JOIN USUrging the forest department to stop eviction drive, District Jilla Budakattu Krishikara Sangha staged a protest in Chikmagalur on Tuesday.
Landless poor dalits and tribes had encroached forest land to eke out their living. The land should not be cleared by the forest department, the protesters said.
They took out a procession on the main streets in the district and submitted a petition to Deputy Commissioner V Yashvanth.
The forest officials should stop torturning dalits and tribes for a piece of land. A committee should be constituted in each taluk to sanction land for the poor. The report submitted by A T Ramaswamy should be implemented. They demanded title deeds for the poor.
The Forest Rights Act should be implemented effectively in the district. The petition submitted to the DC said tribals, dalits and poor have been ekeing out living by taking up agriculture on encroached land. However, the forest department has declared it as forest land.
The land of all those who have submitted form number 50 and 53 should regularised. The government should reclaim more than 10 acre encroached land. PTCL Act should be implemented effectively for safeguarding the land belonging to Dalits.
The government should take measures to check sand and land mafia, to safeguard natural resources. The encroached land should be distributed among landless labourers.
Budakattu Krishikara Sangha district president K N Vittal, taluk president Suresh and others were present.