Tullur ryots refuse to bite the 'Special Offer' bait

VIJAYAWADA: More than the construction of capital city for Andhra Pradesh, acquiring land from farmers in villages in Tullur mandal, particularly in nine villages along the banks of Krishna river in Guntur district, is turning out to be stickier than expected.

Though farmers in the villages, which are away from the river bank, are more or less sold on the idea of surrendering their land to the government, farmers in riverfront villages are still holding their ground.

The way they made their stand clear to the Cabinet sub-committee members, who called a meeting with them at the R&B guesthouse in Guntur, points to the fact that they are not gong to play regardless of what the government offers to them in return for surrendering their land under the land pooling system.

Though the farmers are being offered 200 square yards of commercial land besides 1,000 square yards of developed land and even payment of ` 50,000 per year per acre, the farmers are least interested.

This is because they are not trusting the promises being made by Ministers and TDP leaders. This package is said to be a special offer being made to the farmers who own lands along the Krishna river.

The government is keen on the longitudinal strip of the land along the river bank because it wants to develop it into a green belt and there is no question of giving it up as CM N Chandrababu Naidu is insisting on it.

According to farmers, the refusal to surrender land is because of the government not giving them anything in writing. 'Each time a Minister visits us, he says something and goes away. How can we trust them,' farmer K Sambasiva Rao asks.

This indicates that some farmers might consider the offer if the government gives it in writing but instead of doing this, the government is handing out a veiled threat to them that their lands would be taken in one way or the other. It says the options before them are to surrender the land under the land pooling system or wait for the government to invoke provisions of the Land Acquisition Act and take their lands.

This is, in fact, having many farmers rattled. They say that when they are prepared to lose their fertile land, they should know for sure what they are going to get. Instead of allaying their fears, the government is trying to intimidate them.

'We get more than `1.5 lakh income per acre every year. Now the government asks us to surrender this land in return for `50,000 per year and developed land of either 1,000 sq yards at a later stage. It is not interested in making us partners in the project. This is where we are suspecting the government's motives,' says farmer M Hareendranath Chowdary. 'We went to meet the Cabinet panel to listen to them. Let the government come clean first on what it wants to offer,' he says.

The farmers say that even if they meet the CM in Hyderabad in a couple of days as has been suggested by the sub-committee members, there is no ambiguity in their stand.

Another factor that is coming in the way for the farmers to agree to the offer of the government is that now all lands in the three mandals are worth about `1.5 crore per acre.

'Before the announcement of the capital, the value was different depending on the fertility of soil. Some lands were `20 lakh per acre and some were `50 lakh to `60 lakh per acre. Farmers of fertile lands are losing out in the bargain,' Chowdary says.

That the government is firm on beginning the process of taking lands was clear from what I&PR Minister Palle Raghunatha Reddy says. 'We will take land but only to the extent that is necessary. But we will definitely take the land,' he said implying that if the farmers reject the land pooling system, the Land Acquisition Act would be invoked.

While many farmers are rattled and not ready to lose their fertile land, AP Govt says it will take possession of land for the new capital city by invoking Land Acquisition Act. Ryots says when they earn more than ` 1.5 lakh per acre every year, Govt's offer of ` 50,000 per acre is a pittance