MP: Tribals fear eviction from land purchased by minister Pathak, he denies

Sravani Sarkar

NewsBits.in

Bhopal: Fearing eviction from land that has been purchased by Madhya Pradesh minister of state and mining baron Sanjay Pathak, tribals of Jaithari in Anuppur district have approached the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, seeking ownership rights on the land.

The land in question is 100 acre stretch (khasra number 125 to 134) spread over Taradand and Jamudi villages of Jaithari janpad panchayat.

Though the minister Sanjay Pathak refuted having purchased any land in Anuppur while talking to NewsBits.in, the local revenue officials confirmed that the land ownership had been mutated in name of Pathak recently.

The tribal residents of two villages – Taradand and Jamudi - have said that they are settled on the land for almost 80 years and several generations and are therefore rightful owners of the land.

In their letter to the commission, the people have expressed apprehension that since Pathak has purchased land for his company, they would be soon evicted from the land where they reside and also grow crops since generations.

They have urged the commission not to allow the mutation of land in name of Pathak and instead provide ownership rights to them.

A villager, talking to NewsBits.in over phone said that almost 150 families reside in the two villages and the initial settlers came around 1960-61.

Sources said that almost 2000 acre of land in the area had been donated to two families by the erstwhile ruler of Rewa state. This land was then distributed among many of these two families.

These families, hailing from Uttar Pradesh had got some Oraon tribal families from Odisha and Jharkhand settled on part of the land. They would work on agriculture fields of the owners and also do their own agriculture on small plots. These tribal families grew and settled on the land.

“The chief minister has time and again announced that people who have settled on particular piece of land before 1984 would not be evicted. We also want justice,” the villagers said, adding that they would also petition the chief minister in the matter.

Meanwhile, Sanjay Pathak feigned ignorance of any land purchase in Anuppur and said that it might be some other Pathak. “Why would I purchase land in tribal-dominated Anuppur? It would be of no use to me due to rules,” he said.