HYDERABAD: The root cause, according to Union minister for rural development Jairam Ramesh, for escalating Maoist menace is related to land issues and it is four-fold. Possession of tribal lands by non-tribals, displacement of huge number of tribals in the name of development, degradation of tribal lands with illegal mining and unproductive lands being distributed by governments to tribals.Addressing an international conference on “Para-legal models to resolve land problems of the poor and tribals in India,” organised by Nalsar University and Rural Development Institute here on Saturday, Ramesh said that many tribals and people in rural areas have no knowledge of the laws relating to their lands, despite getting pattas from the government.He said the only way to tackle Left wing extremism is through development and by providing legal awareness with the support of para-legals on people’s entitlements.The minister said the ability of the Maoists to dispense instant justice when it comes to land related issues is attracting the tribal community which otherwise would normally take years. Underlining the need for para-legal models to solve these kind of land issues, he said many tribals were losing possession of their lands to non-tribals as they had no knowledge of land laws.“Because of this, Maoism has its roots in 60 districts in the country where the tribal population is concentrated,” he said.To address these issues the Centre is planning to set up para-legal centres in these 60 districts including Adilabad and Khammam in Andhra Pradesh, Ramesh said.He said his ministry will take the help of rural development institutes like Nalsar and other law universities in the country to provide para-legal services to the people in 60 districts that the Union government has identified as Maoist-affected districts in the country.Pointing out that the mining industry in the country does not pay heed to environmental issues, Ramesh said this apathy has resulted in “degradation and devastation” of large areas of land which has affected the livelihood of people and tribals. In the name of free land distribution, the minister said the governments over the years had distributed unproductive lands to the tribals and poor in the country like lands located on hill tops and rocky lands.The major task to resolve tribal issues related to land is to increase awareness among people regarding their legal entitlement, besides modernisation of land records, he said.Giving an example of tribals’ lack of knowledge to get possession of their lands, Ramesh said that a tribal women Manku Bhai from Utnoor in Adilabad district got the possession of her land after 37 years of legal battle.Though 4.2 lakh tribal land issues were solved in the last few years in the country, still 3.2 lakh tribals are fighting legal battles to get possession of their lands, he said.Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, revenue minister N Raghuveera Reddy, vice-chancellor of Nalsar University Veer Singh and former V-C Ranveer Singh, registrar of Nalsar and co-ordinator of centre for land rights Madabhusi Sridhar, Rural Development Institute India country director, Gregory Rake and AP state director M Sunil Kumar were present.
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