People's Democracy

ANDHRA PRADESH

CPI(M) Exposes Corruption in

Coffee Plantation Scheme for Tribals

Ch Narsinga Rao

HOW corruption at all levels in the Congress-ruled Andhra Pradesh is ruining the lives of the most downtrodden sections of the people is evident from the happenings in the tribal areas of Visakhapatnam district. AP Girijana Sangham and CPI(M) have exposed the corruption in coffee and silver oak plantations that was severely affecting tribals. The state government was forced to order an inquiry into the episode.

Paderu and Araku areas in Visakhapatnam district are scheduled areas, comprising 11 mandals with a population of over 6 lakh people, 95 per cent of who are tribals. The scheduled area is very vast, covering around 6292 sq km. Like in any hilly schedule areas, tribal farmers here practice podu agriculture. Through this shifting cultivation, they cultivate millets and other foodgrains, which is a major source of their food. There are other forest produce in the region. As per AP statistical abstract 2008, there is teak plantation in 12,513 hectares, eucalyptus in 4500 hectares, cashew in 8435, bamboo in 12,496 etc.

Maybe with a good intention, the state and central governments encouraged the tribals to go for coffee, black pepper and silver oak plantations promising them good income as there was good demand for coffee. Already coffee crop is grown extensively in Visakhapatnam scheduled area (it is called agency area) as the weather and soil are congenial for this crop. First silver oak trees are grown as they provide shadow to coffee saplings and then the coffee plantation takes. The yield would be there only after four years. As an inter-crop black pepper is grown on the silver oak trees (pepper plant is a creeper). Pepper also gives good income. Coffee seeds and pepper nuts of this area are exported to international markets.

The AP Forest Development Corporation (APFDC) assured the tribals that they will earn Rs 38,500 per acre after a wait of four  years if they grow coffee i.e. nearly Rs 10,000 per acre per annum. It would result in improving the all round economic status of the tribals.  If the scheme is implemented in its true spirit, the results would have been undoubtedly beneficial to the tribals. But the majority of the funds allotted for the scheme have been grabbed by the corrupt officials and the greedy political leaders, as was revealed in the fact-finding investigation taken up by the CPI(M) and Girijana Sangham. The officials and political leaders fattened themselves leaving the tribals in hunger and destitution.

As per this scheme, the government identified 55,276 tribal beneficiaries in 190 panchayats. A fund of Rs 349 crore has been allocated to be spent through MGNREGA for a period of eight years from 2008-09 to 2016-17. This amount would be spent under the aegis of Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) and Coffee Board. As part of the scheme the tribals planted coffee saplings and silver oak saplings. In order to assist the tribals financially during the period of four year wait, the scheme provided that the tribal farmer must be paid an amount of Rs 22,264 per acre in the first year, Rs 2245 in the second year, Rs 1850 in the third year and Rs 1918 in the fourth year.

It is here the corrupt officials and politicians jumped into fray and siphoned off vast sums meant for the poor tribals. Officially, the government declared that it would spend Rs 287 crores from MGNREGA and Rs 62 crore from Coffee Board for the benefit of 1,35,000 tribal farmers under the scheme.  It was further stated that from 2008-09 to 2011-12, a sum of  Rs 45.45 crore was paid to 30,044 coffee growers and Rs 9.62 crore was paid to silver oak growers.

The Girijana Sangham and CPI(M) undertook fact-finding exercise in the agency areas to check the government claims. Five fact-finding teams consisting of lawyers, engineers and other intellectuals toured the agency area to check the facts. To our utter dismay it was found that all the above figures quoted by the government were fictitious and the tribals were cheated to the core. Fictitious vouchers were prepared and amounts were drawn from the banks under false names. There is a requirement that in all the villages, resolutions must be passed to identify the beneficiaries and this list of beneficiaries must be displayed prominently at the respective panchayat office. What we found was that even these resolutions were bogus. In many places it was found that bogus vouchers and scroll register of payments and also the bogus thumb impressions were placed and amounts were appropriated. 

For example in a village Maggam Veedhi in Peddabailu mandal, the members decided to draw Rs 41,334 through a resolution. But the officials drew Rs 1,24,376 here. Not only that, records show that with a signature of the Mandal Development Officer another sum of Rs 1,59,248 was drawn here. It was found in our survey that the officials distributed very few of these amounts to the beneficiaries. There are no vouchers for the entire amount. Even on the vouches available, there are no details of the beneficiaries. The thumb impressions are not matching with those of the persons mentioned in the vouchers. 

CPI(M) state secretary and Polit Bureau member B V Raghavulu visited the agency area and met with the affected tribals. After seeing the scale of corruption that denied relief to tribals, he wrote a letter to the state government warning that if the justice is not meted out to the innocent tribals, government officials will be held responsible for any further unrest in the tribal area. All this forced the  state government to order an official enquiry with an assurance to do justice to the tribals.

After encouraging the tribals to shift to coffee and other cash crops, the government’s failure in providing minimum relief to the tribals in form of payments for the four year waiting period has severely impacted the tribals. They have have lost their traditional podu agriculture and are finding difficult to procure millets like jowar,maize etc for their daily consumption. On top of this severe drought like situation is prevalent in the area. AP Girijana Sangham and CPI(M) have organized agitational programmes seeking relief for the tribals in agency areas of Visakhapatnam district.