The National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) intends to launch ‘Bhoomi Adikhara Andolan’, a campaign to reclaim land lost by farmers to the land pooling process for the development of the new State capital.
NAPM national convenor and social activist Medha Patkar said here on Thursday that the consent letters of land owners have no legal sanctity and that she would write to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu asking him to return the letters of those willing to take repossession of their lands.
“We will seek the support of political parties and local civic organisations in the movement against pooling of land. Before Prime Minister Narendra Modi picks up this paradigm of land pooling, we must mobilise the support of parties. We are organising ‘Bhoomi Adikhara Andolan’, a mass meeting of farmers and fish workers in New Delhi on May 5,” Ms. Patkar told reporters.
She was leading a team of representatives from civic organisations across India, including the Bharatiya Kisan Union, Progressive Women Organisations, Lok Satta Party, Greenpeace and others on an extensive tour of villages of Undavalli, Penumaka, Lingayapalem and Rayapudi in the capital notified region. She interacted with villagers and assured them of support in their fight to reclaim their land.
“The claim that the people have been giving voluntarily consent for the capital development on the beautiful and bountiful landscape producing 125 crops…directly evicting the community of Dalits, Adivasis and farmers…all of this is utter injustice and this is being sold to the urban population. We are being told this will have a genocidal effect on the region between Guntur and Vijayawada,” Ms. Patkar said.
“Land pooling is ‘fooling’ the farmers and farm labourers, and all of those who have given consent had given it in naivety or in fear. Forcibly seeking consent of farmers belonging to SC/ST communities attracts provisions of Prevention of Atrocities Act (SC &ST),” Ms. Patkar said.
Ms. Patkar said he was a “private man” and “not a public servant”, as far as this project was concerned.
