Call for Jan Sansad of farmers, landless workers on April 9 against new Andhra capital at Vijaywada

Proposed area of new Andhra capital

By A Representative
The National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), apex body of tens of rights-based organizations across India, has called for a major struggle against the controversial land acquisition bill around the growing opposition to the proposed new Andhra Padesh capital in Guntur district, next to Vijaywada. Calling farmers and landless workers to flood Vijaywada on April 9 and join the Jan Sansad or People's Parliament, NAPM has given the slogan “Stop Corporate Loot of Land!” for the struggle.
Saying that the struggle would “expose the realities of the new greenfield capital of Andhra Pradesh", the NAPM has demanded that the Andhra government should “stop massive acquisition and ‘pooling’ of prime farming land” to build Amravati, the name given to the new capital.
The NAPM said, “The issue of right over land has once again become the national question. Promulgation of the ordinance to amend Land Acquisition Act, 2013 (now called the new Land Bill) has sharply brought out the conflict between the anti-people government backed by corporates and the toiling people of this country.”
It added, “The attempts to reverse the achievements by people’s movements through years of struggles against unjust land acquisition, some of which were included in the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, are going to not only create situations of crisis among the land-dependent people but will also seriously threaten our food security and environment.”
According to NAPM, “A manifestation of such a crisis can be seen in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. Blatantly flouting the recommendations of the Sivaramakrishna Committee for new Capital, the Andhra government is going ahead with the plans for greenfield capital in a region which has thriving agricultural economy of Rs 1000 crore, 120 different crop varieties, 85 % small and marginal farmers, including women entrepreneurs who earn Rs.200-700 per day.”
“The planned capital development will take 30-50,000 acres of multi-crop farm land from 29 villages, affecting 2 lakh plus population in first phase and is expected to go up to 1,25,000 acres in subsequent phases”, the NAPM said, adding, “The land pooling scheme, meant to be voluntary, is being used to forcefully acquire land. Minimal and insufficient cash compensation is being provided to farmers but the real gains are for the real estate developers and to a Singapore firm which is to get complete transfer of autonomy.”
“This situation in Andhra gets even worse with the new central land bill hanging over the heads of the farmers which is attempting to do away with all pro-farmer safeguards. Clearly, the Make in India campaign is all about unmaking and destroying rural India”, the NAPM said.
Calling upon activists to participate in the Jan Sansad on April 9, the NAPM said, those who will lead to event would include Medha Patkar, M G Devasahayam, Dr. Sunilam and B Ramakrishnam Raju, National Convener, NAPM.

Comments

Whither space for the marginalised in Kerala's privately-driven townships after landslides?

By Ipshita Basu, Sudheesh R.C. In the early hours of July 30 2024, a landslide in the Wayanad district of Kerala state, India, killed 400 people. The Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Vellarimala and Chooralmala villages in the Western Ghats mountain range turned into a dystopian rubble of uprooted trees and debris.

Election bells ringing in Nepal: Can ousted premier Oli return to power?

By Nava Thakuria* Nepal is preparing for a national election necessitated by the collapse of KP Sharma Oli’s government at the height of a Gen Z rebellion (youth uprising) in September 2025. The polls are scheduled for 5 March. The Himalayan nation last conducted a general election in 2022, with the next polls originally due in 2027. However, following the dissolution of Nepal’s lower house of Parliament last year by President Ram Chandra Poudel, the electoral process began under the patronage of an interim government installed on 12 September under the leadership of retired Supreme Court judge Sushila Karki. The Hindu-majority nation of over 29 million people will witness more than 3,400 electoral candidates, including 390 women, representing 68 political parties as well as independents, vying for 165 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.

Gig workers hold online strike on republic day; nationwide protests planned on February 3

By A Representative Gig and platform service workers across the country observed a nationwide online strike on Republic Day, responding to a call given by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) to protest what it described as exploitation, insecurity and denial of basic worker rights in the platform economy. The union said women gig workers led the January 26 action by switching off their work apps as a mark of protest.

'Condonation of war crimes against women and children’: IPSN on Trump’s Gaza Board

By A Representative The India-Palestine Solidarity Network (IPSN) has strongly condemned the announcement of a proposed “Board of Peace” for Gaza and Palestine by former US President Donald J. Trump, calling it an initiative that “condones war crimes against children and women” and “rubs salt in Palestinian wounds.”

India’s road to sustainability: Why alternative fuels matter beyond electric vehicles

By Suyash Gupta* India’s worsening air quality makes the shift towards clean mobility urgent. However, while electric vehicles (EVs) are central to India’s strategy, they alone cannot address the country’s diverse pollution and energy challenges.

With infant mortality rate of 5, better than US, guarantee to live is 'alive' in Kerala

By Nabil Abdul Majeed, Nitheesh Narayanan In 1945, two years prior to India's independence, the current Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, was born into a working-class family in northern Kerala. He was his mother’s fourteenth child; of the thirteen siblings born before him, only two survived. His mother was an agricultural labourer and his father a toddy tapper. They belonged to a downtrodden caste, deemed untouchable under the Indian caste system.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

MGNREGA: How caste and power hollowed out India’s largest welfare law

By Sudhir Katiyar, Mallica Patel* The sudden dismantling of MGNREGA once again exposes the limits of progressive legislation in the absence of transformation of a casteist, semi-feudal rural society. Over two days in the winter session, the Modi government dismantled one of the most progressive legislations of the UPA regime—the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Fragmented opposition and identity politics shaping Tamil Nadu’s 2026 election battle

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* Tamil Nadu is set to go to the polls in April 2026, and the political battle lines are beginning to take shape. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state on January 23, 2026, marked the formal launch of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign against the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Addressing multiple public meetings, the Prime Minister accused the DMK government of corruption, criminality, and dynastic politics, and called for Tamil Nadu to be “freed from DMK’s chains.” PM Modi alleged that the DMK had turned Tamil Nadu into a drug-ridden state and betrayed public trust by governing through what he described as “Corruption, Mafia and Crime,” derisively terming it “CMC rule.” He claimed that despite making numerous promises, the DMK had failed to deliver meaningful development. He also targeted what he described as the party’s dynastic character, arguing that the government functioned primarily for the benefit of a single family a...

Search This Blog