Farmers in river-front villages, who have offered a spirited resistance to land pooling for more than a month, have finally given in and began giving consent letters.
With just a day before deadline on land pooling ends, farmers in this village came forward and submitted consent letters to Ministers P. Narayana and P. Pulla Rao. Tadikonda MLA T. Sravan Kumar also toured the villages. More farmers are expected to submit letters on Saturday as some of them considered Friday as an inauspicious day.
The decision of the State government to enhance package to land owners in river front villages also played a significant role in changing the land owners. Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday announced that land owners in river-front villages who have given consent letters would be given 450 square yards of developed plots in commercial zone apart from 1,000 square yards of residential plot.
But the farmers seemed to be reconciled to the situation and prefer giving their lands in pooling rather than land acquisition.
“We still feel that a lot of injustice is done to us in fixing the compensation, but we have no other alternative. I am giving my 15 acres in land pooling,’’ said Bellamkonda Narasimha Rao of Venkatapalem.
On Friday, 134 land owners in this village gave consent letters of 180 acres. In Thullur mandal, 723 land owners have consent letters of 932.78 acres.
Even at Rayapudi where land owners have stoically resisted land pooling, 139 acres was pooled on Friday. In Mandahadam, 186 acres was pooled.
Faced with uncertain situation, a few land owners in river-front villages started selling their lands at a low price. “The prices of our lands which used to be around Rs.2 crore an acre, have fallen to just Rs.1 crore. I sold away my two acres of land as I am uncertain about the package. The money would be used in paying off debts and meeting the needs of my children,’’ said Subba Reddy from Penumaka.
Some ryots submit consent letters to Ministers P. Narayana and P. Pulla Rao
