The Chengara-Arippa Bhoosamara Samiti will take out a collectorate march in Kollam and hold a dharna on April 2 demanding immediate redressal measures and allotment of land in the two districts of Kollam and Pathanamthitta.
The Arippa land struggle has families from Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, and Kannur districts residing in the revenue forest in Kulathupuzha for over nine years.
According to the protesters, many families that were given title deeds in Chengara later found the land not arable or habitable. They allege that the government has been misleading the court by constantly giving false information in a case filed in the High Court by the Adivasi Dalit Munnetta Samithi (ADMS).
‘Promises unkept’
“Though 36 hectares of land has been identified for allotment, the court was told that only 0.2098 hectares (five cents) of land was available for distribution in Pathanamthitta district. The government is silently supporting the ownership claims of a private company,” they said. The Revenue and Forest Ministers held a meeting with the leaders of the protest on October 9, 2018, when they were told that the issue would be resolved within three months.
“But even after three years, no step has been taken. The officials were also asked to verify the caste and assets of those residing in the Arippa protest site and prepare a list of beneficiaries within three weeks. But they are yet to complete the verification of families participating from Alappuzha and Idukki districts and other 91 families whose names were directed to be included on the list of beneficiaries by the court. Despite repeated appeals to the Chief Minister, Revenue Minister and the Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes, no action has been taken,” said Sreeraman Koyyon, president, ADMS.
‘No basic amenities’
For the last several years the families that are part of the Arippa land struggle have been residing in shanties without basic amenities. The protesters say they have been denied all human rights these years and at present all families are living in a very pathetic and unhealthy condition. “With the onset of summer, we are facing acute water shortage. Though a pipeline passes through the protest site, the authorities refused to install a public tap,” they said.
N.K. Premachandran, MP, will inaugurate the dharna which will be attended by the leaders of various Adivasi and Dalit organisations.
