The Legislative Assembly passed the A.P. Assigned Lands (Prohibition and Transfers) (Amendment) Bill, 2020, by voice vote on Wednesday.
Explaining the objectives of making amendments to the Assigned Lands (Prohibition and Transfers) Act, Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue Minister Dharmana Krishna Das said that the farmers, who give the land on lease voluntarily, would be paid ₹25,000 per annum as rent per acre.
The Bill triggered allegations and counter-allegations between the Treasury and Opposition benches.
The Opposition TDP alleged that the government was forcibly taking away the assigned lands from the poor and Dalits, who had been cultivating the lands for several years.
Various laws had been passed by the successive governments to protect the undeniable rights of the poor over the assigned lands, they said.
‘Charges baseless’
Refuting the charges, Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy said the TDP was diverting the issue by alleging that the lands were being taken forcibly.
The districts in the Rayalaseema region receive less rainfall and the farmers there would be happy if they get ₹25,000 on land lease, he said.
Even as the Bill was being passed, the TDP MLAs staged a walkout demanding the government withdraw the Bill in order to prevent injustice to the weaker sections.
Later, Leader of the Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu asserted that most of the assigned farmers were SCs and BCs. There was no need to amend the laws if the SC farmers were willingly giving away their lands. “The government is undermining the existing Act. It is undemocratic and unlawful to take away the lands that have already been given away,” he added.