Land pooling a ruse to snatch farmers' land?

Warangal: Is Kakatiya Urban Development Authority (KUDA) land pooling scheme a guise to snatch fertile land from farmers? It appears so. On the surface, it is projected that land pooling will benefit the farmers who give their land to KUDA for development.

But in reality, it's the other way around with some persons claiming to be KUDA representatives and approaching the farmers in Arepally and Paidipally villages and gathering their land information. Sensing some foul play, the locals questioned the veracity of the survey being done by the two persons. The police swung into action and booked cases against the villagers who questioned the surveyors, the locals say.

Against this backdrop, the farmers of Arepally and Paidipally led by a Joint Action Committee (JAC) met the Hanumakonda and Warangal District Collectors Rajeev Gandhi Hanumanthu, who is also the vice-chairman of KUDA, and M Haritha separately on Monday.

Much to their surprise, both the Collectors said that they were not aware of the development. It may be mentioned here that Arepally, Paidipally and Kothapeta villages are part of the 3rd Division of the Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC).

Speaking to The Hans India, JAC Convener Budde Peddanna said, "Both the Collectors are not aware of any survey being conducted in the villages for the purpose of land pooling. The Collectors told us that no one has the right to take farmers' land. We made it clear to the Collectors that we are against the land pooling. The Collectors assured us to launch an inquiry into the issue."

JAC Co-convener K Bapu Rao said that they have urged the administration to withdraw the cases foisted against them by the Hasanparthy Police. "In no way, we will give our fertile land to KUDA. We have been cultivating two crops a year comfortably. It's not fair to exert pressure on us to snatch land."

There was no response from KUDA project officer E Ajith Reddy when this newspaper tried to contact him. The other day, he made it clear that it was not mandatory and the farmers had the right to choose whether to give or not their land to the land pooling scheme.

It's learnt that the two persons who surveyed the farmers' land are said to be from Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. The locals allege that some private parties with the support of legislators have been trying to snatch their land in the guise of land pooling. Meanwhile, the farmers staged a novel protest by tying Rakhi to standing crops, reflecting their love towards farming.