The two-day bandh call given by the Agency Joint Action Committee, comprising various tribal organisations evoked good response on the first day on Monday.
The JAC had given the call demanding the implementation of 1/70 Act and booking of cases against the violators of the Act.
For scheduled areas, Andhra Pradesh has a Land Transfer Regulation Act 1 of 1970, which is popularly known as the 1/70 Act. The Act checks the transfer of tribal land to non-tribal persons with due regard to the special status that the Constitution provides to the tribal persons and their land.
The members of the Agency JAC alleged that there had been gross violation of the Act in regard to allotting mining leases in the scheduled areas to non-tribal persons and allowing non-tribal persons to own benami houses, lodges and hotels in various parts of Agency, especially where there is a huge tourist flow.
Speaking to The Hindu from Araku, Kilo Surendra, member of the JAC and former Araku ZPTC, said, “Many non-tribal persons own and run mines and hotels and lodges by having a benami tribal as an owner in the front. They are reaping profits without giving back anything for the development of the tribal area.”
As per a survey made in 2008, there were about 650 such unauthorised cases in Araku alone and over 2,000 across the 11 mandals in the Agency, he said.
“About 10 years ago, a Special Deputy Collector was posted in the Agency to tackle such cases, but the post is lying vacant,” he lamented.
‘Withdraw quota list’
The JAC members also demanded that the government immediately withdraw the ZPTC reservation list for local body elections, as despite being a Schedule Five area, non of the seats have been reserved for tribals.
They also demanded the implementation of GO number 3, which reserves jobs for tribal youth in the Agency area.
People across the 11 mandals joined the bandh call voluntarily. Most of the shops and hotels remained closed and APSRTC buses were off the road.
Private vehicles, except a few, were also not allowed by the members who blocked the road at all entry points such as Araku and Paderu ghat roads and the Narsipatnam route.
Visakhpatnam Superintendent of Police Attada Babujee said the bandh was largely peaceful.
Tourists from West Bengal, Odisha and other States who were unaware of the bandh, were caught unawares.
