Land Act cannot be invoked: RK

“The State Government after its set back in the High Court on the land pooling issue announcing that it will invoke the Land Acquisition Act from May 14 only shows its impatience and the veiled threat to farmers who are unwilling to part with their land, “ party MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy told reporters here on Saturday.

The High Court, after hearing the petitions of farmers who have given Forms 9.2 and 9.3 quoting from the CRDA guidelines were allowed to keep their lands if they are not willing to give up. About 300 farmers who have given their land joined issue and wanted to redeem it which shows that force was used in the land pooling issue. The court said that the farmers can till the land and need not give up the land against their wish.

“As the verdict is going against the State, the Government has announced that it would bring in Land Acquisition Act from May 14. The 2013 Act is loaded in favour of farmers and would cut no ice. The Government statement is only a veiled threat,” he said.

The Centre tried to amend the Act by bringing in an Ordinance which was heavily resisted in the Parliament. It cannot be carried out in the Upper House as there is stiff opposition to it and many farmers’ associations have approached the Supreme Court.

The Land Acquisition Act will not stand the legal scrutiny if invoked for land pooling, he said adding that farmers cannot be cowed down by such laws and YSRCP will be with the farmers always.

Social activists Anna Hazare, Medha Patkar and Sivaramakrishnan were against the land pooling and they do not belong to any political party, he said.