Andhra Pradesh
35 kilometres from Vijayawada
,
Dosapadu village
,
Krishna
Published : 12 July, 2014   |   Last updated - 24 Jun, 2024
Dalits protest against illegal capture of lands assigned to them in Andhra Pradesh
Reported by
Rachit Tiwari
Legal Review by
Anmol Gupta
Updated by
Anupa Kujur
45
Households affected
People Affected
2007
Year started
42
Land area affected
45
Households affected
People Affected
2007
Year started
42
Land area affected
Key Insights
Sector
Land Use
Reason/Cause of conflict
Encroachment by Non-Right Holders (Other than Caste-based)
Conflict Status
Ongoing
Ended
Legal Status
Region Classification
Rural
Ended
1
Summary

In September 2022, members of the Dalit community undertook a fishing protest in Dosapadu village of Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh. They were protesting against the illegal transfer of their lands. These lands were assigned to them back in 1965 to support their livelihood and social uplifting by the Andhra Pradesh State Government under the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands Act, 1977.

According to the community members, since 2007, a landlord from Vijayawada, along with a few others have been trying to use their land for an aquaculture business forcibly. They have been demanding their land rights with the help of the Agricultural Workers Union (AWU). LCW spoke with A. Ravi, a member of the Agricultural Workers Union. He said "The poor people of Dosapadu have been protesting for the last ten months with the help of the agricultural labour union over these land issues." He also questioned as to why no action was being taken against those individuals who were violating rules.

In 2015, the case went to the Lokayukta where the court recognised the land rights of local communities and ordered that possession of the land be given to the aggrieved community members. Failing the implementation of the order, the community members approached the High Court which reassigned the case to the Joint Collector's Court.

Since 2019, the case has been pending in the Joint Collector's Office. In 2022, community members decided to enter their lands to wrest back control. However, "Officials of Krishna district along with State police imposed sections 144 and 145 in the area and dispersed the protest," added Ravi.

As of April 2023, the community members could not regain control of the lands assigned to them.

2
Fact Sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources

Complaint against procedural violations

Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Region Classification

Rural

Type of Land

Private

Non-Forest (Other than Grazing Land)

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)

Status of Project

Original Project Deadline

Whether the Project has been Delayed

Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users

Other Natural Resource extraction/dependence

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

Total investment involved (in Crores):

Type of investment:

Year of Estimation

Page Number In Investment Document:

Has the Conflict Ended?

No

When did it end?

Why did the conflict end?

Author
Reported by
Rachit Tiwari

Andhra Pradesh

Kumar Sambhav is a social entrepreneur and award-winning journalist, leading innovative research in accountability investigations. He is the founder of Land Conflict Watch and is currently working as India Research Lead with Princeton University’s Digital Witness Lab.

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Fact sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources

Complaint against procedural violations

Dalits protest against illegal capture of lands assigned to them in Andhra Pradesh

Reported by

Rachit Tiwari

Legal Review by

Anmol Gupta, Mukta Joshi

Edited by

Radhika Chatterjee

Updated by

Updated by

Published on

May 18, 2023

May 20, 2023

Edited on

May 18, 2023

Sector

Land Use

Reason or Cause of Conflict

Encroachment by Non-Right Holders (Other than Caste-based)

Fisheries; Encroachment by Non right holders (other- than caste based); Government allotted land for social upliftment of tribes’ people; Land Use Change;

Starting Year

2007

Land Area Affected (in Hectares)

42

ha

Households Affected by Conflict

45

People Affected by Conflict

State

Andhra Pradesh

Sector

Land Use

People Affected by Conflict

Households Affected by Conflict

45

Land Area Affected (in Hectares)

42

ha

Starting Year

2007

Location of Conflict

Dosapadu village

35 kilometres from Vijayawada

Krishna

Reason or Cause of Conflict

Encroachment by Non-Right Holders (Other than Caste-based)

Fisheries; Encroachment by Non right holders (other- than caste based); Government allotted land for social upliftment of tribes’ people; Land Use Change;

Land Conflict Summary

In September 2022, members of the Dalit community undertook a fishing protest in Dosapadu village of Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh. They were protesting against the illegal transfer of their lands. These lands were assigned to them back in 1965 to support their livelihood and social uplifting by the Andhra Pradesh State Government under the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands Act, 1977.

According to the community members, since 2007, a landlord from Vijayawada, along with a few others have been trying to use their land for an aquaculture business forcibly. They have been demanding their land rights with the help of the Agricultural Workers Union (AWU). LCW spoke with A. Ravi, a member of the Agricultural Workers Union. He said "The poor people of Dosapadu have been protesting for the last ten months with the help of the agricultural labour union over these land issues." He also questioned as to why no action was being taken against those individuals who were violating rules.

In 2015, the case went to the Lokayukta where the court recognised the land rights of local communities and ordered that possession of the land be given to the aggrieved community members. Failing the implementation of the order, the community members approached the High Court which reassigned the case to the Joint Collector's Court.

Since 2019, the case has been pending in the Joint Collector's Office. In 2022, community members decided to enter their lands to wrest back control. However, "Officials of Krishna district along with State police imposed sections 144 and 145 in the area and dispersed the protest," added Ravi.

As of April 2023, the community members could not regain control of the lands assigned to them.

Fact Sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources

Complaint against procedural violations

Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Region Classification

Rural

Type of Land

Private

Type of Common Land

Non-Forest (Other than Grazing Land)

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)

Status of Project

Original Project Deadline

Whether the Project has been Delayed

Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users

Other Natural Resource extraction/dependence

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

Total investment involved (in Crores):

Type of investment:

Year of Estimation

Page Number In Investment Document:

Has the Conflict Ended?

No

When did it end?

Why did the conflict end?

Legal Data

Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict

Legislations/Policies Involved

Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977
Section 3 [Exchange of assigned land between landless persons and any other person are prohibited by this act. In 2019, the provision was amended so as to prohibit transfers for a period of 20 years from the date of assignment,]
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  5. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

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    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

  7. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute

Yes

What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?

Community members demanded action from the Joint Collector Office of the Revenue Department to protect their rights over land that was allotted to them by the State Government. They alleged that lands assigned to them were being captured by rich landlords of the area and filed objection under Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977 which says that no person can acquire any assigned land in Andhra Pradesh, nor can an assignee transfer the lands by lease, purchase, mortgage, exchange or otherwise.

What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?

A hearing is yet to be conducted on the matter.

Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:

Non-consultation with stakeholders

Lack of legal protection over land rights

Non-implementation of land reform laws

Legal Status:

Out of Court

Status of Case In Court

Whether any adjudicatory body was approached

Yes

Name of the adjudicatory body

The Lokayukta

Name(s) of the Court(s)

The Lokayukta

Case Number

1025-997/2015/B.L/Lok2015

Main Reasoning/Decision of court

Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:

Arrest/detention/imprisonment

Judicial harassment

Reported Details of the Violation:

On 2nd September, when the community members tried to enter their lands, the Tahsildar and Police arrived and said they will take over control of the land area. Section 144 was imposed in the village, around 50 policemen were deployed and 12 Dalit youth were picked up by the police. The police also threatened villagers with arrest if they gathered on the road to protest.

Date of Violation

September 1, 2022

Location of Violation

Dosapadu village

Additional Information

Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:

State Revenue Department

PSUs Involved in the Conflict:

Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?

Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached

Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:

Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?

Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:

Information on the use of criminal law

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Resources

Resources Related to Conflict

  • News Articles Related to the Conflict:
  • Documents Related to the Conflict:
  • Links Related to the Conflict:

Images

People protesting near conflict land site and another protest near Joint Collector Office

Image Credit:  

Ravi, member of the Agricultural Workers Union

Image Credit:  

Video

Ravi, Member of the Agricultural Workers Union

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