TDP cheating farmers on capital

Hyderabad,
Nov 8: The capital imbroglio has been created by the State government as it is
trying to seize fertile lands against the will of the farmers to benefit a
section of TDP leaders who have purchased large land holdings in the
peripheries and are awaiting real estate boom, YSR Congress has said.

“TDP has
been propagating that certain parties are against the state capital and wanted
to building it in a forest but creating a capital between Krishna and Guntur
districts will benefit the farmers of Tallaru and other places will benefit
them immensely is falsehood as the small land holders are afraid and have many
fears of losing their livelihood,” party spokesperson Ambati Rambabu told
reporters here on Saturday. 

We are
not against the capital coming up anywhere, but we are against the fertile
agriculture land being used for the purpose and demand that the state should
publish a white paper on the land purchases made in the peripheries of the
proposed capital after TDP has come to power. We are against the unilateral
decision of the Government on the capital, without a proper debate and we are
against the land-pooling of depriving farmers of their fertile land.

“There
are reports that TDP MPs, MLAs and other entrepreneurs close to the leadership
have purchased large extent of land and have ensured that it does not come into
the frame of capital city while gullible farmers of 17 villages are now being
forced to sell their productive land.

It was
clearly said in the State Reorganisation Bill that barren land should be
acquired for the capital city and if need be forest land should be de-notified,
but TDP government has been deceiving farmers as it has done with loan waiver
and they have many doubts and fears which should be allayed before taking up
the capital building exercise,” he said.

Farmers
of the 17 villages are in a confused state as they have swallowed the bitter
pill on the promise of loan waiver and are not prepared to believe N
Chandrababu Naidu telling that they will be compensated adequately.

We will
be with the farmers to safeguard their interests and if majority of the people
are not willing, the State cannot go for land pooling. Chandrababu Naidu who
was the first person to raise his voice and demand around 5 lakh cores for
building the new capital has become silent now.

Being a
coalition partner he should use his good offices to get funds from the Centre
to instill confidence among the farmers instead blaming the Opposition for
instigating the farmers. The locals have lost confidence in him after the loan
waiver and his old tune of development of IT sector has no buyers now, he said
adding that villagers have passed resolutions in gramsabhas against the
acquisition.