Telangana Reclaiming The Bhoodan Dream It Gave Shape To

Telangana Bhoodan Authority was constituted here on Saturday. The state government adapted Andhra Pradesh Bhoodan and Gramdhan Act, 1965 to the state of Telangana under Section 101 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. The government issues GO 11 and appointed principal secretary (Revenue) as authority to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the Telangana Bhoodan Board. Immediately, 3500 files of the existing AP Bhoodan Yagna board have been moved from it’s present headquarters in Gandhi Bhawan to CCLA office. The files are now being studied to see where all the original land bank was and how much of it is occupied illegally. For instance, in Sheikpet, out of the original 50 acres, hardly 7 is left now, as per reports.

Bhoodan movement was born in April 1951 in Pochampally village in Nalgonda. Freedom fighter and reformer Acharya Vinobha Bhave, while on a national tour, travelled to Pochampally and was moved by the landless people, desperately looking for livelihood. Knowing the great man’s reputation, the dalits of the village asked if he could make their lives better. When Acharya asked what could he do to them, the 40 dalit families suggested they all would be living good id they have 80 acres of land to till, 2 acres for family. Even while Acharya was thinking how to accomplish, a local landlord V Ramachandra Reddy stood up with folded hands and conveyed to the Acharya that he would part with half of his 200 acre land for the dalits as that was his deceased father’s wish – to donate 100 acres to deserving people. Thus, the bhoodan movement was born in Telangana with a 100 acre donation and Pochampally famously became Boodan Pochampally. Acharya walked all across India asking people with land to consider him as one of their sons and so give him a one seventh of their land which he then distributed to landless poor. Within 6 years, approx 2 lakh poor people across the country were reportedly distributed 6.5 lakh acres, which was donated by landlords.

In the esrtwhile AP State, there was approximately 2 lakh acres of land. Out of this half was reportedly distributed to around 50,000 poor families. Now, Telangana Govt. would investigate how much of the other half of land is documented and how much out of it is in Telangana. Telangana Govt. is planning to confiscate the occupied lands and possibly club the land bank in it’s ambitious program to distribute lands to the landless dalits, that is set to commence on August 15th.