Kerala’s Left and Right team up to subvert law to restore alienated tribal land

By Team Asianet Newsable | First Published Jan 6, 2017, 5:33 PM IST

Not even a tenth of the total alienated land returned to tribes.
During the previous LDF rule (2006-11), the then Revenue Minister had assured that the act would be implemented within two months.

Successive governments in Kerala undermined the implementation of the law passed by the Assembly in 1999 to restore the alienated tribal land to its traditional inheritors, revenue records prove.

The data available with the Collectorate of Palakkad show that out of the 3015 acres identified as alienated tribal land, only 290 acres were restored to its original tribal owners. This happened when starvation and infant deaths stalked the tribal hinterland of Attappady in Palakkad where the tribes were systematically ousted from their farmland and traditional habitats by settlers from outside.

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When the Kerala Restriction on Transfer by and Restoration of Lands of Scheduled Tribes Act, 1999 was passed by the Kerala Assembly, it was widely criticised as an attempt to regularise large scale encroachments into the tribal land under cover of restoring the alienated tribal land. But now, more than one and half decades after the enactment, the tribespeople who managed to stake a claim on their alienated land are still waiting for land.

As per the Act, the government was bound to restore 3015 acres to the original tribal inheritors, but it could so far give 290 acres. The documents with Palakkad Collectorate shows that 2725 acres are yet to be given back to the tribes, the legitimate owners whose land was usurped by others by hook and crook.

Not even a tenth of the total alienated land returned to tribes. During the previous LDF rule (2006-11), Revenue Minister KE Ismail had assured that the act would be implemented within two months. Not months, years lapsed and the tribes are yet to be back to their lost land.

As per the statistics, the Palakkad and Ottappalam revenue divisions received 1005 applications from tribes. All the 955 applications were received from Ottappalam was from Attappady regions. As many as 232 applicants claimed over 2 hectares each. Out of this, only 149 tribal applicants got a favourable decision.

As per the law, the alienated land should be restored to the tribes and the settlers be given land in compensation. But this provision was not implemented. The controversial act was passed by the State Assembly in 1999 with all legislators except K R Gouriyamma supporting it. Even though both the Left Democratic Front and the United Democratic Front, the two major political formations in Kerala, supported the bill way back in 1999, they did not show the same enthusiasm when it comes to the pro-tribal provisions in the acct.

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