Government encroaching Dalits' lands: Congress

Mahabubnagar: Congress leaders from Mahabubnagar and Jadcherla have demanded that the State government not encroach upon the Dalit assigned lands for "its real estate business."

Earlier, on Wednesday, they staged a hunger strike protest in Rajapur mandal against the government move to reclaim the assigned lands given to dalit community during Indira Gandhi's tenure for farming purpose. They alleged that the TRS government was eyeing the valuable assigned lands of dalits along the national highways and in prime areas with a view to selling them to private people at exorbitant rates.

"It is a matter of shame that the TRS government had been resorting so low to snatch away the lands of poor dalits and selling it to rich for filling its coffers," said Anirudh Reddy, Congress TPCC secretary, in charge for Jadcherla Constituency.

TPCC secretary and Devarkadra Constituency Congress in-charge G Madhusudhan Reddy alleged that the KCR government was fooling the Dalits. On one hand, it was announcing Dalit Bandhu and on the other, it was taking back their lands for handing them over to others. It is learnt that the government has decided to take away the assigned lands of dalits from various villages of Balanagar, Nandigama, Rajapur, Bhootpur, Addakula and all those mandals which are located adjacent to National highway NH44 for real-estate business. The dalits who are assigned lands near Rajapur village, Chittaboinpally, and other villages are being asked by the local revenue officers to hand over their assigned lands to the government in return for plots of 400 square yards each along with other facilities.

The revenue officials have even conducted a field survey and identified over 400 acres of land in the villages located along side of NH 44 including Macharam, Chittaboinpally, Nandigama, Motighanapur and Gollapally villages. The Congress party vowed to fight for the Dalits' cause and protect their interests.