40 years on, Malayali tribals get land titles

Perambalur: Bringing joy and relief to 51 families belonging to the Hindu Malayali tribal community of two villages in Perambalur district, the govt on Tuesday granted them land titles, ending a four-decade-long struggle by the community. "For years, the land we have been inhabiting lacked a patta. Our long-standing request has now been fulfilled. I am going to construct my own house," said R Gomathi, a woman from the community in Boomidhanam village near Malayalapatti. As daily wage labourers in farms nestled in the hilly terrain, the tribals faced rejection from banks when they sought loans for building houses due to the absence of land titles.D Vasantha, another beneficiary from the village, said constructing a house was a formidable challenge for them. "With the land being allocated to us, we can now have our own dwelling," she said. The two were among the 51 beneficiaries — 48 from Boomidhanam and three from Naranamangalam village — who received the land titles for three cents of housing plot, each valued at Rs 1 lakh. Transport minister S S Sivasankar gave away the titles in the presence of district collector Grace Lalrindki Pachuau and district revenue officer (DRO) M Vadivel Prabhu. An official statement said chief minister M K Stalin took into account persistent demand for house site pattas from underprivileged and disadvantaged people and the district administration took necessary steps to implement it. Officials pointed out that the name Boomidhanam in Tamil itself signifies land was bestowed upon the Malayali (not linked to Malayalam-speakers) tribals by the govt decades ago. However, their aspiration for obtaining separate land titles remained unfulfilled due to lack of requisite clearances. The issue was brought to the attention of the office of the commissioner of revenue administration (CRA) in Chennai after the tribals made an appeal to the chief minister.