Minister assures farmers of attractive package

Guntur: The Cabinet sub-committee will soon submit its report on acquisition of land for building the capital city to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. The report will contain views expressed by farmers and stakeholders on land pooling, according to Agriculture Minister P Pulla Rao, here on Sunday.

Speaking at a meeting attended by people's organisations and Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes farmers in the capital region, he said the government would work out a formula to do justice to all sections. Pulla Rao said the capital would be built with the help of ultra-modern in technology and design. Every farmer, who would part with his or her land for the capital, would feel happy when the capital came up in the region. Capital would turn the region into prosperous, he said.

He said the government had identified 21 villages under Thullur mandal for land pooling in the first phase. The total population in these villages was 54,000. About 10 per cent of lands proposed to be acquired were assigned lands and acquisition of land would affect 20,000 farm labourers. The government would show them alternative livelihood, he said. He promised that SC and ST farmers would not be ignored. They would be given the best deal.

Tadikonda MLA Shravan Kumar said compensation would be paid for assigned lands too for SC, ST farmers. The youth villages in the capital region would be given skill training, he said.

District Collector Kantilal Dande was also present.