Bulldozers on Bhoodan lands kick up political dust

Just days earlier Holi, the colours of solemnisation were replaced by clouds of particulate astatine Vinoba Navodaya Colony of Velugumatla colony successful Telangana’s Khammam. Early connected February 24, bulldozers rolled in, turning rows of humble homes into piles of brick, tin and splintered wood adjacent arsenic hundreds of families were near staring astatine the ruins of lives they had built implicit decades.

“Darkness has fallen connected our lives,” says B.Srinivas, 48, who works arsenic a hamali (porter) astatine the agriculture marketplace gait successful Khammam, his dependable breaking arsenic helium surveys the mound of debris that was erstwhile his home. The monolithic demolition thrust connected ‘Bhoodan’ lands astatine Velugumatla, helium says, has near families similar his homeless.

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Until recently, the tiny slum-like settlement, named aft Gandhian person Vinoba Bhave and inhabited by the moving mediocre and regular wage labourers, bustled with the routines of regular life. Today, it stands deserted, with the occasional scrap trader rummaging done the wreckage for bits of robust salvaged from the rubble.

The colony lies astir six kilometres from Khammam metropolis and sits adjacent to the district’s nervus centre — the Integrated District Offices Complex (New Collectorate) astatine Velugumatla, on the Khammam-Wyra highway.

“They (the officials) came with dozens of earthmovers and tractor-trolleys, and were accompanied by hordes of constabulary personnel,” recalls Srinivas, wiping tears. “Before we could adjacent recognize what was happening, the bulldozers started bringing our houses down without notice.”

Srinivas is among scores of residents displaced by the demolition thrust astatine Vinoba Navodaya Colony, who are present staring astatine an uncertain future.

Sources accidental astir 600 structures, some kutcha and pucca houses, were razed during the day-long operation, rendering much than 1,800 radical homeless.

The communicative of these lands, however, stretches backmost respective decades. Inspired by the Bhoodan question led by Vinoba Bhave successful the 1950s, a section landowner named Kalavala Raja Rama Rao reportedly donated 62 acres and 7 guntas of onshore successful Survey numbers 147, 148 and 149 astatine Velugumatla successful 1953.

In April 2014, conscionable earlier the enactment of Telangana, the Andhra Pradesh Bhoodan Board issued pattas of 100 quadrate yards each to 1,895 mediocre beneficiaries astatine Velugumatla successful erstwhile undivided A.P. “I built my location with hard-earned savings and wealth taken done a golden loan,” says Srinivas, holding up a worn transcript of the proceedings issued by the Andhra Pradesh Bhoodan Board dated April 23, 2014, which allotted him a crippled connected the Bhoodan lands.

Years of back-breaking labour and cautious savings, helium says, vanished successful a substance of hours erstwhile the bulldozers arrived. “Where should we spell now? How volition I repay the golden indebtedness and execute the wedding of my girl who is pursuing post-graduation,” asks the distraught hamali, present staying astatine a government-run impermanent structure astatine Ambedkar Bhavan successful Khammam.

Inside the crowded halls of Ambedkar Bhavan, galore different displaced families echo the aforesaid consciousness of uncertainty astir the future.

Officials support that the demolition thrust was undertaken to wide unauthorised constructions from the Bhoodan lands. Soon aft the operation, territory authorities announced that 31 acres and 7 guntas of Bhoodan land, estimated to beryllium worthy implicit ₹250 crore, were ‘saved’.

The demolition triggered a furore successful Khammam, agelong regarded arsenic a accepted stronghold of Left parties. Aggrieved members of the displaced families staged protests condemning their eviction and demanding justice.

The contented snowballed into a wider governmental controversy, drafting crisp reactions from respective parties including the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Bharatiya Janata Party and Aam Aadmi Party. The contention besides sparked a warfare of words betwixt the ruling Congress and the main Opposition BRS, with some sides blaming each different implicit the handling of the ‘Bhoodan onshore issue’.

A conception of Congress leaders alleged that an organisation claiming to enactment for the agrarian mediocre had issued fake pattas to unsuspecting landless families. The complaint was powerfully denied by section leaders of the organisation concerned.

Parties commercialized charges

Over the past fewer days, a dependable watercourse of leaders from assorted governmental parties and wide organisations representing weaker sections person visited Khammam to explicit solidarity with the displaced families.

Opposition leaders criticised the demolition drive, describing the “bulldozing” of houses belonging to mediocre families arsenic “ruthless and insensitive”.

Leaders of the CPI(Marxist) alleged that the enactment violated the precise tone of the Bhoodan movement. “Bhoodan lands are meant for the landless and stateless poor. Demolishing houses built by the downtrodden, against each odds, defeats the precise tone of the Bhoodan movement,” rues CPI(M) territory caput Nunna Nageshwara Rao.

The Velugumatla demolition drew disapproval adjacent from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. In a statement, helium said the Telangana authorities had “besmirched the legacy” of Vinoba Bhave by demolishing the houses constructed and owned by beneficiaries of the voluntary onshore donation campaign.

The contented besides caught the attraction of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. Its subordinate Jatothu Hussain Nayak visited the displaced families of Vinobhanagar successful Khammam connected March 1 wherever aggrieved residents recounted the abrupt demolition and nonaccomplishment of their homes.

Expressing superior interest implicit the plight of the displaced families, galore of whom beryllium to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Nayak assured them that justness would beryllium done.

Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao, State caput of the Communist Party of India and MLA from Kothagudem, questioned the veracity of the “ruthless” operation. “Demolishing their homes arbitrarily without issuing notices is inhuman,” helium had said portion visiting the displaced families successful Khammam, adding that the authorities should person conducted a house-to-house survey to place ineligible beneficiaries, if any.

“The mode the mediocre were virtually dragged onto the streets, creating panic among children, women and aged persons, is astir reprehensible,” helium had stated.

Sambasiva Rao noted that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had earlier stated successful the State Assembly that pattas would beryllium issued to mediocre radical residing connected Bhoodan lands crossed the State. Ministers from Khammam district, helium said, should instrumentality the inaugural to guarantee justness for the displaced families.

The disapproval was echoed by leaders of different parties. N. Ramchander Rao, State president of the BJP, visited Velugumatla and accused the ruling Congress authorities of carrying retired a spree of demolitions targeting houses of the mediocre crossed the State portion allegedly circumventing ineligible procedures for existent property interests.

Sharp disapproval besides came from K.T.Rama Rao, moving president of the BRS, who accused the Congress dispensation successful Telangana of unleashing “anarchy” by destroying roofs implicit the heads of the poor. He promised that his enactment would assistance the displaced residents research ineligible options to get justice.

Khammam District Collector Anudeep Durishetty has said that the demolition thrust was conducted connected Bhoodan lands pursuing owed process of law. According to the territory administration, encroached Bhoodan onshore was taken backmost by the authorities successful accordance with orders of the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration and the High Court, thereby protecting invaluable nationalist land. “A associated enquiry revealed fake documents and amerciable allotments successful Bhoodan lands astatine Velugumatla. Criminal cases person been booked against respective individuals successful this transportation and further enactment is nether mode arsenic per law,” helium said.

Minister’s connection vs residents’ fears

Stating that a elaborate socio-economic survey is nether mode successful Velugumatla, Minister for Revenue and Housing Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said each eligible families among those who mislaid their houses would beryllium provided house-site pattas and houses nether the Indiramma lodging strategy successful their autochthonal places: “Measures volition beryllium taken to guarantee house-site pattas to them by March 15.”

But for galore displaced families astatine the impermanent shelters acceptable up astatine Ambedkar Bhavan and the TTDC successful Khammam, specified assurances person done small to easiness the uncertainty of the present. Some allege that the demolition thrust was portion of a larger design. “A fewer errant realtors with governmental clout person agelong been conspiring to thrust america distant from Vinoba Colony to grow their existent property concern successful Velugumatla,” claims a displaced resident, referring to the area’s accelerated maturation arsenic a well-connected residential portion connected the metropolis outskirts.

The timing of the eviction, conscionable up of the introspection season, has besides drawn disapproval from respective quarters. “How could they bulldoze our houses without reasoning astir the interaction connected our children who are preparing for the SSC exams,” asks Punem Kondal Rao, an Adivasi nonmigratory aged astir 40. He works arsenic a watchman successful the town.

Some of the schoolbooks belonging to his elder daughter, a Class 10 pupil astatine the Zilla Parishad High School successful V. Venkatayapalem, got mislaid successful the chaos, helium says.

He has been surviving successful the colony with his four-member household since 2014. Initially, they stayed successful a makeshift operation earlier constructing a pucca location by pooling their savings and borrowing wealth from a self-help group.

He argues that 9 houses successful the colony were spared from demolition pursuing presumption quo orders from a court. “The orders use to the full survey number. If that is the case, the demolition thrust itself was unwarranted,” helium points out.

Another displaced nonmigratory says location numbers had adjacent been allotted to immoderate dwellings successful Vinoba Colony: “We had been surviving present for respective years, adjacent earlier the inauguration of the New Collectorate successful 2023.”

According to him, the crisp emergence successful onshore values astir the caller Collectorate, located adjacent to the Khammam-Wyra highway, had drawn the attraction of realtors to the Bhoodan lands successful the area. “Some politically well-connected vested elements are trying to usurp these lands,” helium alleges, requesting anonymity. He besides demands that the authorities merchandise a achromatic insubstantial connected the presumption of the full Bhoodan onshore parcel, measuring implicit 60 acres, successful Velugumatla.

As the particulate settles implicit the flattened colony, the displaced families accidental they are preparing for a prolonged struggle, 1 backed by increasing solidarity from governmental parties, activists and civilian nine groups. Their request is clear: reconstruction of their houses astatine the aforesaid tract and compensation for homes that were demolished.

For many, the nonaccomplishment is not simply of spot but of years of toil and fragile information built from meagre earnings. Dhanamma, 55, a housemaid, recalls watching helplessly arsenic her location was torn down. “I had built it ceramic by ceramic 5 years ago, utilizing up my full beingness savings. It was razed close successful beforehand of my eyes,” she sobs.

Driving them distant from the Bhoodan lands, she adds, defeats the precise intent for which ample landowners had voluntarily donated onshore for the mediocre and needy nether the historical Bhoodan movement. Living present successful a cramped impermanent structure with her family, she says renting a location is simply beyond their means. But contempt the uncertainty and hardship, she remains resolute. “Come what may, we volition not permission Velugumatla,” Dhanamma says firmly.