Alleging negligence on the part of the administration in resolving a long-pending issue concerning ancestral property, members of tribal organisations staged a protest in front of the District Administration building in the city on Friday.
The protest was organised with the support of the Federation of Tribal Community Organisations in favour of Ramesh, a resident of Basavanahalli village belonging to a tribal community, who has allegedly been struggling for the past two years to secure mutation of his ancestral property.
According to the protesters, Ramesh is entitled to nearly 1.95 acres of ancestral land situated under two separate survey numbers. However, despite repeated efforts following the death of his father, S.S. Siddappa, he has been unable to get the property transferred to his name. J.T. Kalinga, a member of the federation and President of the Kodagu District Beekeepers Development Association, alleged that after Siddappa’s death in 1997, certain persons created forged documents and got the land transferred to their names.
He said that Ramesh had submitted a complaint to the Tahsildar on September 25, 2024, alleging that his inherited land had been fraudulently transferred to others. Following an inquiry, it was established that the land belonged to Siddappa and the RTC records were accordingly restored in his name.
Subsequently, the concerned officials had directed that a pauti account be opened for the transfer of the property in favour of Ramesh. In compliance with the directions, he submitted the necessary documents, including the genealogy records. However, the application has allegedly remained pending on the grounds of inadequate documentation.
Soliga Development Association District President B.B. Mahesh stated that representations had already been submitted to the concerned authorities seeking resolution of the issue, but no satisfactory response had been received.
He warned that if the problem is not resolved, the organisations would launch a large-scale agitation.
Ramesh of Basavanahalli, Vishwa of the Beekeepers Development Association, federation members Chandri, Renuka and B.M. Ravi, G. Chinnappaiah of Hosakadu and several others participated in the protest and submitted a memorandum to the district administration.
