I’ll play big brother, Naidu tells farmers

Hyderabad: Faced with strong opposition from various quarters, including farmers’ organisations led by the left parties, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday interacted with over 300 farmers from the villages that would be affected by land acquisition for construction of capital city of AP at the Lake View Guest House.

Though it is being said that the government had resorted to a sort of public relation exercise by bringing those farmers who had no objection to part with their land, officials say that Naidu made a serious effort to hard sell the concept of land pooling. He assured them that he would play the role of a big brother and take the responsibility to see that full justice was done to them.

During the meeting that lasted over three hours, farmers not only expressed their concerns but also had put forward certain demands like better compensation, jobs, Rs 3 lakh as risk support for every acre of dry land and Rs 5 lakh for every acre of wet land. They also sought that they be included in the list of farmers who were eligible for loan waiver scheme apart from health insurance, free education etc. The farmers, who came from the 29 villages of Mangalagiri and Rayapudi and 23 villages of Tulluru Mandal, said they were not opposed to development but want the government to see that full justice was done to them. Earlier, a CPI delegation met Naidu and submitted a memorandum. Speaking to media, assistant secretary of the party Muppalla Nageshwar Rao said his party demands government employment on first priority to the educated youth of SC, ST and economically backward categories. He said they wanted the government to give 1,400 sq yards of land for construction of houses and 400 sq yards of commercial space in case of wet lands.

A farmer Vistalla Ramesh Babu of Nidamarru village in Mangalagiri mandal said he and four of his brothers were willing to part with 20 acres of land on which they cultivate pulses.