Foresters Caught in Crossfire of Podu Land Politics in Erstwhile Adilabad

Poll-time Patta Promises Fuel Hopes, Encroachment on Podu Lands

- S RAJA REDDY @ Adilabad

FOR decades, the contentious issue of podu (shifting forest land) cultivation has remained unresolved in the erstwhile Adilabad district, despite repeated assurances from successive state and Union governments. A permanent solution continues to elude both forest officials and cultivators, even as political promises flare up around every election cycle.

Forest officials are yet to demarcate boundaries in several areas and are struggling to dig protective trenches due to continued occupation and opposition from cultivators. Ironically, it is the same ground-level forest staff, tasked with protecting these lands from encroachers and smugglers, who now find themselves issuing clearances for cultivation certificates, acting on political directives or government assurances.