ADILABAD: Tribal residents of Vandarguda have accused local officials of manipulating the measurement of the distance between Vandarguda and Nelki Venkatapur villages allegedly in collusion with non-tribals in Mancherial district.
The controversy came to the fore on January 31 with villagers accusing officials of seeking to dilute or divert the high court’s directions issued to resolve the long-standing dispute. Kova Daulat Rao Mokashi, the petitioner in the case and Telangana state president of the Adivasi Sena, addressed a meeting of villagers at Vandarguda and asserted that it is an agency village governed by special laws, which the officials are bound to follow.
He alleged that Nelki Venkatapur was forcibly carved out without the consent of the tribal population of Vandarguda, prompting them to approach the high court for relief.
Mokashi said the court had directed officials to measure the distance between the two villages to settle the issue, and that officials had recently carried out the exercise twice in compliance with the court’s orders. However, he alleged that certain officials had submitted false reports and conducted the re-measurement in the presence of non-tribals, raising serious concerns over the integrity of the process.
Demanding strict action, Mokashi urged the state government to initiate proceedings against officials who, he claimed, had submitted incorrect reports and were now delaying the process in an attempt to cover up their lapses. He alleged that instead of being held accountable, the officials were prolonging the issue through procedural delays.
Warning of legal consequences, Mokashi said that if the high court’s orders continued to be violated, a contempt of court petition would be filed against the officials concerned.
He further cautioned that failure to take action against those responsible would compel tribal organisations, along with the tribal community,to launch protests across the district and the state.