Proposed Andhra capital region: Fact-finding team questions govt decision to acquire 1 lakh acres

Under threat: Lush green fields

A fact-finding team set up by the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) on the proposed capital region of Andhra Pradesh has concluded that “there is no rationale for acquiring land to the extent of land 52,000 to 1 lakh acres, as per various pronouncements, from an area which has “diverse and prosperous agriculture”. Pointing out that “a very disturbing game of real estate speculation and land sale has been unleashed”, Contending that this "defies all imagination”, the team said, in the first phase, only 9000 acres were acquired for Chandigarh, and another 6000 acres were acquired for second phase.
Not just this, the team in its report said, “These two phases have taken more than 50 years for implementation”, adding, “Experience of Chandigarh shows that, after 60 years, the population has grown only to 12 lakh.” Then, another city, which was developed on similar lines, Gandhinagar, took 20 years to grow to its current stage, with a population of just 2.5 lakh. NAPM, which sponsored the study, is one of India’s largest network of rights-based organization.
Referring to the area where the new capital region is proposed, the team said, the whole idea looks particularly strange when one of the nearby cities, Vijayawada, encompasses 15,500 acres, and another city, Guntur, has 13,000 acres. Given this framework, the team said, “There is absolutely no reason for the new capital area to have an area beyond a couple of thousand acres.”
What provides credence to the team is, it was headed by MG Devasahayam, retired IAS bureaucrat who was administrator-cum-estate officer of the Chandigarh Capital Project. The team also included Bhupathiraju Ramakrishnam Raju, national convenor of NAPM, P Chenniah, leader of Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vruttidarula Union, and Prof Babu Rao, eminent environmental expert and retired professor from Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT).
Pointing out that team is “highly disturbed by the approach of the Andhra Pradesh government in proceeding with the capital region identification and development without any due process and legal basis”, the team said, the state government, in fact, is involved in spreading “confusion, fear and tension among the residents of the 29 villages whose names have been announced.”
The team visited several of the affected villages, -- Undavalli and Penumaka villages (Tadepalli Mandal); Krishnayapalem, Nidamarru, Koragal and Neerukonda (Mangalagiri Mandal); Venkatapalem, Mandadam, Malkapuram, Uddandayyapalem, Lingayapalem, Rayapudi, Peddaparimi, Vaddamanu and Tullur (Tullur Mandal).
“The villages marked for the capital region include two kinds of villages – one with irrigated multi-crop land within 2 km from the river and another with mostly rainfed land. All the villages have a vibrant agricultural economy of Rs1,000 crore per year, with complete linkages from farm to market, and large sections of people deriving livelihoods – including land owners, sharecroppers, tenant farmers and agricultural workers”, the team in its report said.
“This is an area of the best soil and climatic conditions, and the richest diversity of more than 120 crops. More than 1 lakh working persons are earning secure livelihood from agriculture in these villages, including the residents and external labour. Drastic urbanization of this area will adversely impact food security of the state”, it added.
Criticizing the government for talking about ‘land-pooling’, the team said, “There is no clear understanding among the people about the terms on which their land will be taken and what benefits they will get. Some political leaders have told the farmers that pooling system is final, and that if the farmers do not agree to the pooling, either their land will be compulsorily acquired or their lands will be declared as “green belt” after which they will never be able to develop the land or sell the same.”
It added, “Most of the information that the villagers have is coming from real estate agents leading to a sudden boom in the land rates and sale of more than 3,500 acres in a month involving more than Rs 4,000 crore. All this has created a mindset of uncertainty, confusion and fear among the villagers about their future.”
The team regretted, “Even the most basic requirement of preparing a feasibility report has not been done. The only existing law which governs the acquisition of land is the Land Acquisition Act, 2013. This Act can be used only for public purpose, and commercial land development and city development is not considered public purpose. Even for public purpose, acquisition of irrigated, multi-crop land is prohibited except under exceptional circumstances when there is absolutely no alternative.”
“It is to be noted that under the new Land Acquisition Act, every person whose livelihood is impacted by the project should be considered as project-affected person and duly compensated before land can be acquired by the government. The government’s emphasis on land-pooling seems to be a systematic attempt to avoid any compensation to the entire sections of people engaged in agricultural labour and other occupations, thereby undermining the letter and spirit of the Land Acquisition Act”, the team said.

Comments

Sattvik Food Festival: Shouldn't one question notion of purity, cultural exclusion in food choices?

Recently, I visited the Sattvik Food Festival, an annual event in Ahmedabad organized by Anil Gupta, professor emeritus at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A). I have known Prof. Gupta since 1993, when I sought an appointment to meet him a few months after joining The Times of India in Ahmedabad—one reason why I have always been interested in the activities he is involved in.

In lieu of tribute to Pritish Nandy, said to be instrumental in collapse of Reliance-controlled daily

It is widely reported that Pritish Nandy , journalist, author, animal activist, and politician, has passed away. While it is customary to pay tributes to a departing soul—and I, too, have joined those who have posted heartfelt condolences on social media—I cannot forget the way he treated me when he was editor of the Reliance-controlled Business and Political Observer (BPO), for which I had been working informally in Moscow.

Challenging patriarchy? Adopting maternal and marital surnames: Resistance continues

Anandiben Patel The other day, I was talking with a group of family friends. The discussion revolved around someone very close to me who had not changed her official name in documents, including her Aadhaar and passport, after her marriage. However, on social media and within her husband's family, she had adopted her husband's surname as a suffix to her own. I mentioned that there is a growing trend—though not yet widespread—where women prefer to retain their maiden names or add their maiden surnames alongside their husband's surname. Another emerging trend is where men choose to add their mother's name, or even their wife's name, to their own. This revelation surprised my family friends.

To be or not to be Sattvik: Different communities' differing notions of purity and fasting

This is a continuation of my last blog on Sattvik food. When talking about Sattvik, there is a tendency to overlook what it may mean to different sections of people around the world. First, let me redefine Sattvik: it means having a "serene, balanced, and harmonious mind or attitude." Derived from the Sanskrit word sattva, it variously means "pure, essence, nature, vital, energy, clean, conscious, strong, courage, true, honest, and wise." How do people achieve this so-called purity? Among Gujarati Hindus, especially those from the so-called upper castes who are vegetarians, one common way is fasting. On fasting days, such as agiyarash —the 11th day of the lunar cycle in the Vedic calendar—my close relatives fast but consume milk, fruit juices, mangoes, grapes, bananas, almonds, pistachios, and potato-based foods, including fried items. Another significant fasting period is adhik maas. During this time, many of my relatives "fast" by eating only a single me...

Shyam Benegal's Mathan a propaganda film that supported 'system'? No way

A few days ago, I watched Manthan, a Shyam Benegal movie released in 1976. If I remember correctly, the first time I saw this movie was with Safdar Hashmi, one of the rare young theater icons who was brutally murdered in January 1989. Back then, having completed an M.A. in English Literature from Delhi University in 1975, we would often move around together.

Barred premise allowed? 'Modi govt fails to seek release of fishermen languishing in Pak jails'

Are the Indian authorities or their Gujarat counterparts softening their stance toward NGOs that flag human rights concerns? I can't say for sure, as only recently the foreign funding license of one of the most prominent NGOs, Janvikas, headed by the well-known civil society leader Gagan Sethi, was canceled. This NGO has been working on livelihood issues for underprivileged sections of society for several decades.

Would Gujarat Governor, govt 'open up' their premises for NGOs? Activists apprehensive

Soon after I uploaded my blog about the Gujarat Governor possibly softening his stance on NGOs—evidenced by allowing a fisherfolk association to address the media at a venue controlled by the Raj Bhawan about India’s alleged failure to repatriate fishermen from Pakistani prisons—one of the media conference organizers called me. He expressed concern that my blog might harm their efforts to secure permission to hold meetings on state premises.

No to free thought? How Gujarat's private universities are cowing down their students

"Don't protest"—that's the message private universities across Gujarat seem to be conveying to their students. A senior professor told me that students at the university where he teaches are required to sign an undertaking promising not to engage in protests. "They simply sign the undertaking and hand it over to the university authorities," he said.

Beyond the Sattvik plate: Prof Anil Gupta's take on food, ethics, and sustainability

I was pleasantly surprised to receive a rather lengthy comment (I don't want to call it a rejoinder) on my blog post about the Sattvik Food Festival, held near the Sola Temple in Ahmedabad last year. It came from no less a person than Anil Gupta, Professor Emeritus at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A), under whose guidance this annual event was held.

Search This Blog