Land pooling begins today

AP, Singapore ink MoU on capital,Singapore will design master plan for the city

• Naidu will ensure that all farmers get the best package
• Govt identifies two types of land—upland & wetland
• Wetland farmers will get more payout
• Farmers to get commercial and residential land
• Each farmer will get Land Pooling Ownership Certificate, assuring developed land within three years

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday announced that it has devised a compensation package for farmers whose land will be pooled for the construction of the capital city. Stating that an elaborate exercise was taken up to device a compensation package, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that his government strives to ensure that the farmers get the best. The land pooling activities would begin on Tuesday in the 29 villages that were identified for the construction of the new capital city, Naidu informed during a press conference.

The government had identified two kinds of lands in the area, upland and jareeb land, for land pooling. For upland areas, the government would give 1,000 square yards of residential and 200 square yards of commercial land. Similarly, for jareeb land (lands abutting riverside or wetland), 1,000 square yards residential and 300 square yards of commercial land would be given, he said.

For assigned lands 800 square yards residential and 100 square yards of commercial land in case of upland would be given. For riverside land, 800 square yards of commercial and 200 square yards commercial land would be given for the land taken under the land pooling scheme.

Besides, Rs 30,000 compensation would be given annually to the upland land with an increase of Rs 3,000 annually. Similarly, in case of riverside land, Rs 50,000 would be given with an annual increase of Rs 5000. The government would give a receipt for the land taken and the Land Pooling Ownership Certificate would be issued to them, assuring that the land would be developed within three years.

Naidu said that a Capital Region Social Security Fund would be created for the 12,000 families of agriculture labourers and tenant farmers. Each family will be paid Rs 2,500 per month for 10 years.Government would build houses for downtrodden people in the villages, who have no houses. The government would also provide free education and health care for all these families and employment will e provided for 365 days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

The Hans India in its editorial, “Whither land pooling?” on November 17 had stressed the need to support of scores of landless people who would lose their livelihood and called for a comprehensive social security scheme for such people who would be deprived of their livelihood due to change in land use pattern. The plight of tenant farmers should also be addressed, it said.

The Chief Minister also said that old-age homes and NTR canteens would be set up to provide shelter and food to old-aged persons and skill development centre would be opened for unemployed youth to train them.Government would arrange interest-free loans up to Rs 25 lakh each for youth to take up self-employment,he added

The government had decided to clear the crop loans of farmers in the capital region in one go benefiting nearly 22,405 farmers which would cost the exchequer nearly Rs 200 crore. Developed land would be given to the farmers in the nearby areas of the land taken from them, and the residential and commercial land would be allotted on lottery basis.

The government had also decided to waive stamp and registration fee, water and basic amenities development fee on a one-time basis.