Around 114 members of Hakki Pikki and Iruliga tribal communities received their title deeds for the land on the edges of the Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) after a 60-year-long fight.
In 1962, the members of the nomadic Hakki Pikki tribe and forest dwelling Iruliga tribes were granted 350 acres of land, denotified from the Ragihalli state forest near the BNP.
However, red tape bit into their efforts to secure the rights of the land while the lack of political will meant their suffering was all but forgotten. Last week, DK Suresh, MP, Bangalore Rural, distributed the title deeds and the revenue documents.
“(The grant of deeds) establishes a positive model for the sustained livelihood of displaced forest dwelling communities not only within forests, but also on revenue lands where they become vulnerable to land mafia on the one hand and unrestrained urbanisation on the other,” a statement from the Hakki Pikki and Iruliga Tribal Society said.
Society for Informal Education and Development Studies (SIEDS) and Environment Support Group, which backed the society, noted that despite a gazette notification, the rehabilitation of tribals has remained on paper.
They said the fortress-model of forest conservation has led to suffering of traditional forest-dwelling communities. They hailed the Forest Rights Act of 2006 as a historic law that seeks to correct injustice meted out to such tribes. “The land has been handed over after declaring it as a no-development zone,” the statement said, adding that such a measure will help block the entry of real estate mafia.
Published 24 August 2023, 21:26 IST