A four-decade-old legal struggle for the restoration of land rights has ended in a rare victory for a Gond tribeswoman in Andhra Pradesh's Adilabad district, offering hope to thousands of tribals in the state whose lands have been usurped by non-tribals even though their rights are safeguarded by law

A four-decade-old legal struggle for the restoration of land rights has ended in a rare victory for a Gond tribeswoman in Andhra Pradesh's Adilabad district, offering hope to thousands of tribals in the state whose lands have been usurped by non-tribals even though their rights are safeguarded by law

In March this year, Mankubai, former Mandal Mahila Samakhya (local women's association) president from Jaongaon in Andhra Pradesh managed to win back legal rights to her family's 18-acre plot of agricultural land valued at Rs 30 lakh, after an epic 37-year court battle. The Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) helped the impoverished woman secure the land that had been wrested from her father Todsam Gangu by a non-tribal moneylender.

In 1969, Mankubai's father took a loan of Rs 1,400 from moneylender B Shanker to meet the expenses of a family wedding. In return, he leased his land to Shanker for three years. But the moneylender refused to return the land when the lease expired. When Gangu complained to the authorities he was beaten up by Shanker's goons and false criminal cases were lodged against him.

Gangu then appealed to the collector (tribal welfare) to adjudicate in the dispute. But, though the verdict went in his favour, it was repeatedly challenged by Shanker in the higher court. The case dragged on despite a powerful state law that prohibits the transfer of scheduled area land to anyone but a person belonging to a scheduled tribe. When Gangu died, his legal heirs lost all hope of ever getting the land back.

When Mankubai became Mandal Mahila Samakhya chief in 2003, she approached the local authorities. Integrated Tribal Development Agency officials stopped Shanker from selling the land and the SERP's legal assistance programme took up the case in October 2005.

March 20, 2006 , was an historic day for Mankubai and hundreds of other tribals fighting protracted legal battles against the alienation of their state-guaranteed land rights. Jainoor's mandal revenue officer passed an order in favour of Gangu Todsam's five legal heirs, awarding them 3.69 acres each. Today, Mankubai owns 10 acres of land, having been gifted part of her brothers' share of the land in gratitude.

In Naxalite-controlled Adilabad district, 48% of land reserved for tribals in scheduled areas is in the possession of non-tribal people. Mankubai's victory could serve as a test case for tribals fighting to win back their land.

Since the inception of the Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulations (APSALTR) in 1959, over 72,000 cases of land alienation have been reported, involving 321,685 acres. This is estimated to represent only half of all such cases in the state. Worse, of the 70,000-odd cases disposed of since then, tribals have won only 42%.

In spite of a stringent law to protect tribal rights, there are many reasons why Mankubai and other tribals have to battle all the odds to reclaim their land. The implementing and adjudicating authorities under the APSALTR are unclear about the procedure of the law. Limited access to land records and legal support make it difficult for tribals to pursue their cases. And the clincher is that, in almost all cases, the affected tribals are not issued notices or made party to the proceedings, which become a matter between non-tribals and the officials concerned.

But the odds are slowly tilting in the tribals' favour. In January 2005, when India 's Minister of State for Commerce, Jairam Ramesh, was visiting a school in Adilabad, along with Vijay Kumar, head of the SERP, Mankubai approached them with her case. Ramesh had initiated the SERP using his MP's Local Area Development Scheme funds to improve social and economic infrastructure in tribal, particularly Naxalite-affected, areas.

Pointing out that the root of the Naxalite problem lay in land alienation, Ramesh noted that the state government had failed to safeguard tribal lands. "It is a reflection of the sorry state of administration in Andhra Pradesh. The state has failed to protect the interests of tribals. The administration should make efforts to get the cases re-opened and ensure that tribal rights are protected."

"We decided to take up Mankubai's problem as a test case for Giri Nyayam, the legal aid component of Giri Pragathi (a local development project)," said Ramesh. Suneel Reddy, a young lawyer from NALSAR Law University , Hyderabad , pursued Mankubai's case, digging up land records, filing affidavits in the Andhra Pradesh High Court, and complaints and petitions with the appropriate authorities. Spending just 10 full days over six months, Reddy managed to win Mankubai's land back.

Bolstered by this success, Ramesh is now working with the SERP to create a "para-legal army of law students and graduates" to review and fight all cases of land alienation. A physical inventory of lands in Utnoor and Eturunagaram is already complete. And over 3,500 land transfer cases have been scrutinised. While graduates from NALSAR Law University are acting as coordinators, a lawyers' panel has been constituted to represent tribals in court.

Also on the SERP's agenda are 255 cases involving over 2,000 acres of land pending with the high court. By investing just over Rs 500,000 (or Rs 239 per acre) on legal assistance, there is real hope that these cases can be swung in the tribals' favour.

Source: The Indian Express , July 22, 2006
The Tribune , July 11, 2006
The Hindu , June 30, 2006