With two days to go for the Andhra Pradesh Government to unleash the land acquisition law to mop up the remaining land needed for its Amaravati project, riverfront farmers say they are open to being consulted but will not submit to arm-twisting.
The State Government has been making it clear in the past couple of months that it will go in for land acquisition to procure the remaining 2,500 acres of land that has not been pledged to the Amaravati project under the Land Pooling Scheme. The Government has already stated it has procured over 30,000 acres in the land pooling exercise in the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) area for a world class capital Amaravati.
The expected land acquisition move irks 69-year-old K.S. Reddy, a riverfront farmer with 20 acres who is worth over Rs 30 crore. His discontent is not because he is unwilling to share the land for the capital city but because of the way the Government is averse to consulting the stakeholders. Besides, there is no written assurance on when and where the promised alternative land is going to be given, according to him.
“It’s just a matter of trust. The Government has consulted with a couple of families in our villages indoors and we don’t know what transpired. Why don’t they convene public meetings in villages? We are prepared to lose our existence as farmers but all we want is when and where we will have our identity next. We need a written assurance on the promised alternate land,” says Mr Reddy. The biggest fear is that there is no legal sanctity to the word given by Government on the promised alternative land, according to him.
Mr. Reddy is not alone. Others hold similar views in Undavalli and Penumaka, about 15 km from Vijayawada, where over 300 farmers have resisted land pooling. “Instead of consulting with farmers, the Government is clearly indulging in arm-twisting exercise. My land revenue records have been changed. The local tahsildar says it will take about six months to set them right. He even offered an alternative survey number to my land which I’ve been holding for over 50 years,” complains a farmer from Undavalli speaking on condition of anonymity.
Given the capital city hype, land prices have appreciated from a mere Rs 3 lakh three years ago to Rs 2-3 crore now. While the lease of each acre fetches about Rs 50,000 per annum, the annual income from the three-crop land is over Rs 1.5 lakh. These farmers want much better compensation compared to the package offered to less fertile lands in the capital region. CRDA commissioner N. Srikanth earlier said that most of the resistance from the region is due to the demand for better compensation over and above the revised one.
Meanwhile, there is resistance form farmers who contributed to land pooling too as they have been prevented from cultivation.
The High Court has given relief to them and ruled that farmers can continue cultivation on the land.
The court has also ordered that those who gave the consent form, which is called Form 9.3, can also take their land if they have a second thought.
