CPI demands patta for hill farmers in Erode district
The demand was made during the party's North Erode District Conference held recently in Sathyamangalam, where various resolutions were passed. One key resolution highlighted that farmers and tribal residents in the hill regions of Thalavadi, Kadambur, and Bargur have been cultivating on one or two acres of government poramboke land without formal land titles.
Due to the absence of pattas, these communities are ineligible for crop loans, compensation for crop loss caused by wild animals, electricity connections, and access to government welfare schemes. The resolution pointed out that despite their long-standing cultivation, the Revenue Department continues to deny pattas, citing Government Order (G.O.) No. 1168 issued in 1989.
The G.O., introduced following landslides in the Nilgiris district due to heavy rain, prohibits issuing pattas in hill regions to prevent soil erosion and environmental degradation. However, CPI leaders argued that the terrain in Erode is significantly different. Unlike the Nilgiris, agriculture in Erode's hill areas is carried out on flatlands, and there have been no recorded instances of landslides or soil erosion.
The party termed the application of the 1989 G.O. to Erode as unjustified and said it has led to continued deprivation of rights for hill farmers. The resolution also noted that under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, pattas are being issued to those cultivating on forest lands, making the denial of pattas for revenue poramboke lands inconsistent.
Further, the resolution drew attention to the plight of homeless families in hill regions who are unable to afford land or housing. While the government provides free house site pattas in the plains, it does not extend the same benefit to hill residents due to the 1989 ban.
The CPI has called on the government to exclude Erode district from the scope of the 1989 G.O., issue pattas for poramboke lands under cultivation in the district's hill areas, and provide free house site pattas to homeless residents. The party urged immediate government action to address the long-standing issues faced by hill farmers and tribal communities in the district.
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