Govt. to call for claims on podu lands from third week

MLAs should take responsibility in identifying beneficiaries, says CM

The State government will start receiving claims for assignment of podu lands from the third week of this month, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has said.

Indicating that the government had resolved to end the ongoing struggle by tribals for podu lands, the Chief Minister said the government would seek claims from all the eligible and ensure that land available with it was assigned to tribes. Committees headed by MLAs would be constituted in all the districts to redress podu land issue and respective MLAs should take the responsibility for selecting the eligible beneficiaries in a transparent manner.

Replying to a debate on Dalit Bandhu which came up as short discussion in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, the Chief Minister however asserted that encroachment of forest lands should also be looked into in the process. The government could allot some lands under its purview without seeking the Central government’s nod, but a pledge should be taken to ensure that forests were not damaged forthwith.