A festive atmosphere prevailed at the Andhra University Assembly Hall, the venue of the 6 phase of land distribution programme of the State Government here on Thursday.
The district administration made arrangements to distribute kits of plastic folders containing Pattadar pass book, title deed and adangal copy to 3,530 beneficiaries involving an extent of 4,166.83 acres scattered in the district.
For K.Devudamma and B.Yerramma of Chodavaram mandal, it was a dream come true, as they had been cultivating the government land for five years without reaping the governmental benefits. Farmers who have the pattadar pass book and title deed can get agriculture credit, be eligible for crop insurance and even subsidised seeds and fertilizers apart from a host of benefits including subsidies being extended under the drip irrigation and the government’s land development ‘Indira Prabha’ scheme, among others.
A beaming Velusa Appalanarasamma of Nathavaram mandal said that now she can hold her head high in her village as a proud owner of the land. Women were seen in a jubilant mood as the land ownership pattas were given in their name. After the Minister for Ports and Infrastructure Ganta Sreenivasa Rao and Minister for Tribal Development P.Balaraju made a token distribution of revenue land kits to five beneficiaries in every mandal, the remaining pass books were distributed by the concerned Tehsildars at the separate booths set up at the meeting venue. Speaking on the occasion Minister G. Sreenivasa Rao said that nowhere in the country had any State government distributed 6 lakh acres of land as was done in the five phases of the land distribution programme.
The government, he said has made so many women proud by making them owners of a minimum of one acre land.
Minister P. Balaraju advised beneficiaries against selling their precious land as it is more valuable than gold. He said that the day’s land distribution programme was the result of government implementing the recommendations of Koneru Rangarao committee which recommended distribution of 2 acres of land to each of the landless poor. MLA’s M. Sreenivasa Rao, K. Naga Sanyasiraju and P. Ramesh Babu described the land distribution programme as a women’s empowerment programme. District Collector V. Seshadri cautioned against selling or purchasing the lands of beneficiaries and termed such actions as illegal. During the five phases of land distribution carried out in the past in the district a total of 82,457.84 acres had been distributed.
Local tahsildhar E.Murali made elaborate arrangements for orderly distribution of land pattas.
