The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Expand Commission's terms of reference: Krishnasamy

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Sunday, Aug 06, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Expand Commission's terms of reference: Krishnasamy

Special Correspondent

Most land given to depressed sections has been grabbed

COIMBATORE: Puthiya Tamizhagam president K. Krishnasamy has demanded that the terms of reference of the Justice K.P. Sivasubramaniam Commission of Inquiry be expanded to cover the lakhs of acres of lands taken away from tribals and peasants.

The party will take out a procession to the Secretariat in Chennai on August 30 to press for the demand.

Mr. Krishnasamy told presspersons here on Saturday that the inquiry should not be limited to the Sirudhavoor land issue for which the Commission had been constituted. He said 50,000 acres of `panchami' lands were gifted during the British regime and three lakh acres were provided to the landless peasants when the Land Ceiling Act was introduced post-Independence.

Since then, more lakhs of acres of Government poromboke lands had been given to the depressed sections. Out of nearly 10-lakh acres across the State, only one lakh was with these sections while the rest had been grabbed, he alleged. Mr. Krishnasamy denied that these people had sold the lands to make money. "They resorted to distress sale when water supply to their lands for irrigation was stopped and other forms of pressure mounted on them to sell the lands." Such cases in Anaikatti and in the Bhavani river basin should also be probed, he said.

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