Tribal people in Telangana oppose Layout Registration Scheme in Agency areas

The tribals in Adilabad region of Telangana have opposed the Layout Registration Scheme (LRS) and protested against the same. The adivasis from the areas of Jainoor, Lingapur, Sirpur mandals convened a meeting on October 4 at Marlavai village and took the decision to oppose LRS and the New Revenue Act. 

As per media reports, the Adivasis have passed an unanimous resolution in their gram sabha against the implementation of LRS and the New Revenue Act in the agency areas. They are also organising community meetings and are discussing how the LRS is in violation of Article 1/70 of the PESA Act.

According to a Deccan Chronicle report, the government personnel belonging to the gram panchayats and the local revenue staff have already started their survey, which has resulted in the agitation by the locals. The locals fear that the government is trying to regularise the non-tribal lands under this LRS scheme, which is against Article 1/70 of Land  Transfer Regulation Act and Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Act (PESA).

The report further added that the Adivasi organisations including Tudum Debba, Adivasi Students Union, Adivasi Sankshema Parishath and Gondwana Rai, have expressed their opinion that the government has failed to protect and safeguard the rights of people living in the agency areas.

Kumar Dunde Rao, president of the Adivasi Organisations Coordination Committee of Jainoor, was quoted in Deccan Chronicle as saying that the government is conducting property surveys in the agency areas in order to enable the non-tribal people to register their properties in the tribal areas.

Earlier, in September, Telangana Minister KTR launched a website for the LRS. Through LRS, the Telangana government facilitates the regularisation of unapproved layouts in the state by paying designated charges as prescribed by the government depending on the cost of the plot.