The Bhoomi Mathu Vasati Hakku Vanchitara Horata Samiti will launch its second round of agitation, demanding land reforms so that the poor get sites and houses, in Bengaluru, on August 20, to coincide with the birth anniversary of the former Chief Minister late D. Devaraj Urs.
Speaking to presspersons here on Wednesday, Sirimane Nagaraj, leader of Samanategagi Janandalona, said that it was Mr. Urs, who had ushered in land reforms in the State whereby the tiller became the owner of the land.
Corporates take over
However, after the government introduced neo-liberal policies in the 1990s, agricultural land was taken away from farmers by big corporate companies. In many places, Special Economic Zones had been established by taking over fertile agricultural lands.
Mr. Nagaraj said that the corporates were taking thousands of acres of land, when a hundred would have sufficed. But these corporate companies were neither developing the land, nor repaying the banks from whom they had taken huge loans to purchase it. There was no employment generation either.
No place to stay
In the urban areas, it was difficult for the poor to even get houses on rent. This was because they would have to set aside half of their salaries every month to afford the exorbitant rents.
Even when many poor farmers encroached upon government land and built their houses here, they were not regularised.
Committee needed
To deal with all these problems, a high powered committee should be formed under the Chief Minister, Mr. Nagaraj said. This Committee should also include representatives of those who had fought for the land rights of the poor.
The government should order a land census. After the census, it should do land auditing and formulate a land use policy. Lands should be provided to the poor within a timeframe. Poor farmers should not be evicted from their land. Land tribunals should be reconstituted.
The agitation programme of the Samiti will include dharnas in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s Offices on July 20. Later, the members of the Samiti would lay siege to the Devaraj Urs birth centenary celebrations planned by the State government in Bengaluru on August 20.
If the government still did not respond to the demands of the Committee, it would intensify its agitation, Mr. Nagaraj said.
Sanjeeva, who fought for land rights of Koraga community, was present.
