es in

Indi

a

Up

to

end

of

8th

Pla

n

Du

rin

g

9th

Pla

n

Du

rin

g 10

th

Pla

n

(til

l Mar

ch

2005

)

Tot

al

(til

l Mar

ch 2

005)

P

rogr

amm

e Y

ear

of

Lau

nch

Are

a In

vest

m

ent

Are

a In

vest

m

ent

Are

a In

vest

m

ent

Are

a In

vest

m

ent

I M

inis

try

of A

gric

ult

ure

ver

Val

ley

Pro

ject

(R

VP

) d

Flo

od P

rone

Riv

ers

(FP

R)

1962

3.

89

819.

95

1.60

69

6.26

0.

60

377.

91

6.09

18

94.1

2

kali

Soi

ls

1974

0.

48

62.2

9

0.

08

20.2

5 0.

56

82.5

4 ti

onal

Wat

ersh

ed

velo

pmen

t Pro

ject

for

in

fed

Are

as (

NW

DP

RA

) 19

90

4.22

96

7.93

2.

77

911.

01

0.96

51

9.82

7.

95

2398

.76

ater

shed

Dev

elop

men

t oj

ect i

n S

hift

ing

Cul

tiva

tion

ea

s (W

SD

SC

A)

1991

0.

07

93.7

3 0.

15

82.0

1 0.

06

60.6

1 0.

28

236.

35

tern

ally

Aid

ed P

roje

ct

AP

) N

A

1.00

64

6.00

0.

50

1425

.01

0.86

26

85.2

5 2.

36

4756

.26

Su

b-t

otal

9.66

25

89.9

0 5.

02

3114

.29

2.56

36

63.8

4 17

.24

9368

.03

II D

epar

tmen

t of

Lan

d R

esou

rces

(M

oRD

)

ough

t Pro

ne A

reas

og

ram

me

(DP

AP

) 19

72

6.86

11

09.9

5 4.

49

668.

26

3.78

84

5.19

15

.13

2623

.40

sert

Dev

elop

men

t og

ram

me

(DD

P)

0.

85

722.

79

2.48

51

9.80

2.

38

615.

19

5.71

18

57.7

8

egra

ted

Wat

ersh

ed

velo

pmen

t Pro

gram

me

(IW

DP

) 19

88

0.28

21

6.16

3.

58

943.

88

2.46

10

01.7

7 6.

32

2161

.81

AP

N

A

0.14

18

.39

0.22

19

4.28

0.

36

212.

67

Su

b-t

otal

7.99

20

48.9

0 10

.69

2150

.33

8.84

26

56.4

3 27

.52

6855

.66

I M

inis

try

of E

nvi

ron

men

t &

For

ests

egra

ted

Aff

ores

tati

on &

o-

Dev

elop

men

t Pro

ject

s he

me

(IA

EP

S)

1989

0.

30

203.

12

0.12

14

1.54

0.

40

469.

07

0.82

81

3.73

Gra

nd

Tot

al

17

.95

4841

.92

15.8

3 54

06.1

6 11

.80

6789

.34

45.5

8

1703

7.42

169Chapter-VI

Development Corporation to provide directassistance to the assignees.

6.5 The context of comprehensiveland development programme(CLDP)

Ever since the Government of India introducedthe policies relating to Liberalization, Privatizationand Globalization the poor have become theworse sufferers. Half of the allottees of theassigned lands either lost their possession overthe land or lost interest in cultivating the land asthey did not have finances to invest. The periodalso experienced severe drought conditions inthe country.

Against this background the Ministry of RuralDevelopment GOAP has taken up a massiveland development programme to benefit 2 lakhpoor families covering 3.5 lakh acres with anallocation of Rs.500 crores under RuralInfrastructure Development Fund RIDF - IX andRIDF - X schemes from 2004 onwards (DetailsTable 6.3). This is a big shift from the routinewatershed development programme. The aimof the programme is to develop lands assignedto the dalits and tribals with more than 50% ofthe total allocations which is another importantfeature of the programme.The reasons explained in GOMS No.212 (givenbelow) to take up such a huge project reflectthe situation in Andhra Pradesh.

“Land is an important asset to sustain thelivelihoods of the poor in the rural areas.Ownership of productive land by sociallymarginalized sections has not onlyameliorated their economic conditions butalso secured them social empowerment.Ownership over productive land or

government employment opportunitiesaccessed through education, are the twoknown paths that have taken the weaker-sections out of poverty in AP. Employmentopportunities in the government sector havenot been growing to commensurate with thegrowth in education among the weaker-sections. Access to the land for the weakersections has declined over the last ten yearson account of a variety of reasons. Thelandowners belonging to weaker section arenot able to invest on the land for want ofcredit support from the financial institutions.Their access to technology, extensionservices and markets too are limited. Addedto this, recurring droughts, erosion of soil,low moisture retaining capacity of the soils,deficiencies in soil nutrients, depletion ofground water and ever increasing input costshave made agriculture particularly in thedrought prone areas, a risky proposition.In the absence of any risk mitigationmeasures, the poor farmers are leaving thelands fallow and becoming laborers. In caseof the assigned and surplus lands held bythe weaker sections, the distress is muchdeeper. Transition of a landless labourer intolanded farmer, even after securing accessto assigned/surplus land is indeed anarduous task. Most of the assigned landsrequire high investments and continuoussupport to convert them into productiveassets. In the absence of such investmentand extension services, the lands haveremained fallow. Government recognizesthe need to give an impetus to agricultureand allied activities to stimulate rural growth.Government has decided to bring the landsbelonging to the poor, particularly theassigned and surplus lands to productive useas an important strategy for elimination ofrural poverty.”


Tabl

e 6

.3

Com

preh

ensi

ve la

nd d

evel

opm

ent p

rogr

amm

e di

stri

ct w

ise

sanc

tion

ed b

lock

s

Pro

ject

Cos

t N

o. o

f B

lock

s Sa

ncti

oned

N

ame

of th

e D

istr

ict

R

IDF

-IX

R

IDF

-X

TO

TA

L

RID

F-I

X

RID

F-X

T

OT

AL

2 3

5 6

7 8

9 SR

IKA

KU

LA

M

550.

00

464.

50

1,01

4.50

90

76

16

6

VIZ

IAN

AG

AR

AM

55

0.00

2,

172.

74

2,72

2.74

17

5 52

4 69

9

VIS

HA

KH

AP

AT

NA

M

750.

00

976.

63

1,72

6.63

18

1 14

7 32

8

E. G

OD

AV

AR

I

800.

00

329.

60

1,12

9.60

25

9 45

30

4

W.G

OD

AV

AR

I

800.

00

609.

61

1,40

9.61

81

95

17

6

KR

ISH

NA

60

0.00

52

9.63

1,

129.

63

135

137

272

GU

NT

UR

95

0.00

29

7.71

1,

247.

71

109

37

146

PR

AK

AS

AM

1,

000.

00

1,66

8.40

2,

668.

40

107

257

364

NE

LL

OR

E

600.

00

1,51

5.85

2,

115.

85

61

101

162

CH

ITT

OO

R

1,40

0.00

1,

675.

22

3,07

5.22

16

7 17

4 34

1

KA

DA

PA

1,

000.

00

1,27

5.07

2,

275.

07

75

93

168

AN

AN

TA

PU

R

1,20

0.00

2,

820.

55

4,02

0.55

18

3 36

1 54

4

KU

RN

OO

L

500.

00

688.

94

1,18

8.94

21

5 26

7 48

2

MA

HA

BU

BN

AG

AR

1,

431.

47

1,29

3.71

2,

725.

18

418

412

830

RA

NG

A R

ED

DY

1,

400.

00

402.

87

1,80

2.87

20

1 64

26

5

ME

DA

K

1,40

0.00

1,

275.

14

2,67

5.14

15

9 21

5 37

4

NIZ

AM

AB

AD

80

0.00

1,

082.

22

1,88

2.22

25

0 24

3 49

3

AD

ILA

BA

D

700.

00

1,51

3.02

2,

213.

02

340

430

770

KA

RIM

NA

GA

R

800.

00

1,22

3.61

2,

023.

61

242

202

444

WA

RA

NG

AL

90

0.00

94

8.88

1,

848.

88

196

168

364

KH

AM

MA

M

800.

00

1,43

9.79

2,

239.

79

86

181

267

NA

LG

ON

DA

1,

100.

00

656.

41

1,75

6.41

15

7 12

5 28

2

TO

TA

L

20,0

31.4

7 24

,860

.10

44,8

91.5

7 3,

887

4,35

4 8,

241

171Chapter-VI

6.5.1 The Programme

The objective of the Comprehensive LandDevelopment Project is to provide anintegrated and comprehensive livelihood options,centered around development of compactblocks of assigned lands and the lands ownedby the poor to ensure that these lands becomeproductive assets for the poor. The projecttargets the individuals (i.e small and marginalfarmers) to develop their un-productive landsso that food security and livelihood are ensuredby appropriate on-farm and off-farminterventions.

6.5.2 The envisaged end results of theproject are:

� The lands covered under the projectare completely treated with goodvegetative cover and all measures toenhance productive capacity of thelands.

� The lands covered under the projectare fully brought into a diversifiedfarming system including livestockrearing -providing for subsistencepart of the food, fodder, fuel needs ofthe households.

6.5.3 Convergence of the expertise.

The programme was designed to availthe services of line departments such asRevenue, Agriculture, Horticulture, AnimalHusbandry, Forest, Groundwater, Marketingand Fisheries along with Research Institutes.

6.5.4 The issues in the implementation ofprogramme

The programme was started on 19th November2004 and but faced several initial teethingproblems.

The reasons are;

1. There was no single agency maderesponsible to implement the programmeeither at district level or at state level.

2. The monitoring systems were notoperationalised as mentioned in theprogramme.

As a result against the targets the expenditureand the physical achievements at the end of oneyear of its implementation was only 10.82%.Since then the government has taken certaincorrective measures to achieve the objectivesof the programme.

At the end of second year the programmeachieved better targets results with 36%achievements (Details table 6.4). The amountsare now released directly to the common interestgroups (CIGs) without any ‘intermediatory’agency. In spite of these hardships theprogramme was well designed to suit to theneeds of the assignees. The encouraging partof the programme is that the cost estimated peracre to develop the land is Rs.10,000-12,000which by any standards is reasonable.

6.5.5 State Committee on CLDP

The Government constituted a state levelmonitoring committee based on the demand,with members from the Department ofRural Development and Civil SocietyOrganisations (CSOs) to strengthen theimplementation process. It also constituteddistrict level monitoring committees with CSOson the same lines.

An alliance of civil society organizations called“Peoples Monitoring Committee” (PMC)functioned to sensitise the government officialsand the stake holders of the importance of the


PMC on the implementation of the programmefrom the experience at the grassroots was usefulto the government to get feedback about theprogramme. The PMC worked as a pressuregroup at both the state and district level.

The CLDP demystified the general opinion thatthe government lacks the resources to invest inthe assigned lands. It proved that the assigneeslack of interest to develop their lands was also amyth. The commitment not only in policyformulation but also matching it, with adequatefund allocations proved that the assigned landscan be developed. One can hope at the end ofthe completion of the programme it wouldbecome a model to the nation for assigned landdevelopment.

6.6 Conclusion and suggestions

If there is political will the lives of the assigneescan change. Mere assigning the land will nothelp the poor to come out of poverty. Theexperience shows that the assigned lands whichare not in the cultivation are encroached uponby the landlords, or the assignees loose interestin possessing such lands. The Government canalso take back such lands for other publicpurposes.

Most of the land ceiling acts were enacted inthe early ‘70s. Simultaneously the antipovertyprogrammes were also launched. There werehardly any efforts made work towardsconvergence of the various anti povertyprogrammes to develop the assigned lands. Thepoor were attracted to the cash distributionprogramme which satisfied their immediateneeds. So the benefit that would accrue to theassignees through the development of their landswas almost forgotten.

The labour unions, dalit organization and othercivil society organizations who are demandingland distribution should add the demand foradequate funds for the development of land.Unfortunately at present there is no such demand

from them.

In the absence of an articulated demand fromthe assignees as well as from the civil societyorganizations, and the political parties, thegovernment has not considered this as priority.

Suggestions

1. The total land distributed in Andhra Pradeshto the assignees is only 50,13,695 acres.Presently under CLDP Programme andunder RIDF IX & X it is planned to cover3.5 lakh acres. So the remaining 46,63,695acres of assigned land could be easilycovered by allocating Rs.1000 crores everyyear.

2. The government should actively considersaturating the development of assignedlands in Andhra Pradesh with a specifictime frame of ten years.

3. A ministry for assigned land developmentwith the responsibilities of land allocation,regularization and development ofassigned lands should be constituted.

4. Women should be given 50 % the assignedlands as mentioned in the 7th five yearplan.

References:

1. India’s Five Year Plans-5, 6, 7, 8, 9& 10 (land reforms only)

2. Report of the Technical Committeeon watershed programmes in India-2006

3. GOMS No.212-Panchayat Raj andRural Department (RD-IV) Deptdated 11.08.2004

4. Peoples Report 1 & 2 by PeoplesMonitoring Committee

5. Annual Reports 1998-2005-Ministry ofRural Development-Govt.of India

173Chapter-VI

Sl. No.

District

WS/ Projects/ Mandals /Blocks

Financial Achievements

2005-2006

Opening Balance as on 1.4.2006

Releases During

1the Month

Total Available

Funds

Expen. During Feb

'07

Expen. Cum.upto

Feb '07

Balance Funds

Available

% of expen.to

Avail Funds

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

1 Srikakulam 44 393.01 7.81 0.00 117.87 37.58 111.57 6.30 94.66

2 Vizianagaram 68 514.00 0.00 0.00 490.00 0.00 490.00 0.00 100.00

3 Visakhapatnam 70 445.30 127.70 0.00 447.70 140.29 380.10 67.60 84.90

4 East Godavari 32 239.69 341.99 0.00 451.99 60.25 570.56 -118.57 126.23

5 West Godavari 40 295.00 221.76 0.00 241.76 0.00 322.10 -80.34 133.23

6 Krishna 46 106.38 198.28 0.00 458.28 65.96 451.18 7.10 98.45

7 Guntur 41 399.11 148.37 0.00 358.37 152.15 356.55 1.82 99.49

8 Prakasham 80 554.51 7.49 0.00 547.49 89.64 601.60 -54.11 109.88

9 Nellore 90 443.40 145.00 0.00 475.00 112.46 390.46 84.54 82.20

10 Chittoor 130 483.00 0.00 0.00 621.19 0.00 583.26 37.93 93.89

11 Kadapa 87 545.27 31.73 0.00 561.73 203.39 785.21 -223.48 139.78

12 Ananthapur 126 546.52 137.92 0.00 947.92 84.55 796.62 151.30 84.04

13 Kurnool 62 481.63 12.84 0.00 282.84 82.03 151.62 131.22 53.61

14 Mahabubnagar 126 756.16 56.24 0.00 596.24 0.00 186.93 409.31 31.35

15 Rangareddy 57 351.94 156.62 0.00 526.62 0.00 586.96 -60.34 111.46

16 Medak 89 815.90 134.03 0.00 324.03 17.18 563.59 -239.56 173.93

17 Nizamabad 71 729.11 33.29 0.00 213.29 74.30 256.86 -43.57 120.43

18 Adilabad 86 295.23 229.77 0.00 529.77 0.00 460.61 69.16 86.95

19 Karimnagar 100 360.59 130.51 0.00 410.51 40.51 220.26 190.25 53.66

20 Warangal 97 421.85 44.96 0.00 274.96 0.00 437.76 -162.80 159.21

21 Khammam 61 657.48 14.32 0.00 504.73 0.00 500.68 4.05 99.20

22 Nalgonda 100 434.80 167.00 0.00 487.00 0.00 548.00 -61.00 112.53

TOTAL 1703 10269.88 2347.63 0.00 9869.29 1160.29 9752.48 116.81 98.82

Table 6.4

Indira Prabha -- Feb’07 (Rs. in Lakhs)


Sl.

Nam

e of

the

Hea

d of

A./c

Cen

tre

Stat

es

Uni

onT

otal

As

part

of

land

ref

orm

sN

o.F

ive

Yea

r P

lan

(Rs.

cror

es)

(Rs.

cror

es)

terr

itor

ies

(Rs.

cror

es)

deve

. of

Ass

ign

land

s

(

Rs.

cror

es)

on

ly

Cen

tre

S

tate

15th

Lan

d re

form

s12

.00

150.

50

-16

2.53

NA

NA

(but

am

t. s

pent

)(b

ut a

mt.

spe

nt)

26th

Lan

d re

form

s30

.10

272.

62

1

.91

304.

6330

30

37th

Lan

d re

form

s36

.71

353.

88

-39

5.83

NA

NA

(but

am

t. s

pent

)(b

ut a

mt.

spe

nt)

48th

Lan

d re

form

s24

0.00

845.

54

1

.88

1087

.42

NA

NA

(but

am

t. s

pent

)(b

ut a

mt.

spe

nt)

Tab

le 6

.5A

lloca

tion

of

fund

s in

the

Fiv

e ye

ar p

lans

for

lan

d de

velo

pmen

t

Persisting alienation of tribal landsPalla Trinadha Rao

Chapter-VII

176 Persisting alienation of tribal lands

177Chapter-VII

7.1 Introduction

In Andhra Pradesh State 35 Tribal Communitiesare notified as Scheduled Tribes and theirpopulation is 50.24 lakhs as per 2001 censusreports. They constitutes 6.59% of the totalpopulation of the state. The Tribal sub-plan areaextending over 31,485.34 Sq.kms. in thedistricts of Srikakulam, Vizayanagaram,Warangal, Visakhapatnam, East and WestGodavari, Khammam, Adilabad andMahaboobnagar districts constitute the traditionalhabitat of nearly 30 Tribal groups. The Tribalgroups viz., Yerukula, Yanadi and Sugali orLambada live mainly in the plain areas outsidethe Scheduled Areas.

The problem of land alienation among Adivasisocieties has remained un-resolved for more thana century. Adivasi economy in Andhra Pradeshbefore the advent of the British was relativelyself-sufficient. Forests and agricultural activitieson such lands were their survival sources. Theentry of the Colonial State in essence fixed normsof privatization of public properties and createdlevels of various agrarian classes consisting ofnon-tribal migrant peasants, contract tenants andother non-tribal agricultural labourers. Thisresulted in the tribals being suppressed, pushedto impoverishment and decade by decadeincrease in the number of land less Adivasis.

Within the Scheduled Areas of both Telanganaand Andhra regions the land was entirely under

Persisting alienation of tribal lands- Palla Trinadha Rao

the occupation of different Tribal communities.The area was an inaccessible tract of landcovered by forests and hills. These tribalcommunities lived by shifting cultivation and bygathering whatever produce that was available.The non-tribals who arrived in these areas inthe late 19th Century and early 20th Century foundthe tribals an easy prey for their exploitativeschemes.

The non-tribals began by lending money to thetribal communities. Land was taken as securityfor the loans extended to the tribals. The ratesof interest charged ranged between 25 to 50percent and in certain cases as high as 100percent. The tribals who were traditionallyhonest, simple and gullible fell easily into the trapslaid by the non-tribals. Money lenders kept anarbitrary record of repayments made by thetribals and whatever entries were made in thebooks by them were implicitly believed by thetribals. The tribals were not aware that whenproduce was sold to the non-tribals, they wereusing a larger weight and a smaller weight wasbeing applied for selling outside goods to thetribals. The indebtedness of the tribals had takenthe form of bonded labour in many cases. Thedebt could never be discharged by the tribals.The money lenders continued to be in occupationof most of the lands and the tribals became theirserfs. The non-tribals also forcibly occupiedsome of the lands. The tribals were ignorant andthey were not aware that they could go andreport to the concerned authorities about thecontravention of the land laws protecting their


rights. The non-tribals have been taking fulladvantage of their ignorance and continue toexploit them.

7.2 Early struggles

There were several rebellious movements in theScheduled areas against the oppression by themoney lenders and rapacious landlords. Theignorance of tribals of legal proceedings enabledtraders from the low lands to make unfaircontracts with them. And when these contractswere not fulfilled according to the traders’ owninterpretations they would to file suits against thetribals and obtain exparte decrees and therebymisappropriate as much property as they couldlay hands on.

This kind of exploitation of tribals was a causefor many disturbances such as Rampa rebellionin East Godavari around 1879. The AgencyTracts Land Transfer Act 1917 came in to beingin response to a series of unrests in the tribalareas of Andhra Pradesh culminating in theLagarai unrest. The Act prohibits the transfer oflands between hill tribes and non-tribals withoutprior consent from the Agent to Govt. or anyother prescribed officer.

As a result of alienation of tribal land and forestreservation rules in comparatively recent timestoo – 1940s- tribals in Adilabad district rebelledunder the leadership of Tribal Komram Bhim.In contrast to the administration of adjoiningprovinces of British India, the Govt. ofHyderabad State had not provided for anyspecial privileges for tribal communitiesprotecting their landed interest. The non-tribalsettlers managed to obtain title deeds for theoccupied lands which once belonged to tribals.Large extents of lands which had been cultivatedon Sivai Jamabandhi tenure lying fallow at the

time of demarcation was included in the reservedforest area. The policy of clearing large tracts offorest area of all human habitations including old,established villages inhabited for manygenerations led to armed resistance. Prof.Haiemendorf the Austrian born EnglishAnthropologist was invited by the Nizam’sGovernment to study the reasons for the unrestamong the tribals.

The struggle ultimately resulted in promulgationof an act known as Tribal Areas Regulation 1356Fasali (1946 A.D). This Regulation empoweredthe Government to make such rules as mayappear to them to be necessary or expedientfor the better administration of any notified tribalarea in respect of tribals and of their relationwith non-tribals. The substance of this regulationwas incorporated in the Tribal Areas Regulation1359 Fasali(1949AD) and the rules giving effectto its provisions were issued by the RevenueDepartment under the title Notified Tribal AreaRules 1359 Fasali on 16.11.1949.

The most important provision of this regulationis that no court of law or revenue authority shallhave any jurisdiction in any Notified Tribal Areain any dispute relating to land, house or housesite occupied, claimed, rented or possessed byany tribal or from which any tribal may have beenevicted whether by process of law or otherwiseduring a period of one year preceding thenotification of such an areas as a Notified TribalArea.

After the Constitution of India came in toexistence the provisions of the Fifth Schedule ofthe Constitution was made applicable to theScheduled areas of Andhra Pradesh. TheGovernor was empowered to make regulationsor amend or repeal any law to provide peace

179Chapter-VII

and good governance to the Scheduled Areas.Exercising the powers conferred under FifthSchedule of the Constitution the Governorpromulgated Andhra Pradesh Scheduled AreaLand Transfer Regulations 1 of 59 partiallyrepealing the earlier Agency Tracts Land TransferAct 1917. This regulation came into force witheffect from 4.3.1959. The Tribal AreaRegulation 1359 Fasali (1949AD) was repealedin 1963 and was replaced by A.P. ScheduledArea Land Transfer Regulations 1 of 59 whichcame in to force on 1.12.63.

Although protective Land Transfer Regulationshad been in force, it was observed by severalcommittees that the non-tribals were able to findways and means to circumvent the provisionsof Land Transfer Regulation 1 of 1959 byentering into benami transactions and otherclandestine contracts with the unsophisticatedtribals. The excessive exploitative conditionsinduced by external interventions, theineffectiveness of the Government response inthe prevention of tribal land alienation andrestoration of alienated tribal lands and theineffectiveness of legislations triggered theNaxalite movement in Srikakulam region from1968-70. All the uprisings were defensivemovements. They were the last resort of Tribalsdriven to despair by encroachments by outsiderson their lands and economic resources. TheSrikakulam Naxalite movement again drew theattention of the State. The State then felt that“preventing the new non-tribals from settlingdown in the Scheduled area would be absolutelynecessary to create conditions for peace and tomaintain it. If the alienations are permitted tothe non-tribals there is a danger of large-scaleexploitation by the new non-tribals again withthe result peace will be disturbed in that area”.

It was only with a view to maintain peace and togovern the area effectively that Regulation 1 of1970 was passed by the Governor. Thisregulation while providing for the protection oftribal rights also ensured that a non-tribal whovalidly acquired the title would not be disturbedstipulating at the he would not be allowed to sellhis land to a non-tribal so that new entrants tothe area would be curtailed.

7.3 Land transfer laws during Britishrule

During the British rule the Agency Tracts Interestand Land Transfer Act 1917 (Act of 1917) cameto be passed with the object of limiting the rateof interest and to check the transfer of lands inthe Agency Tracts in Ganjam, Vizagapatnam andGodavari Districts.

As per the Act any transfer of immovableproperty situated within the Agency Tracts by amember of a hill tribe shall be absolutely nulland void unless made in favour of anothermember of a hill tribe, or with the previousconsent in writing of the Agent or of any otherprescribed officer.

7.4 Governance and land transfer laws inthe post independent era

With the advent of the Constitution, in exerciseof power conferred under Vth Schedule to theConstitution of India, the President of Indiaissued an order in 1950 declaring specified areastherein to be scheduled areas within the State.The relevant Article in the Constitution of Indiafor the purpose of present discussion is Article244 which is as follows:


The provisions of the Fifth schedule shallapply to the administration and controlof the Scheduled Areas and ScheduledTribes in any State other than (the States ofAssam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram).

The Governor may make regulations for thepeace and good government of any area ina State, which is for the time being aScheduled Area.

In particular and without prejudice to thegenerality of the foregoing power, suchregulations may- prohibit or restrict thetransfer of land by or among members ofthe Scheduled Tribes and in such area;

Regulate the allotment of land to membersof the Scheduled Tribes in such areas;

Regulate the carrying on of business asmoneylender by persons who lend moneyto members of the Scheduled Tribes in such areas.

All regulations made under this paragraphshall be submitted to the President forthwithand until assented to by him, shall have noeffect.

If there is Tribes Advisory Council for theState, no regulation shall be made under thisparagraph unless the Governor making theregulation has consulted such council.Therefore, the Governor may make aregulation for the peace and goodGovernment of a scheduled area in a state.

Such Regulation can be made by theGovernor after consulting the TribesAdvisory Council of the State if one isexisting.

Such regulation will have effect whenPresident assented to the same.

7.5 Land transfer regulations 1 of 59

Exercising the above power conferred by para(5) of Fifth Schedule, the Governor issued theA.P Scheduled Area Land Transfer Regulation,1959 (Regulation 1 of 1959) which came intoforce on 4-3-1959. This was made to regulatethe transfer of lands in the scheduled areas ofEast Godavari, West Godavari, Visakhapatnamand Srikakulam. The said regulation wasamended by regulation II of 1963 by including,within the meaning of Agency Tracts, the areasin the Districts of Adilabad, Warangal,Khammam and Mahaboobnagar.

As per the provisions of Regulation 1 of 1959any transfer of immovable property situated inthe Agency Tracts by a member of a ScheduledTribe, shall be absolutely null and void unlessmade in favour of any other member of aScheduled Tribe or a registered societycomposed solely of members of the ScheduledTribes, or with the previous sanction of the StateGovernment, or subject to rules made in thisbehalf, with the previous consent in writing ofthe Agent or of any prescribed officer.

a) Where a transfer of immovable property ismade in contravention of sub-section (1), theAgent the Agency Divisional Officer or anyother prescribed officer may, on applicationby any one interested, or on information givenin writing by a public servant or suo motudecree ejectment against any person inpossession of the property claiming under thetransfer, after due notice to him in the mannerprescribed and may restore it to the transferoror his heirs.

b) If the transferor or his heirs are not willing totake back the property or where theirwhereabouts are not known, the Agent, the

181Chapter-VII

Agency Divisional Officer or prescribedofficer, as the case may be, may order theassignment or sale of the property to anyother member of a Scheduled tribe or aregistered society as defined in clause (f) ofsection 2 of the Madras Co-operativeSocieties Act, 1932 Madras Act otherwisedispose of it, as if it was a property at thedisposal of the State Government.”

7.6 Land Transfer Regulations 1 of 70

The provisions of Land Transfer Regulations1 of 59 were amended by Regulation 1 of 1970.As per the amended provisions of law anytransfer of immovable property situated in theAgency tracts by a person, whether or not suchperson is a member of a scheduled Tribe, shallbe absolutely null and void, unless such transferis made in favour of person, who is a memberof a Scheduled Tribe or a society registered ordeemed to be registered under the AndhraPradesh Co-operative Societies Act, 1964 (Act7 of 1964) which is composed solely of membersof the scheduled tribes.

Until the contrary is proved, any immovableproperty situated in the Agency tracts and in thepossession of a person who is not a member ofScheduled Tribe, shall be presumed to havebeen acquired by such person or his predecessorin possession through a transfer made to him bya member of a Scheduled Tribe.

Where a person intending to sell his land is notable to effect such sale, by reason of the factthat no member of a Scheduled Tribe is willingto purchase the land on the terms offered bysuch person, then such person may apply to the

Agent, the Agency Divisional Officer or any otherprescribed officer for the acquisition of such landby the State Government, and the Agent,Agency Divisional Officer or any otherprescribed officer, as the case may be, may byorder, take over such land on payment ofcompensation in accordance with the principlesspecified in Section 10 of the Andhra PradeshCeiling on Agricultural Holdings Act, 1961 (ActX of 1961), and such land shall thereupon vestin the State Government free from allencumbrances and shall be disposed of in favourof members of the Scheduled Tribes or a societyregistered or deemed to be registered under theAndhra Pradesh Co-operative Societies Act,1964 (Act 7 of 1964) composed solely ofmembers of the Scheduled Tribes or in suchother manner and subject to such conditions asmay be prescribed;

Therefore, under the amended provisions, anytransfer by a person is prohibited unless it is infavour of a tribal or a society solely composedof members of scheduled tribe. Clause (b) ofSection 3(1), which was substituted byRegulation 1 of 1970 raised a presumption thatthe property situated in Agency Tracts inpossession of a non-tribal shall be presumed tohave been acquired by such a person or hispredecessor-in-possession through a transfermade to him by a member of scheduled tribe.

In other words, if any non-tribal is in possessionof the property situated in Agency Tracts, it ispresumed that he or his predecessors acquiredthe same through a transfer made to him by amember of scheduled tribe. Of course, this is a


refutable presumption. However, sub-section 2(a) of Section 3 of the Regulation was not touchedby the amendments made by regulation 1 of 70, which is to the effect that the Agent, the AgencyDivisional Officer or any other prescribed Officer may on an application by any one interested, oron information given in writing by a public servant or suo motu decree ejectment against a personin possession under a void transfer and may restore it to the transferor or his heirs.

7.7 Situation analysis

The situation of land alienation has been analyzed in the scheduled areas of three districts. Thisanalysis underscores the influx of non-tribal population, land alienation situation and the ineffectivenessof the implementation of the Tribal Protective Land Laws.

7.7.1 Agency Mandals (West Godavari District)

The Agency area in West Godavari District consists 101 villages spread over of three mandals: 1.Polavaram, 2. Buttaiguem and 3. Jeelugumilli.

7.7.1.1 Population

We can easily note that the non-tribal population in these Scheduled Areas is higher than the tribalpopulation. The unchecked migration of non-tribals to tribal areas has limited the tribals’ access toresources. The influx is changing the character of Fifth Schedule of the Constitution. In WestGodavari District in the year 1905 the non-tribals population in the entire Scheduled Areas wasonly 5 percent. It has now has gone up to 57.9 percent.

Table 7.1 Tribal and non-tribal population details in agency area ofWest Godavari District

S.No. Name of the Mandal Scheduled Tribes Non Tribals Total

1. Polavaram 10,085 31,579 41,664

2. Buttaigudem 27,841 18,648 46,489

3. Jeelugumilli 6,701 18,664 25,365

Total 44,627 68,891 113,518

183Chapter-VII

7.7.1.2 Lands

(A.W.D= Assessed Waste Dry)

7.7.1.3 Land holdings

(A) Patta Lands

The table below indicates the status of patta lands held by the Tribals and those of Non-tribals inthe Agency area.

S.No. Category Wet Dry Total1. Tribals 541.35 53,129.45 53,670.802. Non-tribals 1,663.37 21,687.95 23,351.32

Total 2,204.72 74,817.4 77,022.12

The data shows that the extent of wetlands in the tribal holdings is comparatively less than the landholdings of non tribals. The position is reversed with respect to dry lands. The lands that arevaluable have drastically changed hands. The data also shows the gravity of the situation of triballand alienation in the agency areas of West Godavari District.

Table 7.2. Types of lands and extends (acres) in the agency area ofWest Godavari District

1. Polavaram Mandal Government Wet --Government Dry 11,790.25A.W.D 2,324.74Poramboke 3,157.94Net 17,272.93

2. Buttaigudem Mandal Government Wet 2,204.72Government Dry 37,236.32A.W.D. 11,090.53Poramboke 7334.53Net 57,866.49

3. Jeelugumilli Mandal Government Wet --Government Dry 25,790.83A.W.D 2,104.78Poramboke 2,136.38Net 30,031.99

Total 105171.41

Table 7.3 Nature of tribal and non-tribal land holdings


(B) Government Lands

7,140 tribal beneficiaries were given assignment pattas for an extent of 15,852. The table showsthe status as on July 2004:

S.No. Name of the Mandal No.of villages No.of beneficiaries Extent (Ac.Cts.)1. Buttaigudem 51 3,486 6,837.152. Polavaram 17 1,063 2,099.963. Jeelugumilli 29 2,591 6,915.41

Total 97 7,140 15,852.52

As per the reports by 1st April, 2004, 6692 tribals were assigned land to an extent of 15060.03over a period of time. During the review of actual possession of assignees it was noticed that tribalsnow hold only an extent of 13813.79 acres and the number of tribals who hold such land are only6167. That means around 1246.24 acres of assigned land have not been put in to possession oftribal beneficiaries or that they have lost possession of the land.

7.7.1.4 Case study

Vuka Surya Chandram is a tribal from Darbhagudem revenue village in Jeelugumilli mandal.Assignment patta for an extent of 4 acres covered by S. Nos 21/1,256/1,254 was granted to himin the year 2003. The revenue authorities did not show the actual boundaries of the patta land andinduct him into possession. The tribal says that he himself identified the land with the support ofothers and has been cultivating the land. However, MRO, Jeelugumilli directed the Police on 18-8-06 to give protection to the non-tribal namely Dasari Gangamma, saying that an order was passedby the High Court in a case held between two other non-tribals. The police intervened and warnedthe tribals not to enter the lands. Similar orders were issued against five other tribals who were alsoassignees of Government Land (10 acres) in the same village. All the six tribals went to JeelugumilliPolice station and showed the Assignment Pattas issued by MRO and appraised the officials of thesituation. The police told that they were help less as the MRO, Jeelugumilli issued orders for policeprotection to non tribals. As there was no other alternative all the six members had to file a WritPetition challenging the Police Protection Orders. The matter is pending in court!

7.7.1.5 The result of the cases under land Transfer Regulations

The table below gives the details of cases disposed of after enquiry by the Spl. Dy. Collector,(Tribal Welfare) K.R.Puram who is an enquiry officer under Land Transfer Regulations 1 of 59 asamended by 1 of 70 Regulations.

Table 7.4 Governments lands under control of tribals

185Chapter-VII

The success rate in favour of the tribals is just22.01 %. Tribals were able to get back only18 % of the alienated lands. Where as in thecase of non tribals the success rate is 46.95 %.They were able to retain 54.07 % of the landalienated tribal lands. The remaining cases wereeither dropped or decided in favour of theGovernment!

7.7.1.6 Non tribals land title questioned

During the year 1995-97 tribals of Agencymandals of West Godavari District have againsucceeded in drawing the attention of the Stateby raising the land issues. A section of the tribalswere equipped with knowledge and skills tounderstand the land records. They were able to

share this knowledge with other tribals. Tribalvillagers noticed that while in the records thelands were in the name of tribals, non-tribalswere in actual possession and enjoyment of thesame lands. This knowledge triggered a landmovement which resulted in State level officialsagreeing to convene a meeting to settle alloutstanding issues. Further the land issues ofWest Godavari district came under theconsideration of A.P. High Court through WPC.C. No 1381 /1997 in Payam Gangamma andVasudha Mistra and others. The High Courtalways supportive of the interest of non-tribals.

7.7.2 Agency mandals in East GodavariDistrict

The Rampachodavaram agency area of EastGodavari district consists of 7 mandals with 550villages and breakup is as follows:

Graph 7.2

Graph 7.1

Cases detectedfrom inception

to 31st

July, 2004

Casesdetected during

August 2004

Cases disposed from inception to 31-8-2004

TotalIn favour of

S.TsIn favour

of non-tribals

Nos. Extent. Nos. Extent. Nos. Extent. Nos. Extent. Nos. Extent.1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

10,916 55,049 5 23 10,873 54,692 2,394 9,848 5,105 29,575

Table 7.5 The outcome of legal interventions through courts in agency area ofWest Godavari District


The data shows that tribals were able to succeedin only 41 % of the cases disposed of where asnon-tribals success rate is 59%. Tribals wereable to get back only 36% of the total land underdispute while non-tribals retained 64% of thelands in their possession.

The Protective Land Transfer Regulations 1 of70 prohibits transfer of lands not only betweentribals and non-tribals but also among the non-tribals in the scheduled areas of Andhra Pradesh.In spite of this law the tribal land alienation isstill rampant. The steps being taken by the

Government Revenue Villages: 128Estate Villages : 21Mutta Villages : 394Mokasa Villages : 7

The government villages were surveyed andsettled in 1902 and again in 1932. Howeverover the years large extents of land in these areashave passed into hands of non-tribals. In the amajor extent of nearly 20000 hectares is asubject of dispute. In respect of Governmentvillages total patta land is 64487 hectares ofwhich non tribals are holding pattas for 21,816hectares, while about 18,000 hectares is underdispute.

Graph 7.4

Graph 7.3

enforcing authorities in implementing the tribalprotective land laws are in sufficient andineffective. Therefore the out come of restoringland to tribals through legal mechanisms has notreached the desired or required level.

Total No.of casesinitiatedupto 30th

June 2002

Total No.of casesinitiatedupto 30th

June 2002

TotalNo. of casesdisposed off

Totalextentof land

inacres

Total No.of casesdisposedin favour

tribals andGovt.

Totalextent

in Acres

Total Noof casesdecidedinfavourof NT’s

Totalextentof land

in Acres

7222 43452.00 6949 42168 2909 15047.00 4040 27021.00

Table 7.6 The outcome of legal interventions through courts in agency area ofEast Godavari District

187Chapter-VII

7.7.3 Agency Mandals in Khammam District

The Khammam District is covered by 4 Revenue Divisions. Out of 4, three divisions i.e Kothagudem,Polvoncha and Bhadrachalam are fully Scheduled Areas while in Khammam Division 6 villages intwo Mandals are within the Scheduled Areas of the District.

As per the details available by the year 1995, the total extent of land is 7,71604.93 acres in theagency areas of Khammam district. An extent of 4,07,368.33 acres are under the control of non-tribals. That means 52.79 % of the total land is held by non-tribals in the scheduled areas of thedistrict. The table below gives details of the landholdings pattern in some mandals. Even a cursorylook at it will indicate the gravity of the situation of land alienation in the district.

Graph 7.5

Graph 7.6


The data reveals that in 8 mandals non-tribals control 68 % of the total lands available while only 32%is held by tribals.

Success rate of the cases decided is about 43 % in favour of tribals, while it is about 57 % in thecase of non-tribals. Tribals got back 39% of the total alienated tribal land through legal processwhile the non-tribals could retain 61 % of the disputed lands.

7.8 Scrutiny of land cases decided infavour of non-tribalsTo understand the reasons being shown in the orders issued by inquiry officer under Land TransferRegulations 1 of 59 as amended by 1of 70 who is a Special Deputy Collector (T.W) in land casesfiled by tribals or representatives seeking the restoration of alienated lands from the possession ofnon tribals a scrutiny of orders issued by SDC of Rampachodavaram, East Godavari District istaken as a sample.

Table 7.7 The extent of cultivable lands under control of tribals and non-tribals infew mandals of Khammam District

S. No. Name of the Land under cultivation Land under cultivationMandal of Tribals (Acres) of Non Tribals (Acres)

1. Polvoncha 8640.00 17,080.002. Manuguru 7,904.37 8,504.243. Kamepalli 7,535.17 30,738.264. Garla 1,158.10 13,597.305. Enkur 4,215.00 6,4156.006. Chandrugonda 13,372.12 26,753.237. Julurupadu 13,972.22 19,207.108. Kothagudem 9,348.00 18,295.00

Total 66,144.98 1,40,590.13

Table 7.8 The outcome of legal interventions through courts in agency area ofKhammam District

TotalNo.

of cases

Totalextent(Ac)

TotalNo. ofCases

Disposed

TotalExtent

InAcres

TotalNo. ofcases

dicidedfavourof ST

TotalExtentof Landin Acres

Total Noof CasesDecidedInfavourof NonTribals

TotalExtent

ofland

In Acres

30743 118307.01 29709 113356.01 12706 44024.10 17003 69331.31

Total Number ofcases filed in the

year 2000

Number of casesdecided infavour

of Tribals

Number of casesdecided infavour of

Non Tribals

Number of casesdecided infavour

of Govt.135 36 82 17

Table 7.9 Sample studies of land cases filed in one year in East Godavari District

189Chapter-VII

Out of the total 82 cases decided infavour of non-tribals 30 cases were taken as sample to understandthe reasons shown by the Special Deputy Collector allowing the claims in favour of non-tribals. Thesample of cases covered is more than one third of the total cases decided in favour of non-tribals.Table 7.10 Scrutiny of orders (30) given infavour of non-tribals in land cases

S.No. LTRP No. Village/Mandal S.No. Extent Reasons shown in the ordersin Ac given infavour of non-tribals.

1. 8/2000 Pedaramanayyapeta 471/2 4.76 Mistake of fact.Devipatnam

2. 11/2000 Patharamavaram 45 8.50 Settlement Patta granted in favour ofGangavaram non-tribal under settlement

Regulation.

3. 12/2000 Marripalem 36 1.04 Mistake of fact.Gangavaram 69 1.30

82 2.29178/1 0.79199/2 1.12

=6.74

4. 14/2000 Patharamavaram 13/2 1.72 Transactions were held betweenGangavaram non-tribals and LTR has no

retrospective effect.

5. 15/2000 Patharamavaram 39/1 1.16 Earlier orders are in favour ofGangavaram 39/2 5.80 non-tribals and LTR has no

=6.86 retrospective.

6. 16/2000 Patharamavaram 50 9.76 The transactions were heldGangavaram between non-tribals.

7. 17/2000 Patha Ramavaram, 16/1 1.06 Settlement Patta granted inGangavaram 16/2 4.91 favour of non-tribal under

=5.97 Settlement Regulation.

8. 18/2000 Patharamavaram 46/2A 8.81 LTR has no retrospectiveeffect.Gangavaram 46/1 9.69

=18.50

9. 22/2000 Papampeta 21/1 3.36 Land Transactions were heldbetween non-tribals only andnon violative of LTR.

10. 52/2000 Lothupalem 191/2 3.7 Land Transactions were heldDevipatnam 191/3 50.85 between non-tribals. LTR has

no retrospective effect.

11. 54/2000 Ramuldevapuram 14 12.47 Earlier order is infavour of non-Gangavaram tribals and the transac-tions were

held between non-tribals only.

12. 60/2000 Sarabhavaram 51/2 4.00 The matter was decided inRajavommangi earlier proceedings hence

attracted by the principles ofresjudicata.

13. 62/2000 Rajavommangi 16/1 4.90 Earlier orders are in favour16/2 1.80 of non-tribal hence Resjudicata.

=6.70

14. 67/2000 Rayapalli 94/1 1.20 Settlement Patta granted in favour ofAddateegala 93/2 non-tribal under Settlement

78/1 Regulations.


S.No. LTRP No. Village/Mandal S.No. Extent Reasons shown in the ordersin Ac given infavour of non-tribals.

15. 85/2000 Thimmapuram 7 4.37 On perusal of the records and village recordson 4-4-2002 it is observed that the land isclassified as government land i.e., road. Thepetitioner could not furnish the details of theactual land for which restoration is required.Hence the petitioners are directed to file afresh petition with actual particulars of land.Therefore the petition is dropped by thecourt.

16. 86/2000 Thimmapuram 5 9.50 Earlier one LTRP No. 264/81 was dismissedAddateegala by the court as to the PS land

17. 97/2000 Surampalem 8/1 8.34 The decision in favour of non-tribal is basedGangavaram 71/5 1.12 on the earlier orders.

71/7 0.23=9.79

18. 101/2000 Molleru 129 4.65 No tribal is involved, all transactions heldGangavaram between non-tribals only and not

violative of LTR.

19. 102/2000 Molleru 158 2.28 Non-Tribal is a Settlement Patta holderRampachodavaram

20. 103/2000 Molleru 130 1.08 Land Transactions were held betweennon-tribals and LTR has no retrospectiveeffect.

21. 104/2000 Rajupeta 57/7 1.46 The Non-tribal is a settlement Patta holder.Gangavaram

22. 105/2000 Gangavaram 57/5 5.06 Land Transactions were held betweennon-tribals. LTR has no retrospectiveeffect.

23. 109/2000 Goragummi 5/2 1.36 Mistake of fact.Gangavaram

24. 110/2000 Rajavaram 24/1 4.15 Earlier LTR petitions were dismissed.Gangavaram Transactions were held between non-

tribals prior to 1 of 70 Regs.

25. 128/2000 Bayanapalli 28/4 1.25 No tribal is involved, all thetransactions held between non-tribals only and not violative of LTR.

26. 130/2000 Bayanapalli 12/2B 3.09 Non-Tribal is a settlement patta holder.Gangavaram

27. 131/2000 Bayyanapalli 25 5.59 No tribal is involved, all the transactionsheld between non-tribals only and notviolative of LTR.

28. 132/2000 Bayanapalli 7/1 6.16 Earlier case is dismissed vide LTRPGangavaram No.328/78 and Settlement Patta granted

infavour Non Tribal Settlementregulation.

29. 133/2000 Bayanapalli 3/4 1.92 Transactions were held between non-Gangavaram tribals only.

30. 135/2000 Veerabadhrapuram 29/1A 7.75 Transactions were shown as heldRampachodavaram between non-tribals.

191Chapter-VII

1) In the cases where a mistake of fact wasshown as a ground to allow the claim of theNon Tribals were verified. The tribalpetitioners who have no information withregard to the Survey Numbers and the landscovered by such survey numbers, filed casesbased on the information available with them.The Special Deputy Collector (T.W) insteadof directing the Special Deputy Tahsildarswho are appointed for the purpose of theimplementation of LTR and redressal of landgrievances of tribal petitioners based onphysical verification, dismissed the cases oftribals holding that the records produced bynon tribals and the claims of the tribalpetitioners do not tally.

2) In most of the cases the orders were passedby Special Deputy Collector(SDC)observing that transactions were heldbetween non tribals and as such the transferswere not affected by the provisions of LandTransfer Regulations 1 of 59 as amended by1 of 70. It is true the Regulations 1of 70prohibits transfer of lands between non-tribals only after 3-2-1970. The LandTransfer Regulations have to be givenretrospective effect in order to cover theearlier transactions held between the partieswith respect of lands situated in the scheduledareas. This demand has been pending withthe Government since long time. TheGovernment is not committed to plug theloop-holes in the law.

However we find the enquiry officer passing

orders without conducting proper enquiry into the past land transactions, passingjudgments holding that transactions were heldbetween the non tribals based on one or twoland transfer deeds produced by the non tribalparties in the proceedings before him. TheSDC failed to see how the original non tribalseller gained access to lands situated in thescheduled areas and whether the non tribalclaimants have continuous possession andenjoyment of the lands in dispute prior to theProhibited Land Transfer Laws came in toforce. In fact under the law burden is on nontribals to prove their title and possession overlands situated in the scheduled areas. Oncontrary the SDC passed orders in land casesobserving that Tribals failed to prove theircase in showing that they were in thepossession of the lands in dispute at any pointof time earlier and lands were transferredfrom them to non-tribals. The observationsof the SDC are against the law and fact.

3) The other reason shown in the cases is thethe principle of Resjudicata. As long as voidtransactions subsist the principle ofresjudicata has no application. The parties inthe dispute cannot plead based on thisprinciple if they played a fraud on theconstitution and the Land TransferRegulations which emanated from the FifthSchedule of the Constitution. However theSpecial Deputy Collector allowed the claimof non-tribals in the cases shown abovebasing on that principle. Non-tribals insupport of their claims filed the earlier orders

Mistake of fact shownas a ground

Non tribals haveSettlement Patta

Transactions heldbetween NT’s and law has

no Retrospective effectNumber of cases

decided infavour of Govt.

4 7 14 5

Table 7.11 Abstract of reasons given in orders of non-tribals


issued in favour of them by the sameauthority. But the law says that if the partiesare different and the emerging facts are newand distinct from the earlier proceedings theprinciple of resjudicata has no application.The SDC without looking in to the legalprinciples and conducting an elaborateenquiry in to the present land disputedisallowed the claim of the Tribal Petitionersand allowed the claim of non tribals.

4) Another ground shown in the orders is thatthe Non Tribal is a Settlement Patta holderas such his possession can not be disturbed.A.P. Scheduled Area Land TransferRegulations are to invalidate any transfer oflands situated in the agency tracts in favourof non-tribal. In order to actualize thatintention the Regulation had set up the SpecialDeputy Collector’s (T.W) Court. RyotwariSettlement Regulations 2 of 70 or RyotwariSettlement Regulations 2 of 69 or otherSimilar Settlement Regulations were enactedto provide for the Ryotwari Settlement Pattaof certain lands in the Scheduled Areas ofA.P. These Regulations also enact that a non-tribal shall not be entitled to a ryotwari pattaif his possession or occupation of the landsis void or illegal under the Land TransferRegulations. The proper way to read thesetwo Regulations is to allow both of them tooperate while giving primacy to the operationof Land Transfer Regulations. Where theRegulations 1 of 59 as amended by 1 of 70decides that possession and occupation ofthe non-tribal is void then that would prevailagainst any Ryotwari Patta that might havebeen granted under Ryotwari SettlementRegulations.

However the Special Deputy Collector

(T.W) in the proceedings initiated against nontribals, observed that non tribal can retain hispossession of lands situated in the scheduledareas as he was granted Settlement Patta,without conducting an enquiry as to how hegained an access to such land before gettingSettlement Patta. Therefore the SDC hasnarrowed the scope of the enquiry under theLTR and simply passed orders in favour ofnon-tribals based on the Settlement PattaProduced by Non Tribals in the land cases.

The Settlement Regulations on the one handbrought an end to the feudal system ofadministration of land but on the other handopened the floodgates of Scheduled Areas fornon-tribals to claim legal right over tribal lands.

During the survey and settlement operationsunder these regulations several illegalities werefreely committed by the non-tribals in collusionwith the lower survey and settlement officials.In the settlement Regulations 2/69 and 2/70 ithad been stipulated that non-tribals had to proveeight years continuous possession prior to 1969and 1970 and absence of any prohibited transferas per LTR to be eligible grant of patta.However, these were openly flouted by the non-tribals.

1). False receipts were created from theMutta clerks/Estates clerks showingpayment of taxes,

2). Tribals were driven out by creatingterror by organizing police raids, thus,making it convenient for the non-tribalsto get the tribal lands measured in theirnames.

3). Lands with rich forest growth were

193Chapter-VII

taken as pattas though they were never inoccupation of the lands; obviously with anintention to get the rich timber. The casesof Jangalthota and Chintalpudi ofY.Ramavaram Mandals of East Godavariare glaring examples of this.

4). Tribal claims were never properlyexamined and tribals were by and largeunaware of the settlement operations. Bythe time, tribals realized that their landswere given as pattas to the non-tribals, itwas too late for appeal. As a result of thesedubious measures the land holdings of thenon-tribals rose from 9805 hectares before1969 to 16789 hectares in East Godavariagency. (Protection of Tribal Lands –Neerabh K. Prasad).

7.9 Tribal land struggles

The movement of Tribals of Kondamoduluvillage which consists of twelve hamlets inDevipatnam Mandal of East-Godavari district

in Andhra Pradesh focused on land strugglesagainst landlords who used to control tribal landsthrough illegal means. Shivaiah Patrudu, a non-tribal landlord along with his other kinfolk usedto dictate terms in the agency area. The feudallord’s rule over the area was challenged by the‘Girijana Sangham’ which was founded by thetribals of the area. The movement began in theyear 1968 and gained momentum in July 1981-November 1982 when the tribals under aegisof the Girijana (tribal) Sangham occupied thelands controlled by the landlord and sowedseeds. Tribal movement has now gained greaterconfidence and has been consolidated. Havingvested control over 3000 acres of land in thatarea it has now spread to other areas and toneighboring mandals of West Godavari District.Girijan Sangham is an outfit of C.P.I (M.L)

Post 1986 tribal areas of same DevipatnamMandal in East Godavari district witnessed Landoccupation movement by tribals with the supportof A.P.Ryutu Coolie Sangham, a frontal groupof CPI (M.L) New Democracy. Tribalsquestioned the fraudulently obtained settlementpattas of non-tribals over their lands. Theyoccupied such lands and restrained non-tribalsettlement patta holders from entering into anextent of nearly 2000 acres land.

Few NGOs like Laya, Sakthi have doneconsiderable work in raising the tribal landquestion in the coastal and part of Telanganaregion in Andhra Pradesh through different tribalinitiatives without confining only to court litigation.Tribals are capacitated to articulate their landrights issues before justice delivery mechanisms.

7.10 Tribal land issues: An over view

The problem of Tribal Land Alienation has gainedsignificance in the context of tribal economy

The specific case of Nelakota(V) of EastGodavari District is very revealing.Thevillage abuts a huge inland tank by nameRamavarapu Ava and gets irrigation waterfrom the same. The non-tribal residentsof adjacent villages especiallyRamchandrapuram had dubbed the tribalsas naxalites (post 1969 SrikakulamMovement period) and got police raidsorganized. The tribals now inform, thatthey had fled to the hill tops and stayedthere for more than a month. This periodwas used by the non-tribals to get the landssurveyed and settled in their favour.


because the forces of marginalization are verystrong. With depletion of forest resources,diversion of water sources to the plains andscarce land resources, the tribals are alienatedfrom their survival sources. Therefore thequestion of land assumes greater urgency in theirstruggle for survival. The high percentage (57.2)of non-tribal population in the scheduled areasdemonstrates the inexorable influx of non tribalsinto scheduled areas. The gravity of tribal landalienation may be gauged from the percentageof land holdings of non tribals. As per reports ofDepartment of Tribal Welfare, Government ofAndhra Pradesh non-tribals are now holdingmore than 48% of land in scheduled areas. It isalso significant to note that the number ofagricultural labourers among the tribals has beenincreasing at an alarming pace and the rate ofmigration out of scheduled areas too is rapidlyincreasing.

The land holdings of Scheduled Tribes in theState were 7 lakh 54 thousands and covered anextent of 10 lakh 87 thousand hectares of landduring the year 1995-96. Land holdingsincreased to 8 lakh 62 thousands covering anextent of 11 lakh 86 thousand hectares of landin 2000-01. The increase in extent of land is notin the same ratio of number of land holdings.(A report on census of land holdings 2000-01-Director of Economics and Statistics). This datashows that there is a fall of an average holdingratio from 1.44 hectares to 1.37 hectares.It indicates a phenomenon of fragmentation ofland and increase of number people dependingon the land.

Inspite of the fact progressive tribal land transfer

regulations are in force, great injustice has beendone to the tribals by denying access to the landresources which were once owned by them.Legal mechanism evolved to address the landissues in tribal areas even after independence isoften delayed, prevented and diluted in itsapplication. And the result is the large-scaledispossession of the tribals from their lands. TheSupreme Court of India declared in the year1988 that the provisions of Land TransferRegulations are constitutionally valid. It gave asocially vibrant interpretation to the Regulations.The Supreme Court held in P.Ramireddy VsState of Andhra Pradesh that non-tribals hadvery often circumvented the legislations enactedin order to protect the tribals by having recourseto benami transactions and other dubiousdevices. The poor, ignorant illiterate and gullibletribals have often succumbed to the viles of theeconomically stronger and unscrupulous non-tribals. Society cannot shut its eyes to the factthat the competition between the tribals and non-tribals takes on the character of a race betweena handicapped one-legged person and an ablebodied person.

Further the Supreme Court in the year 1997 inSamata Vs. state of Andhra Pradesh held thatthe word ‘Person” in the Regulation wouldinclude both natural persons as well as juristicpersons. This means the Government can alsobe considered as a non-tribal for the purpose ofimplementation of the Regulations andGovernment cannot transfer its land to non tribalsin the scheduled areas. This liberal and widerinterpretation would maximize allotment ofGovernment Land in scheduled area to the tribals

195Chapter-VII

and to make socio, economic justice assured inthe Constitution a reality for the tribals. Howeverthe implementation of the legal principles by theState remains still a distant dream in the contextof tribals.

During the survey and settlement period i.e.,1970-78 in the agency areas, most of the landbelonging to tribals was surveyed in the name ofnon-tribals under Ryotwari SettlementRegulations 2 of 69, and Ryotwari SettlementRegulations 2 of 70. This helped non-tribals toget settlement pattas over the lands of tribals.Authorities under Ryotwari SettlementRegulations did not conduct proper enquiryin to land holdings of non-tribals in pursuance ofthe Land Transfer Regulations, at the time ofgranting settlement pattas. In Bhadrachalamrevenue division in Kammam district as manyas 8297 non-tribals managed to get settlementpattas over 29,554.16 hectares of land.

The Government of A.P. in the year 1991directed the District Collectors in the ScheduledAreas to prefer appeals through tribals againstthe erroneous Settlement pattas granted infavourof non-tribals. But this memo has not beenimplemented.

The conflict with High Court judgments inrespect of orders passed by the officers underthe Settlement Regulations and orders passedby authorities under Land Transfer Regulationshave caused serious hardships to the tribals inretrieving their lands lost to non tribals. Majorityof the judgments of High Court of A.P says thatonce the Settlement Patta is granted underRyotwari Settlement Regulations it is final and

conclusive and the authorities under tribalprotective Land Transfer Regulations cannotquestion it. Till 1997 ruling of Supreme Court ofIndia in Samata Vs State of A.P there was aconfusion on this aspect. The Supreme Courtheld that the prohibition against transfer and thedeclaration of nullity enjoined under A.P.Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulationshaving been held to be an emanation of FifthSchedule of the Constitution it self, thedetermination of invalidity declared under theprovisions of Land Transfer Regulations will haveto be held as overriding any contrarydetermination under any other Regulations.Justice Punnayya Commission hasrecommended in this regard that the LandTransfer Regulations must prevail over otherregulations like Ryotwari Settlement Regulations.

The Revenue Authorities have even grantedAssignment Pattas to non-tribals overGovernment Land. The High Court of A.P in1998 struck down the G.O. 41, G.O.951 andG.O 951 prohibiting eviction of non-tribal SivaiZamadars in occupation of Government Landsin the Scheduled areas and directed theauthorities to evict them under LandEncroachment Act. Hence non-tribals cannotcontinue their possession and enjoyment ofGovernment lands situated in the Scheduledareas. Even then the authorities still continue toallow the non-tribals to retain their possessionand enjoyment of lands instead of evicting themfrom such lands and assigning the same to eligibletribals. In Bhadrachalam agency area ofKammam district alone non-tribals are holdingmore than 15 thousand acres of Government


Land in contravention of the Land TransferRegulations 1 of 70.

On the other hand tribals have not been able toget back their lands under present Land TransferRegulations 1 of 70 as it has no retrospectiveeffect but has only prospective nature. Thismeans the authorities under Land TransferRegulations cannot interfere with the alienationseffected prior to the commencement of theRegulations. The Supreme Court decided in theyear 1996 that the Regulations are prospectivein nature and not retrospective. So theRegulations cannot invalidate the transfersaffected between the parties prior to thecommencement of the Regulations.

The land resources of the Scheduled Areas arebeing rapidly depleted by even the Governmentwhich has the constitutional responsibility toprotect the tribals. The retrieval of forest landsfrom the tribal holdings is one such example.About 37 thousand hectares of forest land whichwas under the hold of tribals in Visakha agencyareas, was brought under World Bank assistedCommunity Forestry Project by displacing them.The process of Regularization of forest landswhich are under cultivable holdings of tribals isbeing delayed. Not only; the tribals are beingthreatened with eviction. About 63 thousandtribal families are dependent on 62,948 hectaresof Podu cultivation. In Adilabad District aloneabout 94055.78 hectares of forest lands areunder occupation of tribals and cases have beenbooked against them for cultivating the lands.As per the reports of 31st March, 2004 ofMinister for Environment and Forests (GoI)about 2,95,383 hectares of forests lands are

under encroachments both pre and post 1980.There is an unresolved boundary dispute over astretch of 21,210 kms with regard to forest landsin Andhra Pradesh. There are forest lands disputebetween forest and revenue departments on theone hand and the tribals and forest departmenton the other. During survey and notification offorests in tribal areas, the forest departmentarbitrarily fixed the reserve boundaries encirclingthe tribal lands and habitations.

The recently passed, The S.T and OtherTraditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition ofForest Rights) 2006 Bill dilutes the tribalprotective Land Transfer Regulations 1 of 70 inthe State of Andhra Pradesh. The transfer oflands cannot be permitted in favour of a personother than Scheduled Tribes as per the 1 of 70Regulations. The State is considered as a personfor the purpose of implementation of 1 of 70Regulations as such the State can not assign itsland to non tribals. On the other hand forest rightsbill limits the scope of recognition of the tribalrights over the forests.

The proposed Polavaram project will result inthe submergence of 94,357 acres of landssituated in the Scheduled Areas, of which 29,852acres are government poramboke lands. ThePolavaram Project will submerge 3223hectares of forest resources.

197Chapter-VII

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In the context of the legal and social conditionsprevailing in Tribal areas of A.P., it was but logicalthat the goal of restoration of tribal lands remainedmore as a welfare promise rather than a reality.This is clearly seen from the data on the progressof land restoration provided by the Stateagencies themselves.

It is doubtful, however, whether the extent ofland recorded as given to the tribals had beenreally restored back to the tribals. The enforcingauthorities failed to restore back to the tribalsas per the order of the courts. Particularly in thecases where the courts ordered restoration ofthe land to Government by evicting non tribalsin land cases, although the authorities reportedthe orders were implemented and compliancerecords shown to the courts, field investigationsreveal that in many cases the restored landcontinued to be under the virtual control of theerstwhile non-tribal cultivators.

7.11 State attempts to dilute 1 of 70Regulations

The State Government of Andhra Pradesh underthe ruling of Telugu Desam Party made attemptstwice to repeal the tribal protective LandTransfer Regulation 1 of 70 once under theleadership of N.T. Rama Rao and the other underthe leadership of Chandrababunaidu. The firstattempt was due to pressure from non-tribal landlords settled in the tribal regions. While the otherone was part of the Globalization process. TheTDP Supremo Chandrababu Naidu madeserious attempts to get 1 of 70 Regulations in2001 repealed to invite multinational companiesand private agencies to exploit the mineral wealthdeposits in the tribal belt. The then Governmentconsidered the judgment delivered by SupremeCourt in Samatha case as a set back in their

attempts to open up the tribal area to privateenterprises for mining operations. The presentCongress government has succeeded in dilutingthe provisions of the Land Transfer Regulations1 of 70 by taking up of massive IndirammaHousing programme in Fifth Scheduled Areasby issuing a G.O.Ms. No.15 to provide housingto non-tribals. This promotes settlements of non-tribals and further invites non-tribals’ migrationto tribal areas. The policy is posing a seriousthreat to the survival and identity of tribals intribal protective Fifth Scheduled Areas of theState. Further the State is making attempts toovercome legal implication of 1 of 70 Regulationsso that private companies can have access tomineral wealth and other natural resources in thescheduled areas. For instance the StateGovernment has entered into an agreement witha private company Jindal to mine bauxite overvast tracts of tribal region in VisakhapatnamDistrict. On the other hand the State is allowingTribal societies to do mining for minor mineralsin the tribal areas. Taking undue advantage ofthis non-tribals who have vested interests areexcavating the mineral wealth in tribal areasthrough benami Tribal Societies. State officialsremain as mute spectators to this illegal miningactivity.

The State government is yet to frame rules underthe A.P Panchayats Extension to ScheduledAreas (PESA) Act 7 of 1998. This act givespower to Gram Sabha or Panchayats as the casemay be in Scheduled Areas to perform functionsthat can prevent of alienation of land in theScheduled Areas and restore any unlawfullyalienated land of a scheduled tribe. The powertherefore is still un-fructuous as the panchayatsare not made to gear up to do these functions.

199Chapter-VII

7.12 Recommendations

1. Legislative Changes

1. Retrospective effect is to be given to all LandTransfer laws from 1917 onwards in AndhraArea and from 1356 Fasli in Telangana area.

2. Enforcement officers must be empowered toexercise suo moto powers under LandTransfer Regulations (LTR) in filling LTRcases without any period of limitation orconstraints in the name of reasonable periodto raise the land question.

3. Sec. 6A of LTR is to be extended to theofficers who are disobeying the orders issuedby courts or Govt. and negligent inimplementing the Land Transfer Regulations.(Penal Clause)

4. The oral evidence in tribal land cases shallbe given an overriding effect on any contrarydocumentary evidence produced by non-tribal parties.

5. To ensure implementation of PESAAct provisions with regard to prevention oftribal land alienation and restoration ofalienated land, suitable changes to be madeto the definition of GRAMA SABHA underPESA Act. The changes may be made in sucha way that the Grama Sabha consists of allthe members belonging scheduled tribes only.Rules are to be made under the PESA.

6. A Special constitutional Provision is to bemade excluding the powers of Appellate orRevision authority or High Court or SupremeCourt to pass interim orders suspending theoperation of the orders issued infavourof tribals by the lower courts.

7. The provisions enabling filing appeals underboth Land Transfer Regulations and

Settlement regulations are to be amended inorder to take up afresh appeals questioningthe orders issued earlier infavour of nontribals.

8. The Settlement Pattas have to be cancelledif it is found that the settlement pattadaris an absentee or non-resident landlord.Suitable amendments have to be made tothe provisions of Ryotwari SettlementRegulations.

9. There must be saving clause in ScheduledTribes and other Forest Dwellers (ForestRights Recognition ) Act 2006 saving allthe existing Tribal Protective Land Laws inthe Scheduled Areas of A.P

1. Changes Proposed to ExecutiveDirections

1. The G.O.Ms.No.274, dated 15-6-2002 isto be modified to confer powers of Directorof Survey and Settlement on Project Officer,ITDAs under Survey and SettlementRegulation 1/69, 2/69, 2/70, and 1/89.

2. The Govt. has to notify distribution of landsin Scheduled Areas to the tribals as a PublicPurpose and acquire the lands from non-tribals by invoking the provisions of LandAcquisition Act.

2. Comprehensive Circular for BetterImplementation of LTR

1. Appeals to be preferred against the surveyand settlement orders issued in favor of non-tribals after making thorough scrutiny of allsuch orders under respective settlementregulations.

2. Appeals to be preferred against the orderspassed by Special Deputy Collector/Agentto Govt. etc, in favor of non-tribals.


3. Updating of land records on physicalverification of land and incorporate the namesof actual cultivators in revenue records.

4. Computerization of court orders in respectof tribal land issues.

5. Provide access to all land records and allpublic documents including court ordersunder LTR, Settlement regulations etc., totribals or any interested parties at ITDA levelon nominal cost by maintaining public landlibraries. Basic land records must be madeaccessible to the tribal parties at GramPanchayat level to ensure greater and quickeraccess to information.

6. The judgments given by High Court of APstriking down all the G.Os protecting non-tribal Sivai Jamadars shall be implemented.(G.Os 41, 971, 951 etc.).

7. No settlement patta shall be granted to non-tribals if land is classified as Govt. land.

8. Eviction of non-tribal encroachers of Govt.land shall be carried out.

9. Enforcing authorities have to initiate casesunder LTR basing on field information withregard to possession. Cases have to beinitiated against non-tribal parties to the saletransactions effected after 1/70 came intoforce basing on the registration extractsfrom concerned Sub-Registrars’ office. Theenforcing authorities have to implement 1/70in letter and spirit when there is a violation ofsuch regulations.

10.All the “Pasupu Kumkuma” transactionseffected between parties must be consideredas a gift and implement the provisions of LTRwhich deals with the cases.

3. Administrative and MonitoringMechanisms

1. At the State level, a committee must be setup with the representatives of Govt., andCivil Society Organizations who are experts

on tribal land issues to monitor theimplementation of tribal protective land lawsand give directions from time to time to theenforcing authorities.

2. At Integrated Tribal Development Agency(ITDA) level, similar committees must beset up.

3. The Special Deputy Collectors in tribal areasmust be given postings after a compulsorythorough training on LTR and other relevantlaws. Frequent sensitization programmes ontribal land rights have to be organized for bothSDCs and other enforcing machinery.

4. Legal Cells have to be created with a panelof advocates with pro-tribal lawyers atITDA level where there are no such legal cellsto provide free legal support to tribals andalso to assist Special Deputy Tahsildar or anyother officers who are taking up cases onbehalf of tribals.

5. ITDAs have to control the influx or infiltrationof non-tribal population by taking steps inthe light of LTR provisions with coordinationof all licensing depts. to check theestablishment of shops/enterprises,constructions for housing or for anycommercial purpose.

References

1. Tribes of India - Christpoh Von Furer -Haimendorf.

2. Land alienation in tribal areas -Dr. B. Janardhan Rao

3. Land rights of Adivasis in Andhra Pradesh- Palla Trinadha Rao

4. Protection of tribal lands - Neerabh K.Prasad

5. Land and the poor - Notes of AP Economyof rural development

6. A report of census of land holdings 2000-01 - Director of Economics and Statistics

7. The Law realting to scheduled areas in AP- Koka Reghava Rao

Land Literacy -Tool to protect tribal livelihoods

N. Sanyasi Rao

Chapter VIII

202 Land literacy - Tool to Protect Tribal Livelihoods

203Chapter-VIII

Land Literacy -Tool to protect tribal livelihoods

N. Sanyasi Rao

Summary

Land is the prime livelihood source of the tribalpeople in Andhra Pradesh. The average size ofland held by 68.3% of tribal people is around2.5 acres. But most of it is on hill slopes and isof poor quality. This land is being expropriatedat an alarming rate due to land alienation by nontribal people further causing the tribals to movefurther up the hill slopes. In scheduled areas -supposedly reserved for tribal people - 48% oflands are with non-tribals. High incidence ofilliteracy among the tribals, lack of knowledgeon tribal laws, lack of understanding of legalentitlements & land transactions, LTR-1 of 70Act not being applicable in tribal sub plan areas,over-dependency on the government and aboveall the exploitative mindset of the non-tribals haveall contributed to this alarming erosion of triballand entitlements. The reality on the groundthreatens the very survival of tribal despite thestringent laws applicable in scheduled areas. Thesub plan tribal (non-scheduled) areas have beenrecognized as an extension of scheduled arealaws since the year 1980 but its approval is stillpending with Govt. of India for implementation.

The tribal poverty caused by landlessness andland alienation can be tackled through imparting“Land Literacy” to tribal youth. The youth canbe trained to understand the laws, governmentprogrammes so as to over come poverty byprotecting their rights and entitlements.

The involvement of Action in Rural Technologyand Service (ARTS) with 28 community basedorganizations in Srikakulam and VizanagaramDistricts of AP has proved that Tribal povertycan be eradicated through “Land Literacy”. Thisessay advocates this as a policy to be followedin all tribal districts of Andhra Pradesh.

8.1. Background

The population of scheduled tribes is 4.2 millionand they constitute 6.3% in Andhra Pradesh statepopulation. The scheduled areas and tribal subplan areas in the districts of Srikakulam,Vizangaram, Viskhapatanam, East Godavari,Westgodavari, Khamam, Warngal, Adilabad andMahabubnagar constitutes the traditionalinhabitants of about 30 tribal groups, while theother 3 groups viz, Yerukula, Yanadi, Lambadaare mainly living in the plains, out side the tribalconcentrated areas. The literacy rate is 17.16%and 68.3% of tribal holds only on an average2.5 acres of land, most of which is unproductive.This leads to shifting cultivation on hill slopes.

The land of tribal people in AP is beingexpropriated at an alarming rate. Inscheduled areas-which are supposedlyreserved for tribal peoples- more than 48%of the land is now 1legally or illegallycultivated by non-tribal people.

Many of the land transactions are unfair: the pricepaid is low; the land is appropriated without the

1 Mr. N.Sanyasi Rao, Director, Action in Rural Technology and Service (ARTS),email:[email protected]; web: www.artsindia.org.


knowledge of the tribal people, often with theconnivance of non tribal people/local authorities.Corruption in land transfers is common. Tribalpeople who are deprived of the fertile land inthe valleys are forced to move further into thehills and grow crops on steeply sloping land thatis unsuitable for cultivation.

The national government is currently formulatinga national tribal policy in conformity with thepanchsheel (five principles) put forward byJawaharlal Nehru; the first Prime Minister ofIndia.

Nehru’s panchasheel1. Tribals should be allowed to develop

according to their own culture andtraditions.

2. Tribals’ rights in land and forest shouldbe respected.

3. Tribal teams should be trained inadministration and developmentalwork, without too many outsidersbeing inducted.

4. Tribal development should beundertaken without disturbing tribalsocial and cultural institutions.

5. The index of tribal developmentshould be the quality of their life notthe money spent.

Current tribal land policy in AP is inadequate todeal with the problem of tribal land alienation.Nehru’s panchasheel helped to formulate thetribal policy to safe guard and protect the triballand rights. New approaches are needed. Onehas to raise the awareness and skills of tribalpeople on land rights issues through educatingyoung people.

8.2 Present status

Tribal people once known for their self sustainedeconomy, is now under the threat of losing theiridentity and on the verge of extinction due tonon tribal intrusion and exploitation, severenatural resource depletion, land alienation,displacement etc. Tribal are still living on naturalresources like land and forest. The size andquality of land they possess are not sufficientfor them to survive. Hence they depend uponcollection of forest produce to cope up with theneeds.

Though land is the major source of livelihoodfor the tribal, many tribals do not possess thelegal titles for their lands despite their cultivatingthe lands for years. In some cases they possesspattas but the land is not handed over and insome cases their land is illegally occupied bythe non tribal. Action in Rural Technology andService (ARTS) focused on the problemsaround land rights of Tribal people in Srikakulamand Vizanagaram Districts of AP.

Lack of awareness on Land literacy

Lack of understanding of entitlements andland records

Unfair Land transactions by non Tribal

Illegal land occupations by non tribal

Most of the tribal habitations are in sub planareas, where LTR- 1/70 Act is not applicable

Lack of awareness and Knowledge onScheduled area Tribal rights

No knowledge on application of Scheduledarea laws

2 Legally – non tribal people may have land as per 1935 land settlement survey.

205Chapter-VIII

Dependecy on Integrated TribalDevelopment Authority and othergovernment departments

Various factors contribute towards this andthe unhelpful attitude of the officials makethings worse for them.

8.3 The ARTS work with youth cadreson land literacyYoung people hold promise for overcoming theproblem of land illiteracy. They can be trainedto understand the land laws and to over comepoverty by protecting their rights over the naturalresources.

In 2005-6, Action in Rural Technology andService (ARTS) trained 45 young tribal peoplein Srikakulam and Vizangaram Districts on landliteracy. The training covered laws on land, landrecords, and land survey techniques. This workwas supported by Action Aid India-AP Region.

The young people helped their friends andneighbours locate and mark their landboundaries. They presented the information tothe authorities, and organized other villagers topress for land rights.

This approach was highly successful:

Around 1100 Tribal families reclaimed 1846acres. Some tribals received pattas, includingseveral people who had not owned landbefore.

Sanghas were formed in 282 villages and twodistrict level federations of Srikakula AdivasiSamakhya and Vizangara Adivasi Samakhyaof all sanghas are being nurtured towards asustainable people’s institution.

About 28 youth groups (Community BasedOrganisations) emerged to take upleadership, respond to the many tribal issues,mobilize people and negotiate with thegovernment.

Inputs were provided to 200 youth on landand forest rights, Panchayat raj andgovernment schemes.

V schedule Sadhana Committees wereformed in 9 Mandals of two districts(Vizianagaram and Srikakulam Districts) andcampaign was taken up to build pressure onthe government.

The project also pursued other strategies:

Nurturing of youth leadership through anintensive capacity building process

Promoting network of CBOs to work onpolicy issues at District and State level

Integrating rights of the women, children andthe persons with disability as part of coreactivities

Campaigning on major issues (land) byinvolving multiple stakeholders

Strengthening the village level peoplesinstitutions and federating them at Mandal,and Division levels

Interfacing with people’s institutions andgovernment

Capacity building for Panchayatrepresentatives and collectivisation at divisionand state level .


How one young man changed the lives of42 families

Although he is only 23, P. Challayya is making abig difference to the lives of people inManumkonda.

His village, 19 km from Bhamini, the mandalheadquarters in Srikakulam district in AndhraPradesh, is home for 138 primitive Savarafamilies. They grow millet and red gram, andwork as farm labourers in other villages nearby.

Mr Challayya is an activist with SrikakulaAdivasi Samakhya, a community organizationbased in Manumkonda. ARTS gave him trainingin tribal land law and land surveying.

After the training he went to the local revenueauthorities and asked for a copy of the landrecords for the village. Using these, he identifiedgovernment-owned land in the village that wasnot cultivated.

The project supported youth to formulate microaction plan of the village and identified landlesspoor communities in the village. He facilitatedmeetings, and mobilized 42 families to cultivategovernment land. He facilitated these families tosubmit applications to the concerned revenueauthorities. The authorities refused to issue pattasto the families on the occupied land. Mr.Challyya started his struggle by facilitating dharnabefore revenue office and ITDA (IntegratedTribal Development Authority) office. Butauthorities didn’t respond.

Mr. Challayya drew a map of 42 acres ofuncultivable waste land by showing all themeasurements indicating subdivision wise namesas per F.M.B. (Field Measurement Book) with

his training experience. He submitted it to ProjectOfficer of I.T.D.A and invited him to the village.During his visit to the village, the P.O. interactedwith the people and got convinced about theirneed and the work done by the youth activist.He then recommended issue of pattas for them.The people got legal entitlements to 42 acres ofland after one and half years struggle. “Thepoorest of the poor became land owners andbegan cultivating Red gram and Ragi”.

Legal Rights can be achieved by youth

This is a case of tribal families fromViswanathapuram of GL puram mandal whostruggled for legal titles for their lands for about25 years. About 20 families belonging toKondadora tribe have been cultivating thegovernment land for the past 25 years. Of these,9 families did not possess legal titles. They usedto lease their lands to the local non tribal tradersto grow tobacco for Rs 2000/- to Rs 4000/-.But for the past three years, after ARTS startedits work on land rights, village youth were ableto understand the legal implications and rightsand stopped letting their lands on lease. Theyhave spent a great deal of money on revenuestaff by way of bribe to get the legal titles totheir lands. It is then that two youth who weretrained as land rights activists, mobilized thepeople and got the survey numbers from landrecords and made application to the concernedrevenue officer for titles. This was followed byrepeated reminders by the collective of the youthwhenever they went to Shandy (local market).Yielding to the people’s pressure concernedrevenue official issued the legal titles for 17 acres.“We were able to resolve 25 years of problemwithin 45 days with the support of our youthwho are trained by ARTS.”

207Chapter-VIII

8.4 Policy recommendations andsuggestions

The Government of AP should create a cadreof young people who can solve the land alienationand livelihoods of the tribal people by promoting“Land Literacy” to develop skills to collect landrecords, measuring land, and reading revenuemap and sub divisions in Field MeasurementBook to protect the livelihood rights of thepoorest of the poor by enforcing the tribal lawsin the state.

Since land is the major source of livelihood fortribal, if they possess the legal title for their landit will help the tribal people to stop the intrusionand exploitation and depletion of forest resourcesto improve the livelihood of the tribal people inthe state. National policy should tackle thefollowing along with “Tribal Land Literacy”:

Provide land titles to all the tribal families intribal sub-plan and schedule areas.

Display land records in the panchayat officeso that tribal people have access to these.

Consider Oral evidence as valid in theabsence of written records in the disposal oftribal land disputes.

Give tribal people in forest villagesentitlements (patta) for lands they havetraditionally cultivated.

Convert sub plan areas as V schedule asper the 1980 Tribal Commissionrecommendations.

Ensure Government support for landdevelopment and soil & moisture people; ifnecessary implement effective R.R. Packagealong with constitutional safe guards.

Provide access to public distribution systemthrough mainstreaming the ration depots.

Provide access to social security schemes formost vulnerable people.


GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESHREVENUE DEPARTMENT

(Memorandum No.3937-B1/77-1, Dated 22nd October, 1977.)Sub.: Land - Government Land - Settlement of disputes regarding Government land - Instructions - Issued.

Government have observed that a large number of cases of violence and intimiationaganist Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections of the societyarise from disputes in regard to lands particularly the occupation of Government lands.

2. While detailed instructions have already been issued stressing the necessity fortaking stern action in this regard, the following further instructions are issued.

(i) All cases of request for allotment of Government land by landless poor, particularlyScheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes should be settled without any delay be effectiveand decisive action at all levels.

(ii) The District Collector is authorised to take a final decision in respect of allGovernment land at district level. In the cases of disposal of Government land, thedecision of the District Collector is final at district level and all Government departmentsand agencies should adhere to this.

(iii) Stays should not be granted against occupation of lands by landless poorincluding Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes except in exceptional cases and in anysuch case, clear reasons have to be recorded.

(iv) In all cases of allotment of land, possession by landless poor should be invariablyensured and it should be the duty of the revenue authorities and police to place thelandless poor firmly in possession. Anydefault in this respect will be taken as seriouslapse of duty.

3. Government reiterate that firm and decisive action should be taken in all cases ofland disputes in order to secure effective occupation of land by landless poor, particularlyScheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Apart from enabling themto occupy the lands,necessary economic support measures shuld also be taken up simultaneously to enablethem to develop the land.

4. The receipt of these instructions should be acknowledged.

S.V. GiriSpecial Secretary to Government.

ANNEXURE

Urban land and the access to poor -A case study of Hyderabad

Dr. MD. Irfan Basha

Chapter IX

210 Urban land and access to poor - A case study of Hyderabad

211Chapter - IX

9.1 Introduction

In recent times, India, though still rated as adeveloping nation, has become an attractivedestination for overseas investments. Earlierthe advantages of a growing economy andsubsequent real estate boom was localizedto Class “A” cities like Delhi, Bombay,Bangalore and Chennai. However, thecongestion in these cities and the generalshortage of infrastructure facilities in themhas driven the real estate traffic to Class “B”cities like Hyderabad. From 1.25 million in1961 the city's population has reached to 6million now and is likely to reach 17.7million in 2020.

As the city has grown rapidly over the years,phenomenal developments took place. Goodinfrastructure and industry friendlyenvironment of the city has helped it intapping overseas investment. The setting upof development centres by many software

Urban land and the access to poor- A case study of Hyderabad

Dr. Md. Irfan BashaResearch Associate, COVA.

giants from India and abroad, has resulted ina lot of media attention from around theworld focusing on Hyderabad. Thanks to thestate government, the city has become afavoured destination for foreign investors andlarge corporate houses. Unfortunately, in aneffort to acquire more and more land in andaround Hyderabad, many companies areresorting to fraud and unethical means. Evenin the just-concluded panchayat polls (July-August 2006), acquisition of farmlands forindustrial development was a major issue inRanga Reddy district.

The government in its zeal to develop thecity into a tourist destination has startedharbouring ambitious plans which arebecoming detrimental to the poorer sectionsof the society.

One of the greatest challenges Hyderabadfaces now is the affordable housing crisis. Itis extensively reported in the media but toooften overlooked. Land has long been a

During the next year, for the first time in history,the world will tip from being predominentlyrural to predominantly urban. Virtually all thispopulation growth is taking place in towns andcities in the developing world, fuelling anunprecedented growth in slums and urbanpoverty. Figures show that every day 100,000people move into a slum in the developing world- that’s equivalent to one person every second.Nor are adequate measures in place to deal withthe fact that this number is set to double in thenext 25 years.Source : Cities on the brink - CARE International Report 2006

Source : Cities on the brink - CARE International Report 2006


central issue in the policy debate overenvironmental protection, natural resourcemanagement, and rural and urbandevelopment. What has been missing is asystematic exploration of the land issues fromthe perspective of development of the urbanpoor.

In India where over 28% of the populationlives in urban areas, even a small amount ofland gives sustenance to hundreds of poorpeople. The inequity in urban AndhraPradesh is based largely around ownershipof land. It strengthens the long-establishedfeudal and caste hierarchies like no otherfactor. In fact access to land to the poor breaksthe traditional caste, feudal barriers thatprevent the poor from moving out of the mostdebilitating poverty. The issue of‘Development’1 has been a critical contributorto this evolving trend on housing, shelter andthe urban poor. The constitutionality thatensured every citizen the fundamental rightsof livelihood, housing and shelter has nowbeen revised, reinvented and supplanted bya legality that sees the urban poor asencroachers and a threat to civic existence.

In this context, the present paper seeks toestablish that land is central to the lives ofurban poor and a critical factor in povertyalleviation, and that failed rehabilitationprogrammes is only part of the story ofinadequate access to land to the poor. Thateven within the existing complexities andconstraints surrounding land issues, there isenough scope to facilitate access to land tothe poor. Thus in the immediate rush one has

to address land and land related issues thatare relevant to poor.

The following study portrays the presentsocio-economic conditions of the peopleliving in a resettled area called‘Nandanavanam’. We will focus on theobjectives (Policy on Rehabilitation) of thegovernment, and the way it has been carriedout (the implementation of Nandanavanamproject by the government since 1997) andmake the suggestions in the light of thefindings.

In 1997 the government of Andhra Pradeshannounced its plan to develop the entire Musiriver2 belt between Bapu Ghat andHimayatsagar into a Millennium park. Thepark envisages creation of landscapes, checkdams, boating facilities, rock trails, cycletracks and "river walks". The land wasoccupied by the “unauthorized” settlementand was home to over an estimated 20,000working class families. The NandanavanamProject officially aimed at the beautificationof River Musi, will destroy the houses andlivelihoods of nearly 20,000 people who havelived for 30–40 years in slums in the areaaffected by the project.

2 Source: www.reachouthyderabad.com1 Usha Ramanathan, Illegality and Urban Poor, Economicand Political weekly, July 22, 2006, p 3193

213Chapter - IX

The subsequent evictions in 1997 from 4different slums (Chaderghat Darwaza,

Kamal Nagar, Musa Nagar and ShivajiBridge area) and forced rearrangementshave devastated people’s lives by distancingthem from their areas of work, severing offtheir social system and tearing down thehousing and infrastructure they had built withtheir life’s reserves. Also, the marginalizedcommunities in the slums were targets ofpolice atrocities and segregatory attitudesfrom other state agencies. The world of slumpeople represents the worst zones ofrelationship between people and the State inIndia.

Crores of rupees were wasted earlier in thename of the Nandanavanam project in 1997.Under the project, a central water channelwas built in the Musi but the same waswashed away in 2000. The project, whichincludes building commercial complexes,parking places and lawns, will sweep awaythe results of many years of struggle of theslum dwellers to achieve stable homestead.Many of them have spent the earnings of alifetime to build houses for themselves. Thehousing that the government promises toprovide outside the city is no compensationto their eviction.

The slum dwellers know the plight of theearlier evacuees from Chaderghat Darwaza,Kamala Nagar, Musa Nagar, Shivaji Bridgearea etc,. In the guise of resettlement, andbeautification of the city, in a matter of days,1300 homes were demolished, without anyconcrete rehabilitation plan. Barely 50 percent of those displaced were allotted plotsafter a year, on a barren piece of land inNandanavanam, 25 km away from theirsettlements. The remaining 50 per cent wereforced to take refuge on the streets along withtheir salvaged belongings, until they foundsome way out of their miserable plight. It iscommon knowledge if one slum isdemolished and rehabilitation is not doneproperly, as is the case often, it will create 5smaller slums, since the displaced do not goback to their villages. The same thinghappened in 1997, when the slum dwellerswere bundled in MCH vans which were usedfor lifting garbage in the city. They were firstkept in an old dilapidated theatre for 2 daysand then dumped in an area which was aprivate property with out the consent of theland owners. Litigation started soon as towhether they have to be rehabilitated inanother area promptly or be kept them thereitself for some time. The slum dwellers weremuch in consternation as to what their plightwould be. Then suddenly one evening theirhuts were razed to the ground by a violentfire, and by God’s grace there were nocasualties, but all their belongings were burntdown as they stood helpless watching theirlives’ savings going up in flames.

They lost all their hopes when they wereprovided some sheds to live their deplorablelives with out privacy, security and otherbasic amenities. They continued to languish

Construction of a central channel and filling up of Musi


without amenities for several years, but whensuccour came in the form of shelter, it wasonly for those people who had given moneyto the middlemen cum leaders. Several of thedeprived could not get the shelter even afteryears of waiting. Some others losing hoperesettled themselves in other slums. Aconsiderable number of the relocated soldtheir houses and moved out when they feltthat they could not remain there in the midstof confusion and chaos. There were also afew unable to cope were driven to suicide.

The people who have been living on the Musibank for over 30 years and earned theirlivelihood by taking up small jobs like pullingrickshaws, attending to coolie work at busstands and railway stations, as vegetable andfruit venders, say, evicting and rehabilitatingthem at far away places meant shattering theirlifeline. The displaced people demand thatthey be rehabilitated close to their existinghouses by constructing multi-storeyedcomplexes.

Below is the list of Slum areas near Musi,which are bound to be affected, if theprogramme of Beautification of Musi comesinto implementation fully.

9.2 Slum areas near Musi

1) Petla Burge

2) Kalikhaber

3) Chaderghat Darwaza

4) Kamal Nagar

5) Musa Nagar

6) Vinayaka Veedhi

7) Padma Nagar

8) Shankar Nagar

9) New Shankar Nagar

10) Wahed Nagar

11) Teegalguda

12) Afzal Nagar

13) Lakshmayya Huts

14) Chandrayya Huts

15) East Prashant Nagar

16) Harijan Basti

17) Vaddera Basti

18) Shalivahan Nagar

19) Bhavani Nagar

20) Indira Nagar

21) Ganeshpuri Colony

22) Shastri Nagar

23) New Maruti Nagar

24) Ganesh Nagar

25) Satya Nagar

26) Prashanthi Nagar

27) Tulasi Ram Nagar

28) Annapurna Nagar

29) Ambedkar Nagar

30) Khaja Gareeb Nagar

31) Sanjay Gandhi Nagar

32) Krishna Nagar

33) Shanti Nagar

34) Vinayak Nagar

35) Rajendra Nagar

36) Ziaguda

215Chapter - IX

37) Hyderguda

38) Bapu Nagar

39) Kishan Bagh

40) Hera Nagar

41) Mohammed Nagar

42) ShivajiNagar

The situation of the urban poor has alwaysbeen uncertain in a happening city likeHyderabad. Slums and squatter settlements,where the urban poor find shelter are the leastprotected. As "intrusion" on "public land",they remain at the sufferance of the state andits agencies. When a programme ofdeveloping the city is being pushed,demolition is used as the only solution toclear the lands and disperse the poor. Theviolence of demolition was, for decades,tempered by a policy of resettlement, which,even when partially and imperfectlyimplemented, gave demolition a coating oflegality.

9.3 Socio-economic characteristics ofNandanavanam population

Slum population in Nandanavanam isheterogeneous in character - with Hindus,Muslims and Christians having migratedfrom different neighbouring districts, amajority of those from Telangana region andsome from Rayalaseema area. Languagespredominantly spoken in Nandanavanam areTelugu, followed by Urdu. The area isinhabited by the poor, particularly the labourclass. Apart from depriving them of theirland, livelihood and resources base,displacement has also other psychological,

social and cultural consequences. They sufferfrom the worst deprivations in terms ofphysical and social amenities as well assustainable livelihoods.

The break up of different social groups inNandanavanam is estimated to bedemographically dominated by SCs (45%),and followed by Muslims and OBCs (20%each), Tribals constitute 10% and theremaining 5% are from the other groups.These social groups are, on the whole, livingpeacefully among themselves. There is noexclusive single group area settled in a placeclosely knit in the Nandanavanam locality,and all the social groups are distributedthroughout the settlement indicating theconcept of unity in diversity. This type ofarrangement augurs well for the prevalenceof Communal harmony and peace in theneighbourhood.

9.4 Environmental conditions andhealth s�tatus

The environmental conditions in this area arevery poor and lack basic civic amenities likedust proof roads, drainage, protected watersupply and street lights. There are nocommunity toilets. With even a cursory lookat the area, one can easily note what this areadesperately needs. The Nandanavanamresidents are confronting multi prongedproblems: bad sanitation, contaminatedwater, unemployment, over crowding, healthcontingencies, floods, epidemics and firehazards. Sustenance of healthy environmenthas become a difficult task. On an averagetwo persons from each family have sufferedfrom the dreaded epidemic Chikungunya.There is no provision of medical and health


facilities in Nandanavanam area. Even after nine years there is not a single hospital in thearea. Some of the common diseases prevalent here are gastro-enteritis, dysentery, liverenlargement, malnutrition, ringworm, scabies and other skin diseases. To overcome thesehazards health infrastructure has to be developed. Most of the poor do not have access to theservices from health centres as they are far away from their habitation.

9.5 Education in Nandanavam

Nandanavanam has three government primary schools. Each school caters to the needs ofthe displaced children from Musa Nagar, Chadarghat Darwaza and Kamala Nagar. Theschools were constructed in sheds only an year after the slum dwellers were resettled there.The gap of more than one year made almost all the people send their children for pettycasual labour or rag picking. Even after the schools were constructed, most of the parentsdid not allow their children to schools. This was not because they lacked interest in thechildren’s education, but for other reasons. A school Teacher said that till 2004, these schoolswere the gathering point for the goondas as the area where the school was situated, wasnotorious as a place of drunken brawls and even debauchery. It was only in the year 2004,when the school staff took up the matter seriously with the higher authorities that thingsimproved.

Sheds serving as school buildings

217Chapter - IX

9.6 Literacy in the slums in Hyderabad

As per the census 2001, the literacy rate ofslum population was found to vary between60 - 80%. Female literacy in slums variedfrom 52 - 73%. Table-9.2 gives the literacystatus of slum population in MCH andsurrounding municipalities.

Table 9.1 shows the number of students and teachers in three schools

These schools are constructed more or lesslike the sheds built for rehabilitated people.There is no proper infrastructure likebenches, water facility or toilets in theseschools. There are no adequate class roomsfor the students. Two teachers take differentclasses for students in each class room. Inone school where Urdu medium classes areheld uptoIV class, there are two teachers taking fourclasses in one small room simultaneously!

If we happen to visit these schools, we canobserve less than half the strength of thestudents mentioned in the attendanceregisters. We can spot most of the studentsaround the area working as child labourersor picking up waste papers, plastic bottles,small pieces of cloth etc. Almost all thestudents enrolled are in the category of‘below poverty line’.

Table -9.2 Literacy among slum population3

Source : Census A.P.- 2001

Town Literacy Rate FemaleRate Literacy Rate(2001) (2001)

MCH 72.5 65.94Serilingampally 63.75 55.79Kukatpally 72 63.48Quthbullahpur 73.5 64.62Alwal 80.29 72.38Malkajgiri 75.34 67.38Kapra 69.55 59.37Uppal Kalan 73.05 63.14LBNagar 63.67 53.25Rajendranagar 60.15 51.66

S.No School for the No. of Total No. of StudentsRehabilitated in TeachersNandanavanam Total I II III IV V VI VII

1. Musa Nagar 7 144 20 32 25 17 22 16 12Upperprimary School

2. Chadarghat Darwaza 4 77 15 12 14 16 20 - -Upperprimary School

3. Kamala Nagar 6 91 20 15 18 25 13 - -


9.7 Growth of Slums and Slum Population

Hyderabad is characterized by a significantpresence of the urban poor, with a growingpoverty profile. Slum settlements havemultiplied over decades and the livingconditions of the poor have not improved.Environmental decline, vehicular pollution,inadequate basic services and infrastructurein the poor settlements hit the poor hardest.Slums are scattered across the city andsurrounding municipalities, with highpopulation densities and the number ofpeople inhabiting them is estimated to bearound two million. It is estimated that morethan half of these slums are on private land,and the rest on lands belonging to variouspublic entities.

The squatter settlements started in Hyderabadin early fifties when the Muslim elite fledthe city due to the police action4 leavingbehind their lands and properties. TheNehruvian era of industrialisation andmaking Hyderabad the capital of AP statewere the other events that triggered suddengrowth of population, particularly of the poor.The river Musi divides Hyderabad into twoeconomic zones, with the old city situatedtowards the south, housing majority of thepoor. Two third of the squatter settlementsare located on private lands. The averagehousehold size is 15×15 ft, and the averagehousehold occupation size is about 16 m².The average density of population in slumpockets is three times higher than the city’saverage5.4 When India attained Independence from the British in 1947, afew areas remained outside the Union of India. The state ofHyderabad is one such which was integrated with rest of Indiaby police action by Govt. of India. It became capital of APstate much later in 1956. Source: Regulatory guidelines forUrban Upgrading: Hyderabad Experience, India by UmaAdusumilli, May 2001.p.2.

The growth rate in population as per the DraftRevised Master Plan–2011 for the HyderabadDevelopment Area prepared by the HUDAin 1993, the population in 2011 is projectedto be 8.6 millions. In the HUA (HuyderabadUrban Authority) area, as can be seen fromTable 9.4, there are 1631 slums with anapproximate population of two million whichare not concentric at a particular location.

Nandanavanam - “A new slum in the making”

5 400 persons per hectare in 1987 as against the city’s averageof 127 persons per hectare.

6 Source : The table - U in paper 2 of Census - 2001

Table 9.3 Figures for Hyderabad UrbanAgglomeration6:

Indicator Figures

Total population 5533640 - later revisedin paper 3 to 5751780

Slum Population 1170424

Percentage of Slum 21.15 % of totalpopulation population

Total Literacy Rate 78.51 %

Slum Literacy Rate 71.50 %

Slum female Literacy Rate 63.96 %

Total Sex Ratio 938

Slum Sex ratio 942

219Chapter - IX

By throwing the poor on the outskirts, thepolicy makers are creating ghettos. It is amove that will surely have tremendousrepercussions in the future. This isn'trelocation but dislocation. If demolition is amust, then one should first rehabilitate themproperly and then demolish. The policiesseem designed not to remove poverty but thepoor from the main city. Research indicatesthat in 30 years, every third human being onplanet earth will be a slum-dweller. Mumbai

The poor, not only dwell in slums of HUDAarea but are spread in squatter and informalsettlements in small groups deprived of basicservices. This makes them more vulnerableto vagaries of nature and threat of eviction.

They are spatially spread all over the HUAarea, which is a cause for concern andrequires appropriate strategies. Anotherconcern is that several of them are non-notified making it difficult for the provisionof infrastructure and other services onsustainable basis. Some of the slums in theMCH (Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad)area are very old established more than fivedecades ago and continue to sufferdeprivations.

7 Source : HUDA Master Plan 2011, Hyderabad Vision 2020

There is no record of data on the number ofsuch settlements and their population.

Slums are increasing in Hyderabad everyyear and the government does not have aneffective policy to reduce the slums. About25-30% of the population in Hyderabad(MCH area) was estimated to be staying inslums. In 1979, 455 slums were identifiedand by 1994 the number of slums identifiedand listed was 811.

8 Source : Urban Community Development. List of identifiedslums; a report of the MCH. (A later modification to the listindicates that an estimated 1.259 million stay in 792 slums

Table 9.4 Slum population in MCHsurrounding Municipalities7

Town Number Slum % ofof slums Population Slum

(2001) Population

MCH 1142 1411000 38.83

Serilingampally 59 73866 49.07

Kukatpally 81 19585 6.74

Quthbullahpur 77 138360 61.27

Alwal 61 62585 58.81

Malkajgiri 44 47396 27.08

Kapra 33 47064 29.57

Uppal Kalan 21 43586 36.86

LBNagar 75 23478 8.96

Rajendranagar 38 84287 58.87

Total 1631 1951207 37.47

Table 9.5 Growth of slums in the MCH area8

Year No. of slums Population

1962 106 120,000

1967 194 168,000

1972 282 300,000

1976 300 320,000

1977 Not given 380,000

1978 377 400,000

1979 455 408,000

1981 470 540,000

1986 662 859,000

1994 811 1,259,000


and Delhi by 2015 will be the second andthe third most populated cities in the world.Thus slums cannot be wished away andruthless demolition is not the solution. Ifauthorities can address rural developmentand implement the Master Plan, growth ofslums will decline phenomenally. Those wholive in slums serve the city and are thebackbone of labour force9.

The locus of global poverty is moving tocities, a process now recognised as theurbanization of poverty. Unprecedentedurban growth in the face of increasingpoverty and social inequality, and a predictedincrease in the number of people living inslums mean that without concerted action onthe part of the municipal authorities, nationalgovernments, and the civil society actors, thenumber of slum dwellers is likely to increasein most developing countries.

Categories of land and the existingpotential for giving land to the poor.

The following is the list of differentcategories of land and the extent of theiravailability for the distribution to thepoor. They include1. Assigned lands2. Ceiling lands3. Inam lands4. Public Sector Unit lands5. Lands acquired for projects lying

vacant.6. Lands that come out of Survey of

Ghatt numbers7. Endowment lands8. Wakf lands

9.8 Case Study-1

Jaipal’s story

Jaipal s/o Esaiah, aged 30 came from ‘Kattelamandi’ in Nampalli area five years ago. Hehas 3 daughters aged 7, 5 and 3 respectivelyand a son aged 2. He was a mason, and theworks he would get almost 5 days a weekhas been reduced to 3 or 4 days a week afterhis resettlement in Nandanavanam. His wifeused to work as a maid earlier and she foundit difficult to go to work at the same place asthe area is 30 kms away from her newsettlement. For Jaipal the eviction was atwofold blow – the destruction of his houseand belongings as well as the loss ofemployment and income. As the financialcondition got worsened day by day, his wifestarted doing manual work on daily wagebasis. That too is available only for 4 days aweek.

One day as Mr. Jaipal was working in aconstruction site, a big boulder fell on hisback, and he suffered multiple injuries. Hisspine got permanently damaged. Thecontractor of the work gave him a meagreRs 5000/- to fend for his troubles . He gotadmitted in Osmania General Hospital andwas there for about a fortnight. During the

9 Source : Ruzbeh N Bharucha, Author of “Yamuna GentlyWeeps” in Times of India, 26th Sep. 2006, p. 8

221Chapter - IX

14 days’ stay he needed to shell out as muchmoney as demanded by the support staff ofthe hospital. After a fortnight the doctordischarged him from the hospital with outproper diagnosis saying that all he neededwas bed rest for some more days. He returnedto the shed that was his home. This only madehis plight more deplorable. As days went by,the pain in his spine got more severe and nowhe is confined to his bed. Unable to maintaincleanliness he soon developed bed sores.Other complications too set in and today hisurinary tract is severely affected and externalsupport systems sustains him.

Whenever he goes to government hospitalthe authorities without even giving him ahearing discharge him promptly by givingsome cheap medicine, advising him to takerest in his house. The support staff nag himfor more money. As he could not walk or evensit on the bed, his legs have become numband yellowish colour is seen on his foot. Hedoes not have any provision for nature’s call.Nor does he have any facility to bathe. Thestink and foul smell makes other peopleresiding in the same shed to throw upconstantly. Some say he will not remain likethis and he may attempt suicide!

Now his wife is also not working outside andher time is devoted to her husband andchildren. Rest of her time goes for fetchingwood and for other household chores. Whenasked about her health, she says her husbandshould become normal and healthy. That isthe only thing for which she prays. As there

is no help from out side she feels lonely andisolated. She expects a miracle to happen atthe earliest. At times she also feels likecommitting suicide, but then she sees thefaces of her children and lets out a sigh andpresumes that there is still some hope. Thereis not a single government hospital inNandanavanam even after nine years to caterto the health needs of the people.

9.9 Case Study-II

Shahnaaz Begum’s Story

Shahnaaz Begum aged 33 lives a dreadfuland shocking life in a shed constructed bythe government way back in 1998. She withher family (her husband, three daughters andtwo sons) along with the other slum dwellersmoved from Musa Nagar (in Malakpet) toNandanavanam after the evictions. By thetime of eviction, they had built a brick housewith three rooms. In Musa Nagar, they hadset up on their tiny plot a small brick homewith a tin ceiling. The following is an extractfrom the record of our conversation with her.

Shahnaaz lives with 2 sons aged 8 and 6 inthe partition number 784, a small partition,which is made by plastic waste covering aheight of 6 feet. The area of the room isroughly 700 sq feet and it has no privacy.


“Hum log Jaanwaron ke beech aa gaye hain”.Shahnaaz told us, ‘Har Ek Shaqs hamaraFaida Uthana Chaah raha hai’ ‘we are in themidst of animals, every one wants to exploitus’.

Shahnaaz recalls the hardships that forced herfamily to leave Musa Nagar and shift toNandanavanam. “After my marriage, my latehusband used to drive auto and I used to lookafter the domestic chores. We could affordto educate our children. Over the 20 years inMusa Nagar, we were able to save and makea house with three rooms. When finally wewere able to afford food and water and adecent life, we were evicted and thrown here.Our house was demolished with only a day’snotice’ – the police told us just the day beforethat the demolition would begin the followingmorning. This hardly gave us any time toempty our house of all our belongings. Welost our pucca house and everything we hadearned with our sweat and toil of 20 years.”

Even though Shahnaaz’s family has beenen-titled to a larger plot in Bandlaguda area,they did not want to go to Bandlaguda area,because the area is notorious for seriouscrimes. She preferred Nandanavanambecause her brother was also allotted thesame area. For Shahnaaz, the eviction was atwofold blow – the destruction of her houseand belongings as well as the loss ofemployment and income. Musa nagar is morethan 20 km away from the settlement homesin Nandanavanam colony. It is impossible forher to commute there from so far even to visither parent’s house.

Shahnaaz’s late husband, an auto rickshawdriver, would have needed to spend Rs 20 if

he were to live in Nandanavanam and take abus to Chadarghat each day. The money thusearned was spent almost entirely on food.Shahnaaz would go out to collect firewood– they cannot afford to buy any other fuel.There is no privacy in and around theirsettlement. The eviction has broken not onlyShahnaaz’s house, but her family too.Shahnaaz’s husband could not cope upmentally as the financial burden grew dayby day. The authorities built some houses,but those houses were allotted to those whopaid money to the ‘middlemen leaders’ andhave influence in the ruling party. Some ofthe remaining people got houses in thesecond phase of construction, but asShahnaaz’s husband did not shell out enoughmoney, he did not get one for his family. Hegot terribly frustrated, and one day hecommitted suicide by dousing himself withpetrol from his auto rickshaw and burninghimself.

Another tragedy was to follow soon.Shahnaaz’s sister eloped with the brother ofthe local leader who practises a differentreligion. Shahnaaz was horrified of theoutcome as she felt alone because the socialand community life she had in Musa Nagarhad also been disrupted. The closely-knitMuslim community has been split up andscattered around the resettlement area. In thisnew set-up, the neighbourhoods are mixedand Shahnaaz does not feel the same senseof affinity, cooperation and security that sheshared with her previous neighbours. Shedecided that the plight of her grown updaughters should not be like that of her sisterand resolved to send her three daughters tothe city as maids. There have been severalincidents of men creating trouble by

223Chapter - IX

harassing and threatening women. She hasbeen all alone in her shed for the past twoyears with just two sons aged 6 and 8 years.She says one person, a pujari –priest- of thelocal temple is harrasing her and makinglewd advances to her. When she complainedof his behaviour to a Local leader, the personagain came to her after consuming liquor andin a fit of rage showered vulgar expletiveson her and threatened her of direconsequences. She was horrified andcouldnot do anything because there is nopolice station in Nandanavanam area. Whenwe asked her why she has not gone to a policestation she said “Woh Log kaunse achhehain?’’ Shahnaaz says the police create moretrouble in such cases.

Relations between the inhabitants fromdifferent areas who were resettled are alsonot cordial. Some women say the localgoondas who do not do any work are justlike parasites who live on their wives’incomes. These local goondas harass thewomen no end. Women are afraid to step outof their homes after dusk, as they feelhorrified at the happenings around them.When asked what is it that they want first intheir area they are almost unanimous insaying that they want a police station firstand then everything else like hospital,drinking water, employment etc.

The sufferings Shahnaaz and hundreds likeher are undergoing are a frighteningmanifestation of the vulnerability forced onwomen – by a confluence of multiplemarginal identities - as women in apatriarchal society, as migrant workers in theinformal sector, as members of minoritycommunities, as individuals whose

citizenship is contested and as thoseresponsible for the day-to-day survival oftheir families in a time of rapidly shrinkingeconomic opportunities.

9.10 The lack of access for the poor tourban land

The social inequality has historic roots andhas its origins in the concentration of land inthe hands of very few families andenterprises. The unjust land distribution inrural India is also mirrored in the urbansetting. Escalating prices have made accessand affordability of housing more difficultfor the poorer sections of the society10. Thereshould be considerable attempts bygovernment to extend home ownership tolower income groups.

The current global backlog of housing forslum dwellers is about 925 million. Whenthis figure is combined with the projected 1.9billion additional urban populations, it isapparent that 2.825 billion people will needhousing and urban services by 2030. Thedemand for housing – just to accommodatethe increase in the number of households overthe next 25 years – is estimated to be 877million housing units. This implies anunprecedented growth in the demand forhousing, water supply, sanitation and otherurban infrastructure services. This newchallenge exists in a context of alreadywidespread poverty and inequality in cities,with millions of people living in slumswithout adequate basic services. Providingthese services to new residents will be

10 Source : http//www.globalurban.org


essential if this additional population is notto be trapped in urban poverty, poor healthand low productivity. It is an urban problemwith significant macroeconomicconsequences. We need to examine theurgent challenge of financing urban shelterdevelopment over the next generation.

There are three important points that can bementioned here. First, the demand foraffordable shelter is increasing at anextremely fast pace in the growing cities ofthe developing world. Second, the percentageof the urban poor in the cities of thedeveloping world is very high and increasing.Third, the escalating costs that city liferequires are high and complex. There issomething terribly wrong about the inabilityof vast numbers of the working poor indeveloping countries to gain access toadequate housing. Part of the problem is therising costs of conventional housingaddressed above; but an equally importantissue is the extremely low wages in theformal sector and income from other income-earning activities, particularly in the informalsector. This is why making shelter affordableto the poor also depends upon increasing thePoor’s income.

9.11 Loss of the Poor’s land toNeo-Zamindars (MNCs)

The new paradigm, if goes unchecked, willtransfer land ownership from the hands ofexploitative zamindars and serve it on aplatter to manipulative MNCs. The poor andmarginal farmers will become landlesspeasants lured by the promise of growth and

non-existent MNC jobs. The MNCs holdforth the promise of growth, investment,progress and prosperity. In truth, however,landless peasants are not employable byMNCs. Only a few white-collar jobs emergefrom these transactions. Below are some ofthe recent examples of this growing trend:

1. In Karnataka, the Deve Gowdagovernment11, which was supposedly a pro-farmer pro-poor regime, began a move toabolish the land ceiling act, to enable MNCsto move in and acquire large tracts of land.The ceilings on land ownership wereintroduced to remove the bindings of thefeudal pattern that used to prevail in thecountry. The removal of land ceiling inpresent-day India is tantamount to acceptingthat feudalism is acceptable.

2. In opposition to the rhetoric there is alsothe acquisition of lands in the name ofnational interest, the greater good. There areseveral actors involved in this scenario. Thereis the government and its many functionaireslike the union ministries of environment andof social justice making various declamationsand pleas, which go unheard and are ignoredby the ministies of tourism, commerce,industry and mining. For instance, in Goa,commerce and tourism assault theenvironment as beaches are encroached,water tables ignored and crasscommercialism pandered to in the name ofattracting dollars.

11 Source : http//www.coama.org.co

225Chapter - IX

3. In Gujarat, the whole world has pleadedagainst the Narmada dam. But more peopleseem to relate to environmental degradationthan to the fact of adivasi (tribal) livelihoodsbeing submerged. Despite the powerfulcoalition of interest and groups uniting in theanti-dam movement, the “development at anycost” lobby seems to have won the battle.

4. Land alienation is taking place at aphenomenal rate, totally ignoring the fact thatthis is in conflict with poor people’s right tolivelihood. In Bihar, tribals are fighting fortheir land which is being turned into firingranges for the army to practice in. Theargument: “Defence has priority.”

5. The plight of Andhra Pradesh weavers,driven to suicide, has been critically analysedin Frontline magazine (April 27, 2001).Textile policies since 1985 have sought toliberalise, modernise and privatise theindustry. In fact these have succeeded inmarginalising over 40 lakh handloomweavers, who used to produce over 400 croremeters of cloth every year. The crisis wasprecipitated by a sharp increase in yarnprices, a steep hike in the power tariff, andthe concesssions provided for technologyupgradation, which by passed the small,traditional powerlooms. Liberalisationpolicies since the early 1990s have amountedto taxing the poor weavers (with higherpower tariffs etc) and pampering the rich(through subsidies for power looms).

9.12 Conclusion and Suggestions:

In our study undertaken for Nandanavanamresettlement area, the residents apparentlyhave not joined the mainstream of urbansocial, economic and political life as can beperceived by their attitudes while conversingwith them. In contrast, the residents of thefew ‘illegal’ settlements seem to be betterthan their counterparts in the regularizedNandanavanam settlement, both in the senseof being economically well enterprising andalso socially and politically more integratedwith the mainstream of urban life.

The affected people are also kept inuncertainty about who is financing theproject. Official sources have said that eitherthe World Bank or the Government of theNetherlands is the sponsoring organizations.The victims have not even been informed bywhose aid they should lose their homes. Theaffected people and their organization,Nandanavanam Basti Samrakshna Samiti(NBSS), along with CHATRI, and others,have been registering their strong protest.People have gone to the Court, taken outrallies and sat in hunger strike. They aredetermined to stop the project if it meansdisplacing them.

Inspite of the current crisis, there is abundantevidence of innovative solutions developedby the NGOs in association with the slumdwellers to improve their own living habitat.Such policies offer opportunities for betterimprovement of livelihoods, more securetenure, and local economic development for


12 Source: Uma Adusumilli, “Regulatory guidelines forurban upgrading”: Hyderabad experience, India”, May2001, p.6.

13 the land now is litigation free and unencumbered

the urban poor. They can transform thesettlements which are characterised bydisease and insecurity to upgraded, well-maintained homes, where families andcommunities can thrive. This transformation- from slums of misery to slums of hope –can be achievable.

We find that eradication and relocationunnecessarily destroy a large stock ofhousing affordable to the urban poor and thenew housing provided has frequently turnedout to be unaffordable. So upgrading existingslums is more effective than resettling slumdwellers and should become the normalpractice in future slum initiatives. Interestingexamples of “Land Sharing”12 between theslum dwellers and the private land ownersexist in Hyderabad. The process by whichthis concept was tried makes an interestingstudy. Land Sharing in the context ofHyderabad is the process by means of whichthe piece of land in private ownership,squatted upon for considerable number ofyears, is shared by the landlords and thesquatters, according to the conditionsagreeable to both the parties. The advantagesto the landlords are immediate possession ofpart of the land with increased value13, specialincentives offered by the local body foragreeing to share the land and the advantageto the slum dwellers are security of landtenure, no further eviction threats, incentiveto build permanent houses, an asset for futuregenerations and most importantly, improvedsocial status.

Gandhikuteer was a settlementsituated at a busy junction in thecity. 240 families lived on12000m² land since earlythirties. Since 40s court caseswere fought both between variousclaimants of the land ownershipas well as the landlords and theslum dwellers. In 1970s anegotiation took place to acquirethe land by paying compensationto the landlords by the slumdwellers, but did not finallymaterialise. Urban CommunityDevelopment (UCD) declaredGandhikuteer as a slum in 1981on the strength of which the slumdwellers tried to obtain landpattas. But the UCD officers feltthat it was unfair to deprive theowners of the total land andhence initiated the land sharingexercise. The settlement had threedistinct social groups and thestronger two connived to evict thethird one in consideration ofbenefits offered by the landlords.

227Chapter - IX

We found that the latest policy onResettlement by the present government(Policy on resettlement and rehabilitation forproject affected families, 2005 by theGovernment of Andhra Pradesh Hyderabad.Government of Andhra Pradesh in itsAbstract on Rehabilitation and Resettlement(R&R) policy Issued G.O. Ms. No. 68 Dated18th April, 2005) has number of lacunae inimplementation of the Nandanavanamproject. The following observationssubstantiate our claim.

The Project Affected Families lost theirhouses, cattle and employment andalienated wholly or substantially from themain source of their trade, occupationsand vocations.

In the policy it is said that the PAFs shallenjoy all the constitutional benefits at newsettlement also to which they wereentitled, but there is no single hospital inthe area till now after nearly 10 years ofrehabilitation even as the people are dyingwith Bird flu, Chikun gunya and otherdiseases.

In Dispute Redressal Mechanism(mentioned in the policy in 7b) TheResettlement & Rehabilitation Committeeconstituted should inter-alia include as oneof its members:- a representative eachfrom Minority community and OBCs (ifthey form at least 10% of the Projectdisplaced families) should also beinvolved, to make them feel inclusive.

Large number of families have movedappropriate petitions for redressal of theirgrievances. But the Grievance Redressal

Mechanism, even though, have the powerto consider and dispose of all complaintsrelating to resettlement and rehabilitation,is not active enough, and the aggrievedare still waiting to get justice.

The administrator for R&R has notensured the provision regarding theshifting of the population (BasicAmenities to be provided at resettlementcenter for projects -in 6.7), which belongto a particular community, that suchpopulation / families may be resettledenmasse in a compact area so that socio-culture relations (Social harmony)amongst shifted families are not disturbed.

The Re-settlement center has also notprovided the basic amenities andinfrastructural facilities for Drinkingwater, Drainage, Electricity, Primaryschool Building, and access road to theresettlement site in proper time frame.Internal roads, Playground, Communitycenter are yet to be provided. In additionsto these facilities, the other communityfacilities which were available in the area,at the time of acquisition, should also beprovided.

The government should have ensurd thatthe Project Displaced Families are settledpreferably in group or groups as far aspossible. However, it has to be ensured(mentioned in 5.9) that the PDFs may beresettled with the host community on thebasis of equality and mutualunderstanding, consistent with the desireof each group to preserve its own identityand culture.


Further to the suggestions made above thefollowing remarks too need seriousconsideration:

For creating and constantly maintaininginfrastructure a strong Administrativeresource base is essential. As theMunicipal Administration depend onadhoc grants, the service provision for thepoor becomes a sporadic activity ratherthan a regular service delivery system oflocal government institutions.

The infrastructure created in slums is notlinked to the citywide networks as the co-ordination among various programs andinstitutions to address the problems in anintegrated way is lacking. A majorinitiative has to be undertaken to movetoward ecological, social, and economicsustainability in the affected areas.

Vigorous implementation of urbanplanning and management policiesdesigned to prevent the emergence ofslums, along with slum-upgrading and acommitment on the part of governmentsis needed to reduce poverty. The core ofthe efforts has to improve theenvironmental habitability of slums andenhance economically productiveactivities.

Slum formation is closely linked toeconomic cycles, trends in nationalincome distribution, and in more recentyears, to national economic developmentpolicies. The report finds that the cyclicalnature of capitalism, increased demand forskilled versus unskilled labour, and thenegative effects of globalisation - inparticular, economic booms that ratchetup inequality and distribute new wealth

unevenly - contribute to the enormousgrowth of slums.

Slum development is fuelled by acombination of rapid rural-to-urbanmigration, spiralling urban poverty, theinability of the urban poor to accessaffordable land for housing and insecureland tenure. We need to advocate a morecomprehensive approach to addressing theissue of employment for slum dwellersand the urban poor in general.

“Improving the effectiveness of slumpolicies can be achieved by fullyinvolving the urban poor and thosetraditionally responsible for providingslum housing,” says Mrs. Anna KajumuloTibaijuka, Executive Director ofUN-HABITAT. “But this will requiremore inclusive urban policies on the partof the public sector which must be mademore accountable for the supply of urbanpublic goods and services to all.”

In addition, the quality of urbangovernance should play a central role inthe eradication of poverty and slums, andthe creation of prosperous, more liveablecities. “For slum policies to be successful,the kind of apathy and lack of politicalwill that has characterized both nationaland local levels of government in manycountries in recent decades needs to bereversed,”

It has been realized that an effective wayto tackle poverty and to enable the slumpopulation to improve the quality of lifeis through social mobilization ofunderprivileged people, especially intoSelf Help Groups. We need to build upconfidence and mutual support for women

229Chapter - IX

striving for social change by establishinga forum in which women can criticallyanalyze their situation and devisecollective strategies to solve theirproblems. SHGs improve the role ofwomen as critical agents of change, aswomen need to be viewed not only asbeneficiaries or as persons engaged ineconomic activities but as activeparticipants in the process of developmentand change. The government has tocommit itself proactively to elaborate newstrategies for action.

While people get impoverished and barredfrom the mainstream and the state decidesto respond to the question of slumsthrough instant demolitions andineffective resettlements, minor coverageof slum dwellers in a media guided societyhas helped lessen the public outcry againstthe widespread human rights violationsinvolved in the processes. In the case ofNandanavanam, official concepts ofbeauty and development hastened theprocesses of oppressive exclusion andeclipsed the commitments laid out in thedemocratic frame works for protecting therights of the people.

To conclude, we welcome the move tobeautify the Musi, but we urge theGovernment to ensure that the project doesnot end up displacing poor families livingclose to the river. Current evidence suggeststhat globalisation in its present form has notalways worked in favour of the urban poorand has, in fact, exacerbated their social andeconomic exclusion in some countries. Wealso want that the displaced people berehabilitated close to their existing houses byconstructing multi-storeyed complexes. A

major initiative has to be undertaken to movetoward ecological, social, and economicsustainability in the urban areas of AndhraPradesh. The adoption of collaborativeplanning called shared decision making inthe settlement area are to be the basis ofconflict resolution. Institutional innovationand coordination and capacity building arekey components; collaborative planning is aneffective forum within which publiceducation, discussion, debate, and consensuscan be integrated; workers displaced by theagreements should be offered alternativeemployment or retraining; and all interestedstakeholders should be involved from thebeginning to the end such planning processto promote success.

What we found in our present study inNandanavanam is that the official thinkingis not sympathetic to the kinds of concernsstated above. There is no empathy for thesufferings of the project-affected people, noreal sense of repentance or guilt at large-scaledisplacements, and no real yearning to findsolutions. On the other hand, there is acraving to get ahead with ‘developmental’projects and impatience with anyone whoraises inconvenient concerns. Thedisplacement (where unavoidable) must takeplace with the free, prior, informed consentof the people concerned. The people likelyto be affected must be taken into confidenceand provided with the fullest informationabout the contemplated project from theearliest stages. As soon as a broad projectconcept is available, a public hearing mustbe held. The people of the area must beparticipants in the decision-making, and mustaccept the rationale of the displacement.Forced displacement must be avoided. This


principle of ‘free, prior, informed consent’ isclearly unacceptable to the Government. Itdid not figure in the 2003 Policy and it is notthere in the 2006 draft. Governments maytalk about ‘consultation’ and ‘participation’but it goes against the grain for them to givepeople a role in decision-making.

We need to catalyze the up-gradation ofslums by means of a number of relatedinitiatives. These included the developmentof a livelihood strategy, land use plans, andlocal planning processes that are aimed atbalancing social, economic, andenvironmental interests; coordinate programswithin and between governments; andintroduce a high level of public participationto make the implementation programmesuccessful.

The experience of implementingrehabilitation programmes clearly brings outthe need for an integrated response to dealwith the problems of the urban poor. We alsonote that programmes for the rehabilitationof the poor need to focus on particularlyvulnerable groups among them, like womenand children, disabled and destitute, and theaged. This will not be possible withoutgreater political will and an increasedcommitment of resources.

Books ReferredReport on Urban Poverty Alleviation: Need forparticipatory approach, working paper onHyderabad. RCUES 1989. RCUES Library AccnNo.- 362.5 URB 8032.

Muttalib M.A, Urban Renewal – a case study ofold city of Hyderabad. RCUES Library Accn No.-307.14 MUT 7119, 7120, 7150, 7162.

Urban Basic Services for the poor, Vizianagaram,AP 1996. RCUES Library Accn No.-307.7684URB 8262

Ganesan N. Urban Basic Services, Urban BasicServices Programme in AP-Hyd, RCUES, 1989.RCUES Library Accn No.-362.04205484 GAN4812 to 4816 & 4822.

Vittal Reddy K & R.Rammohan Rao, ed. ‘UrbanCrises’, Hyderabad Publishing 1985 (i) SocialWelfare Problems. RCUES Library Accn No.-307.76 URB 2108.

Vittal Reddy K & R.Ram Mohan Rao, ed ‘UrbanCrises in India’ Hyderabad, Hyderabad Publishing1985 (ii) Urbanisation. RCUES Library Accn No.-307.13 URB 2109

Edwin Eames, Urban Poverty in a Cross CulturalContext, Free press Publications, New York, 1973.IUCIS Library Accn No. – 301.441/E12.

Anthony Downs, Urban Problems and Prospects,Makhan Publications. Co., Chicago, 1970. IUCISLibrary Accn No. – 307.76/D75.

Beverley Bryant, Urban Problems in aMetropolitan setting, Old Dominion University,1975. IUCIS Library Accn No. – 352.0094/U73

Vishwakarma, Urban & Regional Planning Policyin India, Uppal Publishing House, New Delhi,1981 (first ed). RCUES Library Accn No. –307.344094 YEL 4990

JA Yelling, Slum & Slum Clearance in VictorianLondon –Allen & Unwin, London, 1986. (Aboutcompensation and land use)

231Chapter - IX

D Ravindra Prasad, ed. Urban Renewal – TheIndian experience. by Sterling pub., 1989.(Encroachment on the roads, Squatting on Pub &Pvt. Lands, Why old city declined)

Report on Hyderabad Dev Area, BuildingRegulations, 1983. RCUES Library Accn No.-307.1484 Hyd 5716

Report on Hyderabad Metropolitan ResearchProject, 1969. RCUES Library Accn No. -352.0009084 Hyd 5648

Report on Hyderabad Slum Improvement Project,Phase-III (1998-92). RCUES Library Accn No. -307.14 MUN 6633

Report on Hyderabad Slum Improvement ProjectIII, Baseline Survey, 1990. RCUES Library AccnNo.-307.14 Hyd 7037, 7346

Report on Hyderabad Slum Improvement ProjectIII, Proposal for evaluation, Hyderabad, RCUES1987. RCUES Library Accn No.- 307.14 Hyd 7671

K.S.Seshan, ed, Hyderabad-400: Saga of a city,Association of British Council Scholars, APChapter, Hyderabad.

Dharmendra Pradad, Social and CulturalGeography of Hyderabad city, Inter India Pub,New Delhi 1986.

A plan for sustainable Development – Hyderabad-2020, Draft Master Plan for HyderabadMetropolitan area, Hyderabad UrbanDevelopment Authority - Paigah Palace, S.P. Road,Secunderabad-3. Price Rs.300/-

Inayatullah, Urban Agglomeration – a study ofCharminar Area, Ward 1, Unpublished PhD thesis,Department of Geography, Osmania University,Hyderabad.

Viswa Mitra Labour classes – Urban Cities,Growth of Urban informal sector in aDevelopment economy – New Delhi, Deep &Deep Pub, 1988. RCUES Library Accn No.-305.562 MIT 2978

Land Ceiling Act, P.M.Radha Krishnaiah (Urbanland ceiling and regulation Act 1976)

Hyderabad, Asia Law House, 1988. RCUESLibrary Accn No.-342.09 RAD 3249.

Viswa Karma RK, “Land development.” Land &Property values: An analysis of environmentimpact, centre for Urban Studies of IIPA, NewDelhi 1980. RCUES Library Accn No.-333.77WIS 2552.

Geddes, Arthur, Land Forms, Man & Land inS.Asia, New Delhi, concept Publishing Co. 1982.RCUES Library Accn No.-333.73 GED 1958.

Yugandhar, ed, Land Forms in India Vol.3 SagePublications, New Delhi, RCUES Library AccnNo.-333.315484 LAN 8503.

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Annexure:

Legislation, Regulations, and Programs/Schemes Related to housing for the UrbanPoor in Hyderabad

LegislationThe only Act enacted in the State related toslums is the Andhra Pradesh SlumImprovement (Acquisition of Land) Act,1956. The provisions of the Act wereenforced in the State with effect from August,1962.

The Act was primarily aimed at facilitatingthe government to acquire the land on whichslums were located so as to undertake publicworks in these areas designed to improvethese areas.

Under section 3(1) of this Act the governmentmay by notification in the Andhra PradeshGazette declare an area to be a slum area if itis satisfied that such area is or may be asource of danger to public health, safety orconvenience of its neighbourhood by reasonof it being low lying, unsanitary, squalid orotherwise.

Under section 3 (2) of the Act the governmentmay acquire the land in such ‘notified slumsby publishing in the Andhra Pradesh Gazettea notice to the effect that they have decidedto acquire it in pursuance of this section.

The implementing agencies of the SlumImprovement Scheme as per the Act werenominated as follows:

1) In the Municipal Areas: Director ofMunicipal Administration

2) In the Municipal Corporation Area :Commissioner of Municipal Corporationof Hyderabad

Programs and Schemes of MCH-in chronological order since 1960

1961: Banned - granting of pattas14 forgovernment land within 10 miles radiusof the limits of MCH.(G.O. Ms. No.1122, Revenue dept., dated29-6-1961)

1967: The Urban Community Development(UCD) Project in MCH was sanctionedas a Government of India (GOI)Centrally Sponsored Scheme in one wardwith a population of 50,000. Thecontribution of fund for the project wasin the ratio of 2: 1: 1 by the Centre, Stateand the MCH respectively. (G.O. Ms.No.583, MA., dated 20-9-1967)

1969: The UCD Scheme was transferreto theState sector funding and the funding wascontributed half by the State and half bythe MCH.

1974: Two more UCD projects sanctionedunder State funding.

1976: UNICEF funding for UCD schemes(along with the State and MCH funds)

1976: Slum improvement and slum housingwere included as part of the UCDprogram, with a view to improve theirliving conditions and help them toconstruct pucca houses with loans frombanks/HUDCO on plots / land holdingswhen pattas were assigned to them.(G.O. Ms. No.88, Housing, dated 26-10-1976 and G.O. Ms. No.526, MA, dated18-11-1976)

1979: ‘Weaker Sections Housing Scheme’ wasstarted. The Andhra Pradesh StateHousing Corporation Limited wasestablished to formulate, promote andexecute housing schemes for the weakersections of the society in the State.

14 Pattas are leasehold rights granted for utilisation of aparcel of land for a specific purpose and period.

233Chapter - IX

1980: 50 slums were listed as ‘objectionable’–to be shifted to new locations whereminimum infrastructure was to beprovided and building of housesfacilitated. The ban on granting pattas asper the 1961 G.O. was removed. Alleligiblesquatters / encroachers ongovernment land were to be given pattasif in unobjectionable slums and wereallottedalternative sites if occupyingobjectionable slums. Each encroacherwas to be given upto 50 sq. m. of landand if occupation of land was more than50 sq. m. the market value was to becollected for the portion in excess of 50sq. m. (G.O. Ms. No.3250, Revenue (L)dept., dated 24-7-1980)

1981: Of the 50 slums classified as‘objectionable’, 30 were reclassified as‘Unobjectionable and one previously‘unobjectionable’ slum was reclassifiedas ‘objectionable’. (G.O. Ms. No.1520,Revenue (L) dept., dated 01-10-1981)

1981: UCD proposed to construct (under theHabitat Slum Housing Program) 10,000houses in slum areas by obtaining loansfrom HUDCO. In the first phase it wasproposed to build 3955 houses in 26schemes by taking a loan through theAndhra Pradesh State Housing Boardwith a State Government guarantee.(G.O. Ms. No.268, MA., dated 01-10-1981)

1981-’83: The Hyderabad Slum ImprovementProject Phase –I was initiated by theMCH with a proposal to develop 228slums in two years with its own funds.However, due to paucity of funds, onlysporadic development of amenities couldbe taken up in 156 slums at about one-fourth of the budget originally proposed.

1981-’83 : Out of 455 notified slums, 142 werecovered under the ( EIS ) EnvironmentalImprovement Scheme (a five year planactivity, that is - budgeted and fundedunder the five year plans). The schemeenvisaged the involvement andparticipation of the local people.

1983-1989: The Hyderabad Slum ImprovementProject Phase –II was taken up for theimprovement of 210 slums. This time thefinancial outlay was enhanced due to theassistance from the OverseasDevelopment Agency, United Kingdom.

1983: Under the Permanent Housing Program,permanent houses were to be built inplace of the ‘hutment’s’ scheme beingimplemented in the ‘sites and services’programs until then.

1989-1996: The Hyderabad Slum ImprovementProject Phase –III was taken up for theimprovement of 300 slums. The perfamily expenditure norm adopted underthis phase was Rs.4000/- and in additionto physical infrastructure thedevelopment programs covered socio-economic as well as health activities.This phase also received financialsanction and assistance from theOverseas Development Agency, UnitedKingdom

1989: Establishment of the Andhra PradeshState Urban Development and HousingCorporation ( APSUDHC ) to cater tothe development of urban areas with aspecial emphasis on housing in the slumsand other areas occupied by the poorersections of the society. The APSUDHCwas to implement in the urban areas, theState Government’s programs ofproviding shelter to the weaker sectionsof the society, viz. :


1) Urban Permanent Housing Program( UPHP ) and

2) Shelter Upgradation and Scheme forHousing (SHASU )(G.O. Ms. No.98, MA., dated 03-3-1989 )

1993: Under the EWS housing scheme (startedin 1981) undertaken by the MCH, 13,128units were grounded in 95 slum areas,of which 10,000 houses were completedin all aspects. This housing program wastransfered to the Collectorate,Hyderabad. The District Collector whois the Executive Director of the districtlevel office of the Andhra Pradesh StateUrban Development and HousingCorporation was made incharge of theimplementation of the program includingplanning, execution and monitoring ofthe program.

1997: The Andhra Pradesh State HousingCorporation Limited (APSHCL)becomes the apex agency for all publicschemes for the weaker sections. TheAndhra Pradesh State UrbanDevelopment and HousingCorporation’s activities and programs aretransferred to the APSHCL.

1998: A new category of dwelling unit named‘Township House’ is introduced by theAPSHCL.The cost ceiling for such‘Township Houses’ is specified asRs.50,000. This represents the net costof a 24 sq.m.(plinth area ) tenementcompleted in all respects, in a multi-storeyed building including the cost ofland, and the floor space includingcommon facilities such as the staircaseand the corridor.

1998: ‘Policy Guidelines for Weaker SectionsHousing in Urban Areas’ identifiedcertain problems such as selection ofgenuine beneficiaries; unnecessaryinterference by middle men; frequent

sale of assigned house sites: low levelof beneficiary participation; scarcity offunds to provide civic amenities;inadequate unit cost specifications forpurposes of grant of loan; etc. andestablished an ‘Empowered Committees’at the district level which shall co-ordinate and monitor all the schemes inthe respective districts in such a mannerso as to overcome the identifiedproblems.

1999: Relaxation of norms to expedite housingscheme in Hyderabad City. Wherevershelter upgradation programs are takenup in existing slums, to enable suchschemes, particularly wherereorganization of plots is resisted,the modified minimum plot size of 24sq.m. has been permitted. The widthof the internal roads also may bemodified to the extent necessaryinstead of the otherwise minimumspecified ( 6 m. ) as long as it ismotorable. Also the layout open spacesmay be reduced to 5% instead of thestipulated 10%.

2001: 3,30,050 houses have been constructedby the Andhra Pradesh State HousingCorporation Limited so far under theurban housing program. Out of these18,025 houses were built in Hyderabad.This figure excludes the 13,128 dwellingunits built by the UCD, before theAPSHCL.

As per revised guidelines, houses arebeing allotted in the name of womanbeneficiaries, wherever feasible.

Land Reforms in Andhra Pradesh -Time for a fresh dialogue and

a new approachKaruna Vakati Aakella

Chapter X

236 Land Reforms in Andhra Pradesh - Time for a fresh dialogue and a new approach

237Chapter-X

Land Reforms in Andhra Pradesh -Time for a fresh dialogue and a new approach

-Karuna Vakati Aakella

10.1 Introduction

For over three decades, Andhra Pradeshactively pursued land reform. FollowingIndependence, the State’s new leadershiprecognized the importance of access to landto rural livelihoods and the pressing need toput agricultural land in the hands of the poor.In an effort to address the injustices of thepast and build a foundation for a moreequitable future for the rural poor, AndhraPradesh enacted a series of laws, includinglegislation abolishing intermediary interestsin land, land ceiling acts, and laws restrictingtenancy relationships and the alienation ofland of the poor.

More than fifty years have passed since mostof those laws were enacted, and the initialenthusiasm and hope that fueled those landreform measures has almost disappeared.Despite some well-intentioned efforts andhighly dedicated people, implementation ofthe reforming laws suffered from lack ofcapacity and resources and became mired inbureaucratic detail with powerful vestedinterests having a field day. The Revenuemachinery’s non-land portfolio has swelled,weakening its focus and effectiveness on landissues. Panchayat secretaries, often with noprior experience in village governance orland matters, have replaced the traditionalvillage revenue officials. Mandal RevenueOfficers and Revenue Divisional Officers arediverted from substantive work toadministrative matters. Archaic methods of

survey are still in use. Programs arevulnerable to corruption and self-dealing, andland distribution schemes have stalled.Official files grow in number and size, andland cases stagnate in the courts. Indesperation, some programmes exaggeratetheir results. Competent people abandonprojects and sincere officials are transferred.In the last fifteen to twenty years’ work onland reform has over a period virtually cometo a stand still. All this is to one undeniableresult – too little land is securely in the handsof the poor. Recent initiatives of the stateGovernment present an opportunity forrenewed work on land reforms and may yetbreathe new life into the agenda.

This paper argues that to cover substantiveground and achieve the objective of secureland rights to every poor family in the statethere is a need for a new approach as againstthe old rhetoric and approach to land reformsand that the land reform dialogue mustbecome more nuanced to cover wide rangingtopics and the administration becomes moreprofessional in its implementation for us toensure land in the hands of every poor familyin the state.

10.2 The status of land reform inAndhra Pradesh

As in most states, land reform in AndhraPradesh focused on three main areas:abolition of intermediaries, tenancy reform,and the imposition of land ceilings. Results


of the reforming legislation in AndhraPradesh were typical of many states. Theseries of laws abolishing intermediaries wereconsidered effective within their terms, butthe effort was not enough in itself to alter theinequitable pattern of land ownership andbalance of power in the rural areas. Therestrictions on tenancy imposed separatelyin the Andhra and Telangana areas resultedin approximately 107,000 tenants receivingownership rights to almost 600,000 acres.The land ceiling law gave another 582,319acres to over 540,344 beneficiaries. Stategovernment statistics report 647,344households benefiting from these land reformlaws, which amounts to one percent of allrural households in Andhra Pradesh.1 Anadditional percentage of householdsbenefited from wasteland distributionprogrammes. As of March 2002, the State haddistributed 4,202,000 acres of assignablegovernment land to eligible beneficiaries.2

While important, these achievements arealmost imperceptible in a state the size ofAndhra Pradesh. And even the modestnumbers of reported land reformbeneficiaries are suspect: the beneficiariescounted for purposes of the reports have notnecessarily received secure access to andcontrol of the assigned land. These limited(and sometimes questionable) beneficiarynumbers and the problematic implementationof land ceilings and tenancy reforms areevidence of the failure of land reform inAndhra Pradesh.

10.3 Opportunity for revival of the landreforms agenda

In the last two years the present Governmenthas, by distributing over two lakh acres ofland and by constituting a land committeeheaded by Sri Koneru Ranga Rao in the aftermath of talks with the naxalites, fuelled,albeit faint, hope for revival of the landreforms agenda.

In this context, three developments in therecent past are noteworthy. One is thesubmission of the land committee report tothe Government. Though not exhaustive, thereport covers substantive ground on thevarious gaps and lacunae in land legislationsand makes practical and immediatelyoperational recommendations on addressingit. The recommendations made by the landcommittee have been endorsed in general bythe administration and accepted across boardby the various political parties, unions andcivil society organizations.

The other has been the clear message sentacross by the top political leadership, thatgovernment assigned lands alienated or in thehands of the rich and the powerful would beresumed and reassigned to the poor. Thesedevelopments present the current revenueadministration and others an opportunity andsufficient reason (if one was needed) forpressing ahead on the land reforms agenda.The third significant development is the workbeing done on resolving the land issues ofthe poor in the flagship poverty alleviationprogram of the Department of RuralDeveleopment, the Indira Kranthi Patham.Land Managers, Paralegals, legalcoordinators – all youth, all from the familiesof the marginalized are beginning to addressthe land issues of the poor in a fundamental

239Chapter-X

1 The calculation is based on the 2001 Census rural population figure for A.P. of 55,223,944.2 ANNUAL REPORT, 2002-2003, at Annexure XL. This number differs slightly from the CCLA data in Table 1. Table 1may include land that is not classified as wasteland. Wasteland distribution figures do not notes the number ofhouseholds benefiting.

manner. Still in the initial stages this effortbrings in a fresh approach to resolvingintractable issues and also the vast socialcapital that the Department is operating with,in its’ wake.

These developments present the currentrevenue administration and others anopportunity and sufficient reason (if one wasneeded) for pressing ahead on the landreforms agenda

10.4 Time for a new approach and afresh dialogue

This time around if a definitive agenda is tobe achieved then both the administration andthe civil society organizations must reflecton their past efforts and strategy and reworkon the same.

For too long now the debate on land reformshas been monopolized by the single rhetoricof the rich and the powerful grabbing of landsof the poor or failure of the land ceiling Actand failure of land reforms has been viewedas failure of addressing the above issues.While both the above issues are true and needto be addressed the preoccupation of the landreforms dialogue with these issues has beenat the cost of a more nuanced one coveringwide ranging issues of land which ifaddressed would bring in substantially moreextents of lands into the hands of the poor.

More specifically, seventeen odd lakh acresof land was intended to be taken over by theGovernment under Ceiling Surplus Act.However, till date about five lakh odd acres

have been taken. And few lakh acres are inlitigation in courts. Apart from this gap(which would be about 10 lakh acres) andlands in possession of the ineligible (a fewlakh acres) there are many types of landsunder various legislations (Inam lands,Tenancy, Settlements, Endowments etc)which would form the substantial part of the45 lakh acres distributed but which are notin the hands of the poor. Because of anabsence of a dialogue or pressure these issueshave not been addressed. In addition to this,there are lakhs of acres of private lands thatthe poor are leasing in. A better bargainingpower for them could and should benegotiated. In the state, the poor are inpossession of lakhs of acres of lands boughtthrough plain paper transactions (Sada-Bai-nama) but are not recognized as legal ownersas the sale deeds are not registered despiteopportunities given by the Government indifferent periods. While this is a failure ofthe administration, it is also in equal measurefailure of the civil society organizations andothers who have not educated the poor orinitiated a dialogue with the administrationfor a better manner of implementation. Thesteady dispossession of the tribals from theirlands - so much so that nearly half the landsin the tribal areas is in possession of the nontribals - is in significant measure due to thecourt orders which are questionable on intentand flimsy on matters of law. Sometimes, allit takes is a two line order to dispossess atribal from his land . Yet except for a fewindividuals, there has been no systematiceffort in filing appeals and mounting a strong


defence in higher courts of law.Even todaythere are thousands of cases with sufficientgrounds for appeal in favor of the tribal whichlie unattended to across the state . This surelyis an exercise the civil society could engage in.

There are several such issues, which requirean academic debate based on knowledge andexperience of reality on ground. Only thenwould there be a meaningful modification ofpolicy and a step forward.

Further the implementation of land reformsmust move away from person dependent andhighly subjective interpretation anddispensation to place it on a neutralimpersonal platform with a set of standardprocedures, adequate skills and appropriatetechnology for addressing the various typesof land issues. This would mean that the landreform agenda would be continued to beimplemented regardless of presence orabsence of a particular person as it happenspresently. For instance, virtually in everydistrict, thousands of acres of land in theForest- Revenue boundary is under disputefor several decades. Both because of lack ofintention and application, except in pocketswhere sincere officials worked, this issue hasremained unaddressed. Even where attemptshave been made to resolve these issues muchhead way could not be made since with thechain method of survey only a few acres ofland could be surveyed every day and in viewof thousands of acres of land to be resolvedand too few surveyors this method was nevergoing to work. As a result today tens ofthousands of poor (mostly tribal) who have

settled in the border areas are subject touncertainty and exploitation by unscrupulouselements for years on end with no solutionin sight. A solution to this issue would be towork out on a pilot basis (a few thousandacres of land under dispute) using moderntechnology (like the DGPS) time taken forsurveying say a thousand acres of land. Fromthis the manpower and financial resourcesand time schedules required to survey thedisputed lands could be worked out.Outsourcing the survey work under overallsupervision of the Department of Surveywould ensure that there is no extra burdenplaced on the overworked and understaffedDepartment. Further use of moderntechnology would substantially reduce thetime taken for survey. The state wouldallocate the budget required for the activityand with an MOU signed by the threedepartments, the forest, revenue and surveyofficials would be on board at various levelswith clearly delineated responsibilities andthe exercise of resolution, by survey, of theforest revenue border disputes for the wholestate would be rolled out. Such an exercisewould be systematic, professional inapproach instead of passion or persondependent and at the end of which substantialresults would be achieved. Similarly, forevery type of land issue (big and small)standard procedures could be developed.

The old approaches – ceiling surplus landdistribution or tenancy reform schemes havenot proved feasible or even relevant in most

241Chapter-X

settings. These approaches have left behindthousands of acres of land issues unresolved.There is a need to understand the types ofavailable and potentially available land, thenature of current land uses and possession,and the existing relationships, if any, betweenthe categories of land and beneficiaries ofland reform

A multi-faceted, flexible, decentralizedstrategy must be designed by taking intoaccount the land-related circumstancesunique to each setting and tailoringprogrammers to take advantage of specificopportunities.

10.5 Conclusion

Andhra Pradesh stands at a crossroads. TheState can stay its current course, and allowthe rural poor’s secure access to land to fadefrom the State’s priority agenda. The Statewill continue to invest in agriculture,irrigation, and land development activitiesbut without land, the poor will have littlechance to benefit significantly and willinstead be left with non-land-basedlivelihood activities, which have had onlyspotty and limited success. Absent secureland tenure, the labor and efforts of the poorwill have a reduced chance of leading toenhanced livelihoods and empowerment. Inthe end, the State will fail to meet the basicneeds of the rural poor in any sustainablefashion.

10.6 The Road ahead

The land reform that began in earnest inAndhra Pradesh threatens to end in awhimper. Abandonment of land reform -whether by inattention or by design - willresult in incalculable economic, social, andhuman losses. Recent developments havedemonstrated that the promise of land reformcan be resuscitated and the rural poorprovided with secure land ownership. Withconstructive partnerships across board thedream of every poor person in the stateowning land can be translated into a reality.Given the tools of the present day, settlingfor anything less at this point is indefensible.

242

LIST OF TABLES

CHAPTER-2

Table 2.1 Number Of Tenants Conferred Ownership Rights (Or Rights Protected) And AreaAccrued to Them (As Of 31 Dec 2002)

Table 2.2 State-Wise Distribution Of Ceiling Surplus Land (As Of 31st March, 2002)

Table 2.3 Schedule Caste_ Economic Tables Of Andhra Pradesh For The Year - 1961 And 2001

Table 2.4 Social conditions of scheduled castes in Andhra Pradesh between 1961 - 2001

CHAPTER-3

Table 3.1 Caste and Agrarian occupation, 1921

Table 3.2 Caste and Occupations, 1931

Table 3.3 Land under Different Types of Systems in Different Districts in Andhra, 1940-41(area in thousand acres)

Table 3.4 Land under Different Types of Systems in Different Districts in Telangana, 1940-41(area in thousand acres)

Table 3.5 The details of surplus land as per APLR

Table 3.6 The details of land assignments for agriculture and house sites at State level

Table 3.7 Surplus land covered by Court litigation

Table 3.8 Operational holdings and operated area by different size groups in Andhra PradeshState level, 1976-77 to 1995-96(Nos in lakhs, Area in lakh Hect)

Table 3.9 Percentage distribution of operational holdings and operated area of different socialgroups in Andhra Pradesh

Table 3.10 Percentage distribution of operational holdings and area operated by scheduled castesin Andhra Pradesh

Table 3.11 Average size of the holdings operated by scheduled castes (in hectares)

Table 3.12 Average size of the holdings operated by scheduled tribes (in hectares)

Table 3.13. Number and Area Operated By Different Social Groups District Wise in Andhra Pradesh

Table 3.14 Percentages Share of Different Social Groups’ In Landholdings and Area District Wise

243

Table 3.15 District Wise Percentage Share of Different Social Groups in Population, Landholdingsand Area In 1991

Table 3.16 District Wise Percentage Share of Different Social Groups in Population, Landholdingsand Area In 2001

Table 3.17 Details of Number of Holdings and Area Exceeded Land Ceiling and Surplus Land

Table 3.18 Land Distributed By Government of Andhra Pradesh to Landless Poor 01-11-1969 to25-01-2005

Table 3.19 District wise and Category wise Assignment of Government Land during 26-01-2005and 21-08-2005

CHAPTER-4

Table 4.1 Important events, which awakened Dalits, developed and consolidated Dalit Leadershipin AP

Table 4.2 Details of Land Rights violations against Dalits surveyed in 120 Mandals, 14 Districts,of AP

CHPTER-5

Table 5.1 Details of Pending Land Cases of SC/ST with the Government

Table 5.2 District wise and Category wise Assignment of Government Land during 26-01-2005and 21-08-2005(area in acres)

Table 5.3 Details of Land Problems Recorded In 14 Districts1 of Andhra Pradesh Till 2006

Table 5.4 Net Availability of Surplus Land in Andhra Pradesh, 2006

Table 5.5 The facts data of third time land distributed by AP Govt on 19-10-2006

CHAPTER-6

Table 6.1 Statement Showing The Distribution Of Ceiling Surplus Land As On 31st March 2004)

Table 6.2 Area Treated (Mha) And Investment Undertaken (Rs. Crores), Watershed ProgrammesIn India

Table 6.3 Comprehensive Land Development ProgrammeDistrict Wise Sanctioned Blocks

Table 6.4 The Details Of Indira Prabha Expenditures And Funds Availability (Till Feb 2007)

Table 6.5 Allocation of funds in the Five year plans for land development

244

CHAPTER-7

Table 7.1 Tribial and Non Tribal Population details in Agency area of W.G.Dist

Table 7.2 Types of Lands and Extents (Acres)in the Agency Area of W.G.Dist

Table 7.3 Nature of Tribal and Non Tribal Land holdings

Table 7.4 Government Lands under control of Tribals

Table 7.5 The outcome of Legal Interventions through Courts in Agency Area of W.G.Dist

Table 7.6 The outcome of Legal Interventions through Courts in Agency Area of E.G.Dist

Table 7.7 The extent of cultivable Lands under control of Tribals and Non Tribals in few Mandalsof Kammam Dist

Table 7.8 The outcome of Legal Interventions through Courts in Agency Area of Kammam Dist.

Table 7.9 Sample study of Land Cases filed in One year in East Godavari Dist

Table 7.10 Scrutiny of orders (30) given infavour of Non Tribals in Land Cases

Table 7.11 Abstract of reasons given in orders of Non Tribals

Table 7.12 Progress of Implementation of LTR from 1995-2004

CHAPTER-8

Table 8.1 The number of students and teachers in three schools located Nandanavanam.

Table 8.2 Literacy among Slum Population

Table 8.3 Figures for Hyderabad Urban Agglomeration

Table 8.4 Slum Population in MCH Surrounding Municipalities

Table 8.5 Growth of slums and slum population in MCH

245

ABBREVIATIONS

A.P.ROR : Andhra Pradesh Record of Rights

AFLCS : Arjun Field Labour Cooperative Society

AIKS : All India Kisan Sabha

A P : Andhra Pradesh

APGS : Andhra Pradesh Girijan Sangham

APPESA : Andhra Pradesh Panchayats Extensionto Scheduled Areas

APRA : Andhra Provincial Ryots’ Association

APSALTR : Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Area LandTransfer Regulations

BC : Backward Class

BJP : Bharatiya Janata Party

BPKS : Bengal Provincial Kisan Sabha

BPKS : Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha

BSP : Bahujan Samaj Party

BYB : Bhoodan Yagna Board

CIG : Common Interest Groups

CLDP : Comprehensive Land DevelopmentProgramme

CPI : Communist Party of India

CPI(M) : Communist Party of India – Marxist

Cr.P.C : Crime Police Case

CSO : Civil Society Organisations

CSP : Congress Socialist Party :

D.F.O. : District Forest Officer

D.K.Patta : Dharakastu Patta

DBF : Dalit Bahujana Front

DBSU : Dalit Bahujan Shramik Union

DC : Depressed Class

DDP : Desert Development Programme

DoA : Department of Agriculture,

DPAP : Drought Prone Areas Programme

DPAP : District Poverty Alleviation Programme

DRBC : Dalitha Ryhthu Bhooporata Committe

DRDA : District Rural Development Agency

DRDA : District Rural Development Agency

DRO : District Revenue Officer

DWMA : District Water Management Agencey

EAS : Employment Assurance Scheme

EGS : Employment Guarantee Scheme

EPI : Exparte Permanent Injunction

FFC : Fact Finding Committee

GO : Government Order

GOAP : Government of Andhra Pradesh

HC : High Court

HUDA : Hyderabad Urban Development Authority

ILP : Independent Labour Party

INC : Indian National Congress

IRD : Integrated Rural Development

IRDP : Integrated Rural Development Programme

ITDA : Integrated Tribal Development Agency

IWDP : Integrated Water DevelopmentProgramme1

JC : Joint Collector

JSP : Janapada Seva Parishad

KZDV : Kadapa Zilla Dalita Vedika

LRAT : Land Reforms Appellate Tribunal

246

LTR : Land Transfer Regulations

LTRP : Land Transfer Regulations Petitions

MCH : Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad

MOU : Memorandum of Understanding

MRO : Mandal Revenue Officer

N.S.P : Nagarjuna Sagar Project

NCDHR : National Campaining for DalitHuman Rights

NDF : National Dalit Front

NFWP : National Food for Work Programme

NGOs : Non-Governamental Organisations

NREP : National Rural Employment Programme

NREP : National Rural Employment Programme

NSS : National Sample Survey

OBC : Other Backward Castes

OC : Other Castes

PACS : Primary Agricultural Cooperative Society

PAFs : Project Affected Families

PMC : Peoples Monitoring Committee

PMC : Peoples Monitoring Committee

PoA : Prevention Of Atrocties

Rc : Record

RDO : Revenue Divisional Officer

RIDF : Rural Infrastructure Development Fund

RIDF : Rural Infrastructure Development Fund

RLEGP : Rural Landless EmploymentGuarantee Programme

RPI : Republican Party of India

S.No : Survey Number

SC : Supreme Court

SCs : Scheduled Castes

SDC : Special Deputy Collector

SFDA : Small Farmer Development Agency

ST : Schedule Tribes

TBC : Taluka Bhooporata Committee

T D P : Telugu Desam Party

TMC : Three Member Committee

U.P. : Uttar Pradesh

UNO : United Nations Organizations

W P : Writ Petition

WPP. : Workers and Peasants Party

Andhra Pradesh

Social Watch

Rekindling

Hope ?

Report 2007

Rekindling

Hope ?

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Hope ?Rekindling

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Access, Retention and Development of LAND

A Dalit Perspective

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Access, Retention and Development of LAND A Dalit Perspective.

This second report from AP Social Watch is a collaborative venture by individual researchers and mass organizations. It takes a close look at distant history and the immediate present to understand why the dalits have remained without access and secure tenure to land despite being the daughters and sons of the soil. The study is on the one hand an inquiry into the land reform policies and its implementation by the state and on the other an appraisal of the role played by dominant sections of society with respect to Dalits' access to land.

We hope this report becomes an advocacy tool for those who work with the marginalized to help them access, retain and develop land and a handy resource book for the activists in the field.

Andhra Pradesh Social Watch (AP Social Watch) is a broad based platform of NGOs, Community Based Organizations, Academics and other Individuals committed to the cause of building a more humane society where the rights and entitlements of every one especially those of the marginalized are protected and promoted and where no one is excluded from the processes and benefits of development. More particularly the AP Social Watch is committed to monitoring and ensuring that there is convergence of stated policies and implementation of the same by the government.

Andhra Pradesh Social WatchHyderabad

Report 2007

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