Koraga's wait for home sites gets longer

The Koragas are considered as aboriginal tribes of the region

The Council of Mangaluru City Corporation had resolved to earmark 1.21 acres of land, on survey number 85/1, in Kudupu, for siteless and shelterless members of Koraga community and civic workers in 2018. However, till today, the families have not got the sites.

The Koragas, considered as aboriginal tribes of the region, who are also serving as civic workers, have been residing in survey number 85/1 for the last three to four generations. In spite of it, the families have neither received sites nor the title deeds for the land where they are residing.

“Now, the officials are citing the reason of ‘buffer zone’ to hand over the sites,” said Laxmana, president of Koragajja Seva Trust in Vamanjoor, who has been fighting for the cause of these families.

The Council in its meeting in 2018 had resolved to hand over sites measuring 30X40 (2.45 cents land) to each family and use 31 cents land for the road development in the area. As per the survey conducted by the authorities, there were 40 families who are eligible for the sites.

“We have been fighting for the sites since the 1970s," he informed DH. “If the land identified comes under the buffer zone, what about the houses already constructed at Mangalanagara, Devinagara, Basavalingappa Nagara and Santhosh Nagara?” asked residents.

“We have even applied under 94CC under the Karnataka Land Revenue Act seeking RTC. However, the applications have not been cleared so far as the MCC had failed to issue a no-objection certificate to the Tahsildar to process the applications,” he said.

Even National Safai Karmachari Commission member, during his visit to Mangaluru in 2018, had directed initiating of measures to distribute sites to the Koragas and to the civic workers at the earliest.

Inspired from Kudmal Rao, it was Venkoji Rao who had earmarked the said land to Koraga families through ‘Daanapatra’ way back in 1912. In 1942, the then Municipality had set aside the land for dumping yard. In 1960, the RTC was made in the name of the municipality. Even Adongal registry of Kudupu grama mentions the name of Venkoji Rao.

When the issue was brought to the notice of Mangalore North MLA Dr Y Bharath Shetty recently, the MLA, in turn, wrote to the revenue inspector of Gurupura hobli for further action.