A glimmer of hope for land rights over seventy years

kAllukoppa (Shivamogga)

It is now 10.30 am and four government officials have just arrived at Kallukoppa, a village in Sirigere, Gram Panchayat in Shivamogga Taluk. One of them armed a rover to record the GPS location, while others carried files.

The team consists of officials from the Income and Forest Department, residents as witnesses, began to investigate the land in Maleshankara State Forest-1. The purpose is to determine the cultivators and measure the extent of land each person cultivates. The culprits in question are those displaced from Hosanagar and Sagar Taluks in Shivamogga by Sharavathi Hydel Power Project.

A group of people over 55 gathered to witness the investigation. The work began with the determination of the boundaries of land planted by the late Channabasava Nayaka sons C. Chandrashekhar and C. Ganesh brothers. The family moved from Karuru Hobli of Sagar Taluk to Kallukoppa as early as 1963, as their village was about to be submerged in the legacy of the Linganmakki Dam, which was built to generate power.

When the rover is placed on the boundary line, the gadgets processed by the surveyor record the exact location. They recorded the names and details of the tillers, determined the boundaries of the land, and measured the extent of the land.

The joint survey is currently conducted in all seven Taluks in the Shivamogga district, with over 9,129 acres. The regional government has called on the public to work with officials to complete the investigation because it is intended to support the Karnataka government’s application to the Karnataka government in the Supreme Court seeking permission to cancel part of the forest land to support people affected by the power project.

Up to 42 teams have been formed to complete the field work. Officials are expected to complete their mission by the end of April. However, given the level of work involved, it can be difficult for people who say deadlines to be on-site.

70 years later

In most places, tillers are working with staff. This is because they believe that after this exercise, they may eventually gain legal rights on the land. It’s a long struggle for them for decades. “Only the elders in our family came here to witness the investigation process. Our children lost hope for any positive outcome. But without our existence, we can’t let go,” said Narayana Gowda, about 63.

The families were transferred from the homelands of Sagar and Hosanagar Taluks, as their place was to be submerged in the backwaters of the Linganmakki Reservoir built for electricity in the early 1960s. By 1963, the families were transferred to different locations. The government noted that the land portions of the different locations were for them to cultivate, but did not grant land rights.

Recording the problem

The land they cultivated remains the “forest area” in the forest department documents. In other words, due process for transferring land to further grants from the tax department did not occur. The problem becomes complicated as the process of providing relief to displaced families is delayed. Cultivators lost their records to support their claims. Only a few successfully obtained relevant land grants and map files. They have been fighting for their rights ever since.

Many young people choose alternative sources of income. They are work as construction workers, store waiters and drivers, and many work in low-income jobs in the private sector. “Young people from the village are working in private companies in Shivamogga and Bengaluru. It’s not surprising, because three generations have passed since waiting for a solution to the problem,” said Ramachandrappa, 59.

Initially, the then government also showed the displaced families to the displaced people of Badravati and Tarikel Taruks. These families move and move with anything they can pack on a government-provided truck. But it was only after they arrived at the designated place that they realized how difficult it was to rebuild their lives.

“My parents got a dry area on a piece of land in Bhadravathi Taluk compared to the land we cultivated in Sagar Taluk. Within a few days our parents moved to Kallukoppa.” Living in lush green and developing lifestyles with the surrounding forests felt like it was in the water on the plains.

Over the past few decades, these families have multiplied, and the land originally given to them has proven too small. According to the villagers, many families did encroach on other lands because they had no choice. As a result, the degree of land they cultivated increased. The main part of the land they plant is forest land.

Up to 42 teams have been formed to complete the field work. Officials are expected to complete their mission by the end of April. |Photo source: Sathish GT

Cancel forest land

On several occasions between 1994 and 2017, the state government issued an order to cancel forest land to benefit displaced people. The process was completed at a fast pace between 2013-18 years. At that time, Kagodu Thimmmappa, who was from Sagar Taluk and represented the Sagar constituency, was the Minister of Taxation.

Many locals say he knows the problems faced by displaced people because he has witnessed these developments since he was a child. As a solution to the problem, he asked the government to issue an order to cancel forest land. Many people also received Hakku Patra (Title Deed) as per the order. But the story doesn’t end.

In March 2021, the announcement was ordered to be cancelled after a public interest lawsuit filed by Girish Achar, a social activist of Hosanagara Taluk of the Karnataka High Court. He argued that under the Forest Protection Act of 1980, the state government eliminated the retention of forest land without obtaining appropriate permission from the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The court upheld this argument. This prompted the state government to withdraw the order in September 2021.

When the order was withdrawn, the BJP was in power. This issue has become a hot topic for both Shivamogga politicians. When Congress leaders accused the BJP of withdrawing the order, the BJP ordered accusing Congress of canceling forest land without permission from Moef.

Election issues

The issue of resumption of displacement has become one of the main issues in the campaign ahead of the 2023 parliamentary elections and the 2024 parliamentary elections. BJP leaders, including former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, his son and Lok Sabha members, assured people that they will receive the necessary permission from the center.

On the other hand, the Congress leader led by Madhu Bangarappa brought up Padayatra on this issue. They invited KPCC chairman DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah, who led the state’s party campaign to participate in the protests and assured people that they would solve the problem if they came to power.

Even if the election is held, the BJP seeks the centre to allow the demolition of forest land. However, the center refused to say it asked for court approval, citing earlier cases, the court opposed.

After the 2023 General Assembly elections, Congress came to power. Since then, farmers have organized several protests to put pressure on the state government to resolve the long-standing issue. The government filed an intermediary application to the Supreme Court in the Supreme Court to allow the cancellation of forest land. In December 2024, the Supreme Court issued instructions to the state and central governments to resolve the issue friendly through secretary-level talks.

In early January this year, senior state government officials and Moef’s representatives held a meeting in Delhi. After a series of meetings, it was determined to conduct a new joint investigation of the land conducted by displaced persons.

More accurate this time?

An earlier survey was conducted to assess the extent of land farmers were planting. However, the data does not include the extent of land owned by each farmer. Officials involved in the process believe the investigation will be accurate and may reduce the overall range, which is estimated to be 9,129 acres.

“In some locations, hills are also included in the entire land area. These parts will not be included in the investigation. In addition, there may be some patches for several years,” an official said.

Officials have been asked to enter data collected in the prescribed format. Forest Chief Conservation Officer KT Hanumanthappa spoke on the training program and said 341 plots of land had been identified. Officials will fill in the prescribed format. They were told how to fill in the format and collect DGPS readings and discover Mahajar. “Practice is to provide accurate data to the central government,” he said.

Cultivators hope that the center and the state will resolve the issue early so that they can enjoy ownership of the land they have been ploughing. “We are the people who sacrificed their lives for the project. The Sharavathi project was to generate power. Now the whole country is bright because of our sacrifice. But we are still in the dark. How long should we wait for alternative lands?” asked Narayana Gowda.

Cultivators believe that the government has been generous in providing leased land to large growers, but is not worried that poor people have sacrificed their land for power projects. Ramachandrappa said that their ancestors not only lost their land twice, but were initially affected by the construction of the leased Bhaskara dam (Madenur dam) in the late 1930s, and decades later, in the 1960s, they were attacked by the Linganmakki Dam Project.

“We have not received fair compensation for our lost land over the years. But the government is ready to provide more land for coffee growers who have embezzled government land,” Ramachandrappa said.

Now, most people who want to win the title deed are small farmers. As generations pass, the land is scattered among family members. Shivappa is also a resident of Kallukoppa, with only 20 g towers. However, he also has no right to record the land he has cultivated over the years. Without any rights, farmers cannot sell or develop it.

“The government should be generous to poor farmers. Our parents died without owning the land they own. We don’t know if our dream of owning the land will come true in our lifetime,” Manjapa said.