The employees of the Attapadi Hill Area Development Society (Ahads), one-third of whom are Adivasis, are planning to begin an agitation in front of the Secretariat to protest against the disbanding of the society.
“We will take out a march to the Secretariat and stage a satyagraha on July 9 to protest against the hasty move of the government to disband Ahads,” said the vice-president of the Attapadi Ahads Tribal Peoples Welfare Society Pazhaniswamy.
The Principal Secretary, Local Self-Government Department James Varghese had issued a government order on Saturday evening stating that, since the external funding under JICA ended on March 26, 2010, the government has accepted the recommendations of the government secretaries to disband it. Since projects under Ahads are yet to be completed in some tribal hamlets, extension was given till March 31, 2012.