ANANTAPUR: The district unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has asked the State Government to withdraw its proposal to regularise illegal occupation of Government lands.

It has also urged the Government to work out a policy based on the recommendations favourable to the poor in the Land Committee report.

District secretary of the party G. Obulakonda Reddy on Thursday alleged that the State Government was planning to release orders in the name of "Andhra Pradesh Transfer of Rights for Unauthorised Occupation of Government Lands (TOR) Policy 2007" to help land grabbers and land mafia.

Such a policy would do grave injustice to the poor and middle class, particularly Dalits, tribals and backward classes.

All land reforms acts would be subverted with the fresh policy, he felt. The land grabbing would be legalised with the policy, the CPI(M) leader alleged. Instead of framing laws for illegal occupation of Government lands, such elements would now be left unscathed.

`Anti-people'

Terming the proposed policy as anti-people, he asked the Government to withdraw its efforts to issue the orders on it.

The Government's sincerity in reclaiming occupied Government lands and taking action against the illegal occupants had become suspicious now as the Government was planning to bring in a policy to regularise the occupied lands, even before the time of 90 days given for voluntary surrender of such lands.

The proposed policy would also make light of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy's call for "sacrifice" by surrendering occupied assigned lands to escape the law.

The Land Committee appointed by the Government had recommended collection of income accrued from the land during the occupation as penalty apart from jail term and fine suggested by the law to the illegal occupants.

Overlooking the existing laws and recommendations of the land committee, the Government was trying to handover assigned, Government, ceiling and others lands to the illegal occupants on a platter by proposing maximum relaxations in proportion to the period of occupation -- higher sops to the longest occupations, Mr. Obulakonda Reddy alleged.

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