New districts: encroachments intact

The municipal and revenue officials have failed to remove encroachments in the new to- be- created districts Mancherial and Nirmal while municipal officials removing few encroachments in Adilabad and Kagaznagar.

There is a shortage of government buildings to accommodate new offices in the Nirmal and Mancherial districts and some government educational institutions were taken over to accommodate government offices there.

These towns were also facing a shortage of government lands for the construction of new buildings for government offices in the new districts.This shows the failure of the officials in preserving government lands to serve the public interest.     

The land prices are skyrocketing in the Mancherial and Nirmal towns and these towns are experiencing real estate boom in the wake of the creation of new districts.

Land grabbers and encroachers are on the prowl eyeing on government lands worth crores of rupees.

There are strong allegations that municipal and revenue officials indirectly extending support to the land encroachers who had political patronage.

Revenue officials are playing a crucial role on various accounts in setting up new districts. There are strong corruption allegations against the top revenue officials in the Mancherial and Nirmal.

Adilabad municipal authorities have started dismantling the buildings constructed encroached on nalas, local tanks and government assigned lands. Municipal officials have failed to initiate action for clearing encroachments and restoring the valuable government lands from the clutches of the land grabbers.

It is surprising to note that roads are being laid into the Dharmasagar tank to make way in the Nirmal town. Municipal, revenue and agriculture officials have failed to prevent such efforts made by the encroachers and become mere spectators. 

It is surprising that new encroachments are coming up unabatedly instead of being removing the old ones.

Some fishermen of the Budawarpet have stopped the encroachers dumping soil by the excavator on the Shikam land of Dharmasagar tank on Thursday. 

Already a portion of Dharmasagar tank was encroached as the tank was adjacent to the main road and close to the bus stand where the land value was in crores after Nirmal declared as a new district.

Better connectivity with new mandals

The creation of new mandals as part of new districts will improve the road connectivity in the interior areas in Mancherial and parent Adilabad districts.

The news is making rounds that state government is planning to create new mandal Penchikalpet from existing Bejjur mandal and Chinthalamanapalli from existing Kautala mandal and Adilabad rural mandal from existing Adilabdad mandal.

It is said that two new mandals are being created in Macherial district while one in parent Adilabad district.

Already, inter- state bridge on river Pranahitha is under construction that will boost the transportation between Telangana and border Maharashtra.

Two lane –road is being laid between Sirpur (T) to Kautala mandals. There is a proposal of laying two-lane road between Kautala to Eturunagaram of Warangal district.

The existing inter- state bridge at Venkatraopet in Sirpur (T) mandal is already enabling the transportation between coal belt area of Telangana and Chandrapur district of Maharashtra.

C. Mallaiah of Kautala mandal headquarters said the creation of new mandals Penchikalpet and Chinthalamanapalli would improve the road connectivity in the interiors along the river Pranahitha.

He said there is an existing single road to Penchikalpet, 30 km from Bejjur mandal headquarters and Chinthalamanapalli, 15 km from Kautala mandal headquarters.

The state government is laying new roads linking the mandal headquarters and also internal roads in the mandals. This may go a long way in case of interior Sirpur (T) Assembly constituency as far as road connectivity is concerned.

High-level bridges coming up at various places replacing the low-level bridges which have become a hurdle in free of transportation in the monsoon as they are being submerged in the flood water and affecting the road connectivity to the interior areas in the Sirpur (T) Assembly Constituency.

The same is the case with the creation of new mandal Adilabad rural in the Adilabad Assembly constituency. There are many interior Adivasi gudems in the Adilabad mandal and new Adilabad rural mandal is being created now with these interior villages.

There is no proper road connectivity to many interior Adivasis gudems including Wanvat, Shashidari Khanapur in the existing Adilabad mandal. The Adilabad rural mandal may be created with Mavala as its headquarters.  

Adivasis feel new districts will weaken them

The creation of new district is likely to split the Adivasis and make them further weak as the Agency areas will be disintegrated. The move may dilute constitutional safe guards to the Adivasis in scheduled areas.

Already, Adivasis are a minority in terms of population when compared to plain area tribals in the Telanagana state. Adivasis were a majority in the United Andhra Pradesh.

Adivasis have started demanding the creation of autonomous councils with Agency areas within the districts.  They are demanding the creation of a new district comprising tribal mandals with the Utnoor headquarters.

The delimitation of Assembly constituencies as part of creation of new district will be a major blow to the Adilabad and they may lose ST Assembly constituencies to general or SC. 

Already people of various parts of the district are agitating and demanding creation of new district with headquarters of Asifabad, Bellampalli, Kagaznagar, Mancherial, Utnoor and also shifting of Adilabad district headquarters to Nirmal for the existing Adilabad district.

It is learnt that some of the people are planning to launch against the creation of new district and keeping the existing district as it is.

Agency mandals Jainoor, Sirpur( U), Tiryani, Narnoor, Asifabad, Kerameri and some parts of Dandepalli may be merged with new district to be created while Utnoor and Indravelli mandals may be merged with the existing Adilabad district.

Some parts of the Khanapur Assembly constituency like Jannaram and Dandepalli may be merged with the existing Adilabad district.

Tribal population of existing Asifabad and Khanapur assembly constituencies may come down and non- tribal’s population may increase. Utnoor and Adilabad Rural Assembly constituencies may be created as part of delimitation.

Due to delimitation of Assembly constituencies, the existing Asifabad and Khanapur constituencies and Adilabad MP Constituency may lose its ST reservation. The Assembly and Parliament constituencies will be changed their reservation based on their pollution figures as part of delimitation. Non-tribals will emerge as majority in the new district, ST assembly constituencies and also in the existing district. 

Former Asifabad MLA and leader of Telangana Adivasis joint action committee Atram Sakku expressed worry over splitting Adivasis as part of creation of new districts and also delimitation of Assembly constituencies in Khammam, Adilabad and Warangal in the state. He said creation of new districts and delimitation of constituencies will further weak Adivasis in the Telangana.