Thandas of Lambani tribes to get revenue village status: Karnataka Minister

The Karnataka government has decided to give 'Revenue village' status to the Thandas of 'Lambani' tribes and hamlets of 'Kurubas' so that they can avail themselves of the benefits of all government schemes.

The Karnataka government has decided to give 'Revenue village' status to the Thandas of 'Lambani' tribes and hamlets of 'Kurubas' so that they can avail themselves of the benefits of all government schemes. A Thanda is a clustered human settlement, which is smaller than a village with a population of a few hundreds.

The Lambanis, also called Banjaras are nomadic tribes who can be found across Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. (Image source: 30 Stades)

“We have decided to give Revenue village status to 3,526 ‘Thanda’ and ‘Kurubarahatti’ belonging to Lambanis and other backward communities. Preliminary notification has been issued. Finally notification will come out later,” Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka told reporters on Monday.

The Minister said most of the Thandas are in government land and there would not be any problem in giving these settlements a revenue village status. Regarding Thandas which are in private lands, the government would issue a separate notification, he said.

“After the final notification, the residents will get ‘Hakku Patra’ (occupancy certificate). "After getting the revenue village status, the residents, deprived of basic amenities in their settlements for ages, will be able to get a school, an anganwadi and various other facilities. They will also be entitled to a loan on their property,” Ashoka said.