Hundreds of farmers and farm workers under the aegis of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) staged a demonstration in front of the Collectorate here on Monday in protest against the State government’s proposal to acquire their land for a super expressway between Amaravati and Anantapur.
Leading the protest by farmers from Kommalapadu, Sajjapuram and Paritalavaripalem villages, AIKS national vice-president Ravula Venkaiah said the AIKS would mobilise the farmers from four districts who would be displaced in the event of the laying of the over ₹30,000 crore highway, for a protracted struggle.
The proposed 200 metre-wide super expressway with trade centres and shopping malls at different junctions would only be at the cost of the State’s food security, he opined.
It was unfortunate that the government was bent upon creating a land bank of 15 lakh acres in the State to give away land at throwaway prices to big corporate houses on the pretext of industrial development, he added.
Alternative lands
The landless labourers and artisans in the villages who would be displaced should also be provided compensation. Alternative lands should be identified and shown to them before going ahead with the road project.
For this, more than 20,000 acres of fertile farm land should be acquired from ryots in the four districts, CPI Prakasam unit secretary K. Aruna said.
The existing State highway to Anantapur, Kurnool and Kadapa could be expanded by limiting the land requirement for road expansion, she suggested.
A farmer with two acres of land, D. Venkateswarlu from Kommalapadu, lamented that as many as 100 bore wells sunk by them to irrigate more than 500 acres would disappear because of the land acquisition for the expressway.
A fresh land survey should be conducted and the extent of land to be taken should be a bare minimum, said another farmer M. Kondaiah.
Mr. Kondaiah will be losing four acres of land for the road project.
The government should provide the same extent of land in another village as they would be like fish out of water without cultivable land, added yet another farmer J. Srinivas who owns acres of land.
