ADILABAD: Five months ago, 15 Kolam (Scheduled Tribe) families in the remote tribal village of Kumarikunta dismantled their huts and dug foundation pits after receiving sanction letters for Indiramma houses.
Their hopes of moving into permanent homes, however, were stalled when forest officials stopped the construction, citing the village’s location within the core area of the Kawal Tiger Reserve.
Today, with the monsoon setting in, the families are living in temporary shelters, uncertain when they will be allowed to build their houses.
Kumarikunta, a tribal habitation in Adilabad district, was allotted Indiramma houses for all 70 families in the village.
According to residents, officials visited the village about five months ago and distributed sanction letters. Encouraged by the approvals, 15 beneficiary families removed their huts and dug foundation pits. Soon afterwards, forest officials intervened and halted the works, stating that the proposed construction site falls within the core area of the Kawal Tiger Reserve.
Attram Manik Rao and Marubai said they had removed their huts and dug foundation pits in anticipation of constructing new houses, only to see the works abruptly stopped. “The pits are now filled with rainwater and we are forced to live in temporary huts. We survive through agriculture and daily wage work, but our dream of owning a permanent house has been put on hold,” they said.
Village head Attram Mukund Rao said repeated representations had been made to Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, district in-charge minister Jupally Krishna Rao and other officials, but no solution had emerged so far. “We were told the issue would be examined, but five months have passed without any response,” he said.
Mukund said National SC/ST Commission chairman Hussain Naik had also visited the village and assured support, but the issue remains unresolved. He alleged that the lack of coordination between the forest and revenue authorities had left tribal families in limbo. “The government constructed Indiramma houses here during the undivided Andhra Pradesh era, but now we are being prevented from building houses on the same land,” he said.
Another resident, Tekkam Thukaram, said officials and local leaders had assured them that they would receive housing assistance and funds for construction. “We are facing difficulties running our families. The government should intervene and resolve the issue,” he said. With Grama Sabhas scheduled to be held in villages, particularly tribal habitations, from Thursday to June 12 to identify eligible beneficiaries under welfare schemes, residents say they are pinning their hopes on the meetings for a resolution to the long-pending issue.