Alternative housing for Anamalai Kadar tribals: Land survey and leveling geared up at Theppakulamedu
Coimbatore: The Anaimalai Forest Range near Pollachi is inhabited by tribes such as Muduvar, Malaimalasar, Kadar, Pulaiyar and Ervalar.
Heavy rains in August 2019 caused landslides in the Kallar-Kadar tribal village of Theppakulamedu and wiped almost the entire village. Following this, the Revenue and Forest Departments temporarily relocated the tribals to a temporary location near Valparai. However, the tribals suffered severely due to the relocation.
The tribesmen who tried marching from Valparai to Coimbatore to petition the Coimbatore District Collector on February 10 last year, demanding construction of houses on their own land, were detained and arrested.
In this context, on the occasion of Independence Day on the 15th of August this year, they staged a right-to-settle agitation at Theppakulammedu, their ancestral residential area. Further, they passed a Gram Sabha a resolution in this regard and sent it to the government.
Accordingly, under the Forest Rights Act 2006, the Forest Department agreed to set up a new village in the Theppakulamedu area and to provide the necessary land for it, based on the Gram Sabha resolution. To this end, a special report was prepared and sent to the National Tiger Conservation Authority Archives by the District Collector for further action and approval by the Anamalai Tiger Reserve.
In this context, applications for land title to the Theppakulamedu area, which is to be allotted the new site last week, were received from the Kallar-Kadar tribals. Following this, a land survey was carried out for 23 families today for provision of alternative accommodation to the tribals in the Theppakulamedu area.
A team of about 15 officials from the Revenue, Forest, and Land Survey Departments undertook the work in the Theppakulamedu area.
Forest department said the villages located within the Anamalai Tiger Reserve could not be relocated, but the survey has been conducted based on the Gram Sabha resolution under the 2006 Forest Rights Act.
The tribals said that some light has been shed on them after they have been fighting in a peaceful manner for over an year.