VISAKHAPATNAM: Tribal farmers from Chinnakonela Revenue Village in Rompilli Panchayat of Anantagiri mandal, Alluri Sitharama Raju district, staged a half-naked rally and dharna on Monday. They sought action against the tahsildar over the alleged removal of their lands from the Webland dispute register without prior notice.
The protesters called for an inspection by the Paderu Sub-Collector. They also sought restoration of the land in the dispute register.
The farmers said tribal families had been cultivating around 32.30 acres in Survey Nos. 1 to 5 for generations. They said the land was their main source of livelihood. The protesters alleged that certain corporate entities had colluded with revenue officials to obtain pattadar passbooks for the land in violation of the Record of Rights (ROR) Act.
They said they learnt about the alleged changes while seeking details of their land records. The records showed that the properties had been transferred to private individuals and corporate entities, they claimed.
Farmer Konaparthi Chennaiyya alleged that the land was removed from the dispute register without informing the tribal farmers.
He alleged that corporate interests were seeking to use ancestral tribal land for commercial purposes.
