HYDERABAD: Eesam Raghavulu, a tribal belonging to the Koya tribe and resident of Komararam village of Yellandu mandal in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district, had purchased seeds and fertilisers on credit amounting to Rs 50,000 from a local fertiliser shop in 2015. Though he repaid Rs 40,000 in 2016, the moneylender demanded Rs 3 lakh and forcefully took possession of 30 guntas of his land.
Issues like this reverberate across the Agency areas, as non-tribals in the guise of moneylenders, fertiliser shops and other unregistered agencies, continue to push innocent tribals into a debt spiral taking over their valuable lands. Generations pass, but the indebtedness remains.
Last year, Chunchu Bucchaiah (60), one such tribal debtor, was able to recover his eight acres which were occupied by a non-tribal. Interestingly, local leaders of CPI (ML) New Democracy felt obliged to support the moneylender as the latter allegedly used to contribute to the party fund every year.
These moneylenders have the support of not just the Left parties, but all political parties which depend on them for funding party activities. Across the Agency areas of Bhadradri-Kothagudem district, these lenders have found a way to extort money even from government employees.
Gummadi Muthaiah (57), a government teacher belonging to an Adivasi community working at Regalla Thanda in Laxmidevipally mandal, was tricked into giving a surety in one such money lending transaction which involved a loanee and the lender. The lender had used alcohol, his weakness, to lure him into the process.
In the name of recovering the debt, the moneylender threatened the teacher and forced him to consent to the automatic deduction of an amount from his salary account every month. In many cases, not just salaries, but pensions of government employees are also being deducted from their bank accounts in the name of recovery, for loans they haven’t taken. In many cases, the loanee and the lender collude and make the person giving surety the scapegoat.
Non-tribals & podu lands
Podu lands are also being occupied by non-tribals in the name of debt recovery. “There are many examples where non-tribals have occupied podu lands from tribals to recover the debt. Having lost the lands, the tribals clear more forest for cultivation, which gives an expression that they are causing degradation of forests,” said Metla Papaiah, of AADHAR Society, which pursues tribal issues.