CHENNAI: The BJP’s state unit sprang a surprise when it promised to retrieve the 12 lakh acres of Panchami lands in Tamil Nadu even as most other parties failed to mention this long pending demand of the SCs in their manifestos this time. But interactions with activists who have been toiling on the ground to redeem these lands revealed that they are sceptical about this promise on various counts.
Arungunam S Vinayakam of Naagar Senai in Kancheepuram, who has been working on the problems of landless poor and on the Panchami lands, recalled a number of petitions given to various authorities including to the National Commission for SCs when it was led by L Murugan, the present state president of the BJP. “Murugan, when in office, did nothing about retrieval of Panchami lands. Now, what is the use in promising this in the manifesto,” Vinayagam wondered.
Further, Vinayagam explained that the main reason for the solution to the issue being elusive is that these lands have been encroached upon and occupied by functionaries of all parties. There is a charge that the Murasoli office is located on Panchami land and the DMK is yet to come out with a convincing response to the public on this issue, he pointed out.
Asked whether it is possible to retrieve these lands, Vinayagam said, “Even now it is possible to restore the Panchami lands to their original owners. The Tamil Nadu government has formed a committee in 2015 for identifying the Panchami lands. But the activities of that committee are not transparent. Though they claim that a survey has been done in 15,000 villages, no concrete information is available to the public on this.”
He also pointed out that the BJP has mentioned only about the lands given by the British as Depressed Class land. Apart from this, the SCs have been given lands under various other categories and they are under encroachment. “To our calculation, there are around 19 lakh acres of lands given to the SCs in Tamil Nadu,” he added.
Panneerselvam, founder president, Social Justice Party, active in Coimbatore and surrounding districts, who has authored a book on the genesis of the Panchami land concept during the British period and how these lands were given, told The New Indian Express, “In 2017, we handed over all details about the Panchami lands in Coimbatore and surrounding districts, the encroachments on them etc., to L Murugan, the then vice president of the National Commission for SCs. But he did not take any action on our appeal. Now, his party promises to retrieve Panchami leaders. How can we believe that his promise will be kept now?”
Asked how these lands could be restored to their owners now, Panneerselvam said, “The government can give alternative sites which are lying as poramboke and arid lands etc if not the original lands.”
D Ravikumar (VCK) described the BJP’s promise as bogus. “The BJP is in power at the Centre. What is the scheme they have for retrieval of Panchami lands at the national level? And what is the purpose of making a promise on an issue which you failed to act on at the Centre,” he asked.
Questioned as to whether it is possible for the government to retrieve the Panchami lands since it might have been transferred to many hands during the past many decades, Ravikumar said, “It is absolutely possible provided there is a political will. Since the details about the Panchami lands are maintained separately by the Revenue Department, there will be no difficulty in identification of these lands.”
He said the committee was appointed in 2015 following the directive of the Madras High Court and around 2.25 lakh acres have been identified as Panchami lands. At least the state government could have handed over the lands that have already been identified but it did not happen so far, he added.