AP Capital: Farmers livid over govt’s move

Land for capital city

Vijayawada: State government’s move to invoke Land Acquisition Act has sparked anger among farmers who have resisted the bid by the administration to acquire their land under land pooling scheme.

The farmers, who earlier opted for land pooling, have now decided to opt out of it and not to accept cheques from the government as a way of annuity payment. The State government’s fresh decision to invoke Land Acquisition Act has become a debating point among the villagers in the capital region. Some farmers are getting ready to approach the court on government’s move to invoke Land Acquisition Act from May 14.

A farmer, N Giridhar of Malkapuram, said farmers would have agreed for land pooling scheme, but the government had failed to clarify their doubts on allotment of developed plots in the capital zone. He said the farmers were not ready to take cheques from the officials unless the government clarified their doubts. Another farmer, G Chandrasekhara Rao, said the government was trying to frighten the farmers in one way or other to grab their lands in the capital region.

Another farmer, M Seshagiri Rao of Rayapudi village, said the government was trying to create confusion among the farmers by issuing different statements with regard to land acquisition. He said unless the government stopped land pooling, it could not go for land acquisition. He wondered how the government could resort to land acquisition without showing specific purpose. The government had claimed that it acquired 33,000 acres of land.

Former Minister Vadde Sobhanadeeswara Rao said the State government could not acquire land from farmers even under new Land Acquisition Act of 2013. He said the government was trying to create panic among farmers to snatch their lands in one way or other. The State government has no power to acquire lands without the consent of farmers and there is no need for them to panic, he added.