Dharwad: The members of the district unit of Dalita Sangharsha Samiti (Ambedkar Vada) held a protest in front of DC office here on Thursday, seeking directions to the district administration for distributing title deeds to forest land encroachers including SCs.
The protesters who have sent a memorandum to the chief minister in this regard said the Forest Rights Act 2005 allows only tribals and STs to claim title deeds of the land they have encroached prior to 1980.
The enactment of this Act leaves behind the SCs who also undertook agri activities in encroached forest lands prior to 1980.
They alleged that revenue and forest officials have been harassing forest land encroachers regularly which must be stopped henceforth. The applications rejected under Forest Rights Act Committee must be re-considered for providing title deeds of the land encroached, they said.
Taluk level committees be set up and survey of such people tilling government lands be conducted, they added.
It is found that around 60 acres of land in Mummigatti village and around 82 acres of land in Honnapur village in the district is being used for agriculture purpose since decades, which must be regularised, they demanded.
DSS leader L E Doddamani and others took part.
