People's Democracy

ANDHRA PRADESH

APGS State Conference Demands Autonomous 

Council For Agency Areas

M Venugopala Rao

HOLDING its second state conference from October 18 to 20, the Andhra Pradesh Girijana Sangham (organisation of tribals in the agency areas of the state) demanded that the government carve out an autonomous council for agency areas in the state to facilitate the development of these areas and their people. The three-day conference, held in Araku valley in Visakhapatnam district, was preceded by a massive rally and public meeting. Thousands of tribals enthusiastically participated in the rally, holding flags of the Sangham and raising slogans to voice their demands. The Sangham’s state president Kunja Bojji (former MLA), MLAs S Rajaiah and K Lakshmana Murty and other leaders of the Sangham led the rally, which was inaugurated by member of parliament Dr M Baburao.

Addressing the public meeting, Upen Kiscue, minister for tribal welfare in the CPI(M)-led Left Front government of West Bengal, said the development of tribals would be possible through formation of autonomous councils for them. He pointed out that the tribals, who were born and brought up in the forest areas, and who had and should have a right over the forests wealth, continued to be in a state of helplessness and poverty in the face of exploitation of their forest wealth by non-tribals. Including the struggle of Alluri Sitaramaraju against the British colonial rule, tribals have waged several struggles in states like West Bengal, Tripura, Nagaland, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh for their rights and survival, he pointed out. Over the years even after independence, there has been no change in the life of the tribals. It was only after the CPI(M)-led Left Fronts came to power in West Bengal and Tripura that the lot of the tribals was improved and they began to enjoy their rights in these states, Upen explained. There they are freely enjoying their share in education, medical and health services, employment and local bodies, he said. It is unfortunate that tribals in the non-Left ruled states still have to conduct struggles for their rights and freedom, Upen regretted and found fault with the ruling classes for not recognising the sacrifices and struggles of the tribals. Though thousands of tribals are dying of viral fever every year, the governments continue to be negligent towards providing them necessary treatment and medicines. The ruling classes are exploiting the wealth of the tribals and trampling their rights under foot, and middlemen are pocketing thousands of crores of rupees allotted for the development and welfare of the tribals. Lashing out at the communal forces for inciting and tribals and transforming them into a weapon to be used against minorities, Upen asked the tribals to be cautious about such forces who try to divide them.  He urged the tribals to fight for land, livelihood and freedom. The Sangham’s district general secretary K Bhushana Rao presided, while Rajya Sabha member P Madhu, Dr Baburao, Rajaiah, Lakshmana Murthy, Kunja Bojji, Sriram Nayak and other leaders also participated in the public meeting.

Hoisting the flag of the Sangham, Kunja Bojji inaugurated the state conference at Komaram Bhim Nagar (Railways Indoor Stadium at Yandapallivalasa). In his inaugural address, Bojji said taking inspiration from the martyrs, who sacrificed their lives in the struggles for protection of rights of the tribals, united struggles should be conducted for implementation of the laws intended for the benefit of the tribals and protection of their rights. Explaining how the rich were enjoying all the wealth in the agency areas, Bojji asked the tribals to resolutely continue their struggle with the slogan of “land to the tiller” in order to change the situation and to get remunerative prices for agricultural and forest produce. Recollecting the efforts made to stall the government’s attempts to change the 1/70 Act in the past, he said the agency areas continued to be backward in all fields. Bojji demanded that the government provide employment opportunities to the tribals to give them financial strength.

The CPI(M)’s Srikakulam district secretary Choudhary Tejeswara Rao said that, as a result of the past sacrifices, the Sangham has been gaining strength day by day. Recollecting the experiences of struggles of the tribals over a long period since 1957, Tejeswara Rao pointed out that they continued the struggles for the protection of their rights and were subjected to repression by the government. He also recollected the role played by the late Comrade P Sundarayya in the movement of the tribals and in raising their issues both in the legislative assembly and parliament. He recalled how several people had lost their lives during the struggles against the policies of the government and landlord terror in those days, and noted how land up to ten thousand acres was distributed among the people. He called for a countrywide movement for solving the problems of the tribal people.

After detailed deliberations, the state conference of the Girijana Sangham  passed several resolutions. It demanded inclusion of tribal villages in the plain area in the list of scheduled villages and formation of an autonomous council for the agency areas. It demanded the government to effectively implement 1/70 Act and the Land Transfer Act, to expose corruption of the so-called Vana Samrakshana Samithies (VSS) and take necessary action against it. The Sangham also demanded remunerative prices for the forest produce. Through another resolution, the conference demanded that the government stop repression on the tribals who are fighting for land in the agency mandals in West Godavari district where their lands were alienated, and restore their lands to them. It asked the government to withdraw section 144 imposed in two mandals and appoint an IAS officer especially for solving the land issue in the agency areas within a stipulated time. The conference also demanded that the government set up special courts in agency areas, implement minimum wages and regularise the services of workers employed on a daily basis. Inclusion of Kondakummarlu in the list of scheduled tribes, increase in the amount of scholarship and improvement of facilities for the ST students, holding special DSC in the agency areas, service rules for regulatisation of the tribal teachers, effective implementation of self-employment schemes in the agency areas, sanction of loans with a nominal interest of 0.25 per cent per month to the groups of tribal women and development of agriculture were among the other demands the conference has decided to press for. Another demand is that the government take up the work of Polavaram irrigation project only after rehabilitating the people of the tribal villages that would be submerged as a result of the construction of the project. Bringing the tribal village secretaries under the control of only one officer, payment of salaries to the village secretaries, taking their service as VAOs also into consideration, ensuring promotions and the facility of pension to them and appointment of assistant secretaries as secretaries were the other demands the conference raised.

Addressing the concluding session of the conference, CPI(M) MLA Sunnam Rajaiah emphasised that the goal of formation of an autonomous council for the tribals would be achieved only through a relentless struggle. Asking the tribals to continue to fight against the injustice being meted out to them and the atrocities being perpetrated on them, Rajaiah promised to stand by them in all their struggles and foil the attempts of the government to dispossess them from the forestlands. 

The conference elected a 36-member executive committee, with K Bhushana Rao as president and K Lakshmana Rao as general secretary of the APGS.  The conference also elected S Rajaiah, M Venkateswara Rao and G Tirupathi Rao as vice presidents, Kunja Dharmarao, Kolaka Lakshmanamurthy (MLA), Palamdev Rao and P Kumar as secretaries and Killo Surendra as treasurer.