The persistent issue of tribal land alienation and forest rights in the Scheduled Areas of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh traces its origins to colonial-era policies and continues to be a significant challenge. Despite various legal frameworks and policy initiatives intended to safeguard tribal lands, these communities face ongoing dispossession, inadequate compensation, and the failure of state mechanisms to protect their rights effectively.
Historical background
The alienation of tribal lands in Telangana has deep historical roots. During the early 20th century, the Nizam State’s policies, particularly from 1920 onward, encouraged non-tribal settlers to occupy tribal lands. This led to widespread colonization and the imposition of exploitative revenue and forest policies. Tribal communities, unfamiliar with these new systems, were subjected to significant hardships, sparking resistance movements like that led by Komaram Bheem. The culmination of these struggles was the enactment of the Tribal Area Regulation in 1949, aimed at safeguarding tribal land rights.
In the Andhra region, the introduction of colonial land tenure systems, such as zamindari and ryotwari, disrupted traditional tribal land ownership. The resultant exploitation by moneylenders and landlords led to significant unrest, epitomized by the Rampa Rebellion in 1899. In response, the British enacted the Andhra Pradesh Agency Area Land Transfer Act of 1917 to curb such exploitation and protect tribal lands. However, these protections proved insufficient, and the alienation of tribal lands persisted post-Independence.
Post-Independence legal frameworks
The Indian Constitution acknowledged the special status of tribal lands by incorporating protections under the Fifth Schedule, which designated specific areas as Scheduled Areas to safeguard tribal rights. Laws such as the Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation of 1959 as amended by 1 of 70 were introduced to prevent the transfer of tribal lands to non-tribals. Despite these protections, both colonial and post-colonial land reforms often legitimized non-tribal ownership within these regions, undermining the intent of these legal safeguards.
Contemporary issues
Ongoing land alienation:
Despite legal prohibitions, tribal lands continue to be transferred to non-tribals through fraudulent and coercive means. The state machinery’s involvement, whether through collusion or negligence, has exacerbated this problem. A 1995 report by the Tribal Welfare Department highlighted the significant presence of non-tribal landholdings in districts like Khammam(52%), Adilabad(60%), and Warangal(71%), indicating the scale of the issue. Recent government actions, such as the 2016 order by the Telangana government to regularize land transfers on unregistered documents (Sadabainamas), have further entrenched non-tribal claims on tribal lands. This move enabled unscrupulous non-tribals to create antedated documents or use previously created documents to legitimize their claims over lands in Scheduled Areas.
Judicial and administrative deficiencies
The judicial system has largely failed to deliver timely and effective justice to tribal communities. As of March 2023, Agency Courts in Telangana decided 31,764 (62%) cases decided infavour of tribals against 51021 of the total disposed, covering 1,10,201 acres (54%) But only 92,383 acres (84%) were restored due to slow enforcement. By June 2024, in the scheduled area of Andhra Pradesh, orders in 12,700 cases (43%) favored tribals covering 56,967 acres (38%) of the total disposed matters. But only 51,354 acres (90%) were physically handed over to tribals. Non-tribals have delayed implementation through legal challenges and collusion with revenue officials, resulting in continued tribal dispossession and impoverishment.
Encroachment by non-tribals, often supported by political and economic power, continues to threaten tribal lands. The legal system remains largely inaccessible to tribal communities, with limited success in legal battles due to slow judicial processes, lack of enforcement, and insufficient legal documentation.
The Supreme Court has refused to reconsider its April 2020 verdict passed by a five-judge bench which had quashed the government’s proposal to enable 100 per cent reservation to local Scheduled Tribes (STs) for teachers’ posts in the Scheduled Area of united Andhra Pradesh. The ruling of the Supreme Court, which allows non-tribals to apply for jobs in the Scheduled Area, will aggravate the problem of tribal land alienation and resources.
Policy initiatives aimed at reclaiming alienated tribal lands and providing alternative livelihoods have largely failed, criticized for poor implementation and for not addressing the root causes of land alienation. Consequently, tribal communities lose their primary means of subsistence, leading to poverty and food insecurity, and alienation from traditional agricultural practices and forest-based livelihoods.
Impact of development projects:
Large-scale infrastructure and development projects, such as mining and dam construction, have resulted in the displacement of numerous tribal communities. The Polavaram project, for instance, is expected to displace nearly 0.193 million people, including 61,000 tribals. Despite legal provisions under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act (LARR 2013), affected tribals have received inadequate compensation, further exacerbating their vulnerability.
Around 2,372 individual adivasi farmers living in 123 habitations that fall under the Polavaram project’s submergence zone in AP were already granted podupattas over an extent of 6,407.38 acres, according to data. Section 42(3) of LARR 2013 requires that community forest rights recognised under FRA be quantified in monetary terms by the concerned district collector. And the amount should be paid to the individual concerned in proportion to his share in such community rights.
In 2019, the Andhra Pradesh government reported to Parliament that around 167 community claims were selected to confer community rights over an extent of 70,724 acres in the project’s submergence zone. However, the government has failed to compensate podupatta holders who are equally eligible at par with other revenue patta holders. However the successive governments have failed to pay compensation to the tribals who have lost their forest lands for the Polavaram Project.
Forest rights and environmental policies:
The Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006 was intended to address historical injustices by recognizing individual and community forest rights. However, initiatives like Telangana’s Harita Haram afforestation program have led to the further alienation of tribal lands.
The new forest conservation rules 2022 intend to snuff out the rights of tribals while tweaking the procedures to benefit the forest land-based industries. The new rules have done away with the precondition of the settlement of forest rights of the STs and other traditional forest dwellers under Forest Rights Act, before the diversion of forest lands under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
Recent amendment to forest conservation laws including the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act 2023 simplifies the diversion of forest land for non-forestry uses by exempting unrecorded forests, those forests located within 100 kilometers of international boundaries, up to 10 hectares for infrastructure or security projects, up to 5 hectares for military camps in areas affected by left-wing extremism, and forests adjacent to railroads and roads. This is to make for faster and easier diversion of these forests for non-forest activities.
Community Forest Resources
The recognition of Community Forest Resources (CFRs) is essential for the sustainable governance of forest areas and the welfare of tribal communities. Despite this, there has been insufficient effort to assess and recognize potential CFR areas in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. A study in 2016 estimates the minimum potential for CFRs in Telangana to be 39.57 lakh acres, with another 35.77 lakh acres potentially recognizable in Andhra Pradesh. Successive governments have failed to fully acknowledge and enforce the community rights of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) and other tribal communities, leading to continued marginalization.
Conclusion
The ongoing alienation of tribal lands and the inadequate protection of forest rights in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh reflect significant gaps between the intended protections of the law and their actual implementation. Historical injustices, coupled with contemporary legal and administrative challenges, continue to undermine the rights of tribal communities. There is an urgent need for a comprehensive reexamination of tribal-related laws and policies, particularly in the context of forest conservation and land rights, to ensure that the socio-economic empowerment of tribal communities is not just a legal obligation but a lived reality.
Addressing the alienation of tribal lands and ensuring the protection of forest rights is crucial not only for upholding justice but also for the socio-economic empowerment of tribal communities in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
References
- The Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act. (2006). /Forest Rights Act.
- Forest Conservation Rules 2022.
- Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act. (2023)
- Government of Andhra Pradesh. (1995). Report of Tribal Welfare.
- Koneru Rangarao Land Committee. (2006). Report on Illegal Occupation of Tribal Lands.
- Palla Trinadha Rao 2020c https://www.counterview.in/2020/07/new-andhra-tribal-districts-should-keep.html
- Palla Trinadharao - International Day of Indigenous People: Floods in Godavari shed lights on tribals displaced by Polavaram, Down to earth, 8th Aug.2022
- Palla Trinadha Rao, Policy and Performance of FRA 2006 in Telangana-CFR. Learning & Advocacy Process 2017.
- Palla Trinadha Rao - Andhra government should immediately compensate tribals displaced by Polavaram project’ down to earth, 30th June, 2023.
- Palla Trinadha Rao- “Andhra & Telangana: SC’s refusal to review case for 100% ST reservation in teaching posts across states’ tribal areas is concerning”, Down to Earth, 30th July, 2024.
- The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act. (2013).
- Union Ministry of Water Resources. (2011). Report on Polavaram Project.
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