The Jana Dani Samavesha, a convention of Malnad people on their rights to land grants held at Balehonnur in N.R. Pura taluk on Sunday, urged the State government to ensure the landless get the lands granted to them and forest dwellers are not evicted.
Eddelu Karnataka (Wake Up Karnataka), a civil society collective, organised the conventionin association with Dalit Sangharsha Samiti, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Janashakti, and other progressive organisations.
Writer and activist Kalkuli Vittal Hegde, addressing the gathering, opined that court orders on forests had been the root cause of the problems being faced by the Malnad people. Unless the judgements were challenged, the people of the region would not get their due. From time immemorial, locals have conserved the forests. “However, now, the government is forcing the forest dwellers to move out in the name of conserving forests. The recent policies in the guise of conserving forests have ruined the lives of common people,” he said.
He also questioned the rationale behind Forest Minister Eshwar Chancre’s statement to implement the K. Kasturirangan’s report on the Western Ghats. “During the previous Congress rule in the state, the government had maintained that it would not implement the report. But, now the minister has issued a statement favouring it. What made the minister change the stand” he questioned.
Further, he said that the State government had no right to denotify the forest land. Because of this, the land losers of the Sharavathi Valley Hydroelectric Project had not been able to get their alternative land, he said.
“Distribution Minister”
Karnataka Janashakti State president Noor Sridhar said the people of Chikkamagaluru defeated the BJP in all five constituencies because the elected representatives did not bother to resolve the issues of the common people. Now it was the responsibility of the people to get their demands addressed during the present rule.
When Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister, he created a new ‘Ministry for Disinvestment’. In simple terms, it was to sell off government properties. “Now, we need a Ministry for Distribution in Karnataka. The objective of this ministry is to distribute certificates of land grant to the landless and roofless. Let the present government set an example of such a ministry,” he said.
Sringeri MLA T.D. Raje Gowda, responding to the issues raised in the convention, said that he had been with the people on these issues. He had opposed the implementation of the K. Kasturirangan Report and he was clueless why the Forest Minister made a statement about implementing it. “I have always stood by the forest dwellers and never allowed the government to evict them,” he said.
Further, he assured that he would put pressure on the government to hold a meeting on the land issues and resolve them. He said would speak to the Chief Minister and other Ministers in the Cabinet.
Rajya Raitha Sangha president Badagalapura Nagendra, Dalit Sangharsha Samiti convener Guruprasad Keragodu, K.L.Ashok of Janashakti, Ghouse Mohiuddin of Eddelu Karnataka, and others were present.
