*Restore GO No. 3, protect Tribal Rights: YSRCP*

Visakhapatnam, July 23: YSRCP tribal leaders demanded that the coalition government immediately fulfil its election promise to restore G.O. No. 3 and safeguard the constitutional and legal rights of tribal communities. Addressing a joint press conference at the YSRCP district office in Visakhapatnam, former Deputy Chief Ministers Peedika Rajanna Dora and Pamula Pushpa Sreevani, Araku MLA Regam Matsyalingam, former ministers, former legislators and other tribal leaders said the government has spent two years making false promises instead of taking concrete steps, while filing cases against tribal youth peacefully demanding restoration of G.O. No. 3.

The leaders rejected claims that the previous YSRCP government had failed to pursue legal remedies, stating that after the Supreme Court struck down G.O. No. 3 in April 2020, the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government passed a resolution in the Tribal Advisory Council and filed a review petition before the Supreme Court in July 2020. They said repeated claims that no review petition was filed are false and challenged the government to place the official records before the public.

Highlighting the YSRCP government's initiatives for tribal welfare, they said a separate ST Commission was established, local tribal youth were given priority in Secretariat and Volunteer appointments, land titles were distributed for 3.22 lakh acres of podu land benefiting 1.70 lakh tribal farmers, and nearly ₹20,000 crore was spent on tribal welfare during the five-year tenure.

The leaders also expressed concern over attempts to weaken the 1/70 Land Transfer Regulation, warning that diluting tribal land protection laws would encourage encroachments in Scheduled Areas. They urged the coalition government to work with the Centre or bring suitable legislation to restore G.O. No. 3 and protect tribal employment and land rights instead of politicising the issue. They warned that if the government failed to honour its promise, YSRCP would stand with tribal communities and intensify the movement to safeguard their constitutional rights.