Each and every family of the 60-odd tribal hamlets in these mandals have at least two cases of girl child deaths. Hoping that the next child would be a male, the tribals don't mind giving birth to 10 to 15 children. And if they feel bringing up the girl child is a burden, they simply kill the child.

There may be many reasons for this obnoxious practice but it has been going on for over two decades, admits a revenue official. And there are several ways to kill them, he adds.

However, not a single case of infanticide has come to the notice of the police or revenue officials. "There were some rumours of infanticide. When we try to probe them, we get no response from the tribals," says a district police official.

But why kill the girl child at all? Among several other reasons, one may bethe age-old system followed by the tribals where the property of the father goes to his brothers if he doesn't have any boy child.

The other reason may be that of dowry. Earlier, the bridegroom used to give some money to the bride. But, now the system has been reversed.

While District Collector Neelam Sahni feels that the word `selling' is not justified, she says poverty forces the tribals to `give away' their child.

When asked why the 2.85 lakh tribals (10 per cent of the district population) have to live in abject poverty though crores of rupees is pumped in by the Government, Sahni says, "The situation is the same anywhere in the country."

She also feels the inhospitable terrain where the hamlets are located add to the poverty. "There are no water resources and this area receives a rainfall of 500 mm as against the district's average rainfall of 750 mm. Equal distribution of irrigation schemes and development of watersheds in the area could solve the problem to some extent."

District RuralDevelopment Agency project director M Jagan Mohan maintained that 15 per cent of the welfare measures initiated by DRDA were allocated to tribals but admitted that it may not be sufficient.

Interestingly, 90 per cent of the child selling cases were reported from the 11 villages and 60 hamlets where those displaced by the construction of Nagarjunasagar dam were rehabilitated.

Nearly four decades after rehabilitation, there are still some hamlets without power supply and roads, leave alone drinking water and other facilities. Fifty per cent of the rehabilitated families are yet to get land pattas for various reasons.

District Superintendent of Police P Ramnarayana said the very fact that the trade was going on was disconcerting. "It is not the numbers which count. If genuine adoptions are taking place, then there is no problem. Let there be no involvement of money. But the agents have exploited the ignorance of the tribals," the SP said and added that the district police was helping the CID ininvestigating the case.

Meanwhile, revenue officials have started house-to-house survey in the five affected mandals. According to Miryalguda revenue divisional officer Hari Singh, 25 such cases have come to their notice. "By the time we complete our survey covering all the 60 habitations, the figure may go up," he said.

Though the district surpassed its target in family planning operations for the third consecutive year, there were some doubts over the benefit reaching the tribal families. Almost all the families are big with five to 10 children.

As revealed by Bhanawat Walli, a volunteer of an NGO, the revenue officials rarely visited the hamlets. During the monsoon, landslides would result in stopping of bus services by RTC. One has to trek the hillocks for nearly 25 to 30 km to reach Devaracherla in case of an emergency, she said.