HYDERABAD: The High Court of Telangana on Thursday issued notices to State and the Union governments to file their counters in a PIL filed by Prof P L Vishweshara Rao and two others, seeking a direction not to dispossess the Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers from their cultivated agriculture lands spread across the State.
The petitioner also sought a direction to the Telangana government to grant the Recognition of Forest Rights Pattas (ROFRP) to the Scheduled Tribes and other forest dwellers in the jurisdiction of the
V Schedule of Constitution of India in Telangana.
Petitioners’ counsel Chikkudu Prabhakar argued before a bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice A Rajashekar Reddy that though the Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers have been cultivating lands for decades, they have not yet been granted Recognition of Rights of Forest Pattas and ownership certificates.After hearing petitioners’ arguments, the bench issued notices to respondents to file their counters and adjourned the case to January 21, 2022.