BJP in opposition mode on land pooling issue

HYDERABAD: Behaving more like the principal opposition party rather than an alliance partner, the Andhra Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday charged that the compensation package being offered by the TDP government to farmers and other land owners for acquiring land for the construction of the new capital is faulty and demanded that this be revised, failing which it threatened to launch an agitation.
After interacting with farmers, BJP leaders concluded that the compensatory package doled out by the Chandrababu Naidu regime is woefully inadequate and have proposed several changes. "If the changes proposed by us are not ratified by the AP cabinet, we will have no choice but to launch an agitation," AP BJP general secretary Jammula Shyam Kishore told TOI from Guntur.
"Out of the developed portion of the land taken by the farmers, the TDP government has proposed to retain 60 per cent for itself and give back to the farmers the remaining 40 per cent. This translates into 1,000 sq yards per acre for the farmer. This is very unfair. Farmers are not ready to accept less than 50 per cent (nearly 1,200 sq yards) of the developed land. Moreover, the state has not declared where the developed land will be given. Farmers should be given the developed land in the commercial zone of the capital," Kishore said.
Stating that the BJP is not playing any politics with its alliance partner, Kishore said his party was expressing concerns about the existing compensatory package only after conducting a thorough survey in the villages identified for land pooling. "The survey made it clear that the farmers are very unhappy with the package," said Kishore, who hails from Tullur, one of the 17 mandals identified for land acquisition in the first phase.
Among the other demands, the BJP wants a job each for every family that loses land
. "Keeping in view the long-term livelihood needs of farmers who lose their land, a job per family is a must," he said.
The BJP is also taking up the cause of small and marginal farmers as well as shepherds and pig farmers. "It's a half-baked package as the policymakers are totally silent on the fate that would befall thousands of tenant farmers, agricultural labourers, shepherds and pig farmers due to the land acquisition," Kishore said. "Nearly 40,000 agricultural labourers, including 15,000 women, are employed in the land chosen in the first phase of land acquisition. Because of the standing crops, the labourers are assured of livelihood till March. Once these lands are acquired, they will be rendered jobless all of a sudden. The BJP is opposed to leaving them unattended," he added.
Another grey area, according to Kishore, is the riverside villages. He said the farmers from eight riverside villages, including Venkatapalem, Mandadam, Rayapudi, Udhanda Rayuni Palem and Lingapalem, should be placed on a different footing. "In these eight villages, four crops (sugarcane, guava, citrus and plantain) are normally grown in the fertile lands every year. Since they stand to lose more than the others, these farmers should be given a separate compensatory package," the BJP functionary said.
The party is of the view that there is enough time for the TDP regime to revise the compensation package as the standing crops of the farmers will last for about three or four more months.
Key demands of the ally
* 50% developed lands to be returned to farmers after land pooling
* Land should be given in the commercial zone of the capital
* A job each for every family that loses land
* Relief for tenant farmers, agricultural labourers, shepherds and pig farmers
* Separate compensation package for riverside villages