The caste fault lines come to the fore when people belonging to the backward communities start asserting their rights. This is what a group of people, belonging to the SC community at Bhimavaram village of Vatsavai mandal in NTR district, realised recently.
As many as 28 families from the village, mostly Dalits, have been reportedly cultivating approximately 19 acres of Poramboke land adjacent to the National Highway-65 near the Chillakallu Toll Plaza for the past 70 years. They grow mostly groundnut here.
But, they do not have any title deeds yet. While some of them have been trying in vain to get pattas since 2004, renewed efforts began only recently. This, reportedly, prompted the officials, who had no objection to them cultivating the Poramboke land hitherto, to spring into action.
“They know that they cannot take away our land once we have pattas. They are trying their best to see to it that the land does not come under our possession. Besides, being situated right next to the NH, the land holds a lot of value. Such valuable land coming to us, again, is against their liking,” alleged Mukku Bhushanam, an active member of YSRCP, former MPTC and also former director of the Agricultural Marketing Committee at Jaggaiahpeta.
Mr. Bhushanam led the 10-day protest in which people belonging to the 28 families participated. It was only on Friday that they withdrew the protest after they were promised four cents in return for their agricultural land. “But the promises hold no truth since they did not give it in writing,” he said, recounting how the community was subjected to casteist slurs and told to be ‘in their limits’ when they asked for their rights.
When they approached the officials on why they were not being given pattas, they were reportedly told that the land does not belong to them, and that this space would be used for construction of a PHC and a trauma centre. They were also reportedly told that the space would be used for construction of Jagananna Colonies for people of Jaggaiahpeta and Chillakallu.
To this, another villager, Anuradha, said: “When there is so much of land available elsewhere in the village, why would they think of setting up the health centres only on the land being cultivated by us? If the land we are cultivating is worth more than a crore, why can not we have it? Are we not allowed to be ambitious?”
When contacted the Vatsavai Mandal Revenue Officer refused to talk about the issue.
When asked about what rights can a person have over Poramboke land, Human Rights Forum State secretary Gutta Rohith said: “The principle of natural justice says that rights over the land that is being cultivated for decades and for which taxes have been paid, ideally, should have been vested in them. It’s also a question of caste marginalisation that we see is happening here.”
