ALAPPUZHA: A move by a North India-based company to purchase vast tracts of peaty soil paddy fields (known as `kari' fields) at Thuravoor in Aroor constituency in the district has kicked up a row.

While the farmers seem to be willing to sell their lands, the Kerala State Karshaka Thozhilali Union (KSKTU) has vowed to oppose the move.

Aroor MLA A.M. Aarif told The Hindu that those who were planning to purchase land should state what they proposed to do it to remove apprehensions.

The total area of `kari' fields in Thuravoor is 5,000 hectares. The land is owned by around 6,000 landowners. The landowners are organised in various Padasekhara Samithis. A large part of the field has been lying fallow for around a decade. Cultivation of fish in the paddy fields is being done in some parts.

While the price of paddy fields in the area is Rs.20,000 per acre, the buyer is learnt to have offered Rs.1 lakh a acre to the farmers. The offer seems to have won the approval as the fields are considered a dead investment.

Agents who approached the farmers on behalf of the buyer said the proposed buyer was a Gujarat-based public limited company. Sources among farmers said the agents approached the office-bearers of Padasekhara Samithis who, in turn, sent letters to the farmers informing them about the proposal. The Samithis have convened a meeting of farmers who were willing to sell their land.

The letter indicated that the sale would be made effective in three stages. In the first stage, the farmers should furnish details of the land owned by them. They should hand over copies of the title deed to the company in the second stage when they would be given 10 per cent of the total value of their land as advance, said the letter. The remaining amount would be given in the final stage when the sale is made effective.

The KSKTU has expressed fears that the paddy field would be levelled by the buyers and used for commercial purposes. Aroor area secretary of the union R. Asokan said any move to use paddy field for other purposes would be resisted.

Mr. Aarif said the move to purchase a very large area of land in a covert manner had given rise to apprehensions. He said though any Indian citizen had the right to purchase land in the country, it would be appropriate if the buyers made clear their intention.

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