Panchami Lands Panel Proposal Sparks Demand for Special Law

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government’s proposal to constitute a special commission to identify Panchami lands has triggered demands from Dalit organisations for a dedicated legislation to protect and recover lands originally assigned to Scheduled Caste communities.

In a statement, Narendra Paraiyar, state coordinator of the Tamil Nadu Paraiyar Peravai, questioned the need for another commission when several panels and committees had already examined the issue.

Social Justice Minister Vanni Arasu announced the new special commission in the state assembly. Out of an original 12 lakh acres of Panchami land distributed historically, only about 1.86 lakh acres remain today. The commission aims to properly identify these remaining plots and prevent illegal encroachments.

He said the government should first make public the concrete progress achieved through earlier initiatives. “Instead of another commission, Tamil Nadu needs a special law with clear powers to identify Panchami lands, cancel illegal transfers, remove encroachments and restore the land to genuine beneficiaries and their legal heirs,” he said.

The statement noted that the recovery of Panchami lands has been pursued for years by various organisations, activists and community groups through courts, revenue offices, district administrations and political protests. It argued that the government should examine legislation in other States, including Andhra Pradesh’s Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act and Karnataka’s Prevention of Transfer of Certain Lands (PTCL) Act, and draw up a Tamil Nadu-specific legal framework.

The proposed legislation, it said, should address not only identification of Panchami lands but also illegal transfers, encroachments, forged pattas, changes in land records, court cases and administrative inaction.

The organisation also called for transparency over lands already declared as recovered. It wanted the government to disclose whether such lands had actually been handed over to eligible beneficiaries, whether beneficiaries could retain and cultivate them, and whether fresh encroachments had occurred.

It further demanded coordinated responsibility among the Revenue, Social Justice and Law departments and district administrations, arguing that the Social Justice Department alone could not resolve a land administration issue primarily handled by the Revenue Department.

The statement cautioned that another commission without clearly defined powers and departmental accountability could result in further delay. “Social justice is not about constituting a commission; it is about restoring the land to its rightful owner,” it said.

It also urged Paraiyar organisations, Dalit movements, lawyers, researchers and social activists to work together instead of allowing the issue to become fragmented among organisations or reduced to seminars, publications or short-term NGO projects.

Panchami land is not merely a subject for a seminar. It is an economic right, a land rights struggle and a question of social justice and the future of generations,” Natendra Paraiyar said.

The organisation called for a sustained, united campaign to draft and press for a comprehensive Panchami Land Recovery Act for Tamil Nadu.