One of the major problems facing crop production here is loss of agricultural land due to rampant plantation of Nilagiri trees all around Umarkote tehsil.
According to sources, hundreds of acres of agricultural land are under the Nilagiri tree plantations here and that too, a majority of land either belongs to the tribals or is a Government land.
Some mafias are doing the illegal Nilagiri plantations in violation of the Orissa Prevention of Land Encroachment Act (OPLE Act) and the Orissa Scheduled Area Transfer of Immovable Property Act (OSATIP Act).
The OSATIP Act strictly prohibits that under no circumstances can the land of tribals be transferred, mortgaged or handed over to any non-tribal people and any deviation in it will be liable for prosecution. But the local revenue officials are yet to take any action against the mafias.
Sources said the tribals are the scapegoat in the matter as mafias who by taking the opportunity of the farmer’s gullibility have motivated them to lease out their land for three to four years for Nilagiri plantations.
By this way, the tribals have become jobless for the entire lease period and are forced to migrate for labour. According to a local agricultural scientist, Nilagiri plantations have affected other plantations and farming here.
So, it’s high time to ban Niligiri plantations here to protect the ecological balance, he added.