The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Make land committee report public: farm workers' union

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Make land committee report public: farm workers' union

Special Correspondent

Government has amended the Assignment Lands Act to favour those close to YSR, says union leader

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Workers' Union has asked the Andhra Pradesh Government to make public the full report of the Land Committee headed by Municipal Administration Minister Koneru Ranga Rao.

The union also wanted the Government to appoint an independent committee comprising Justice K. Punnaiah and senior IAS officers S.R. Sankaran and K.R. Venugopal for effective implementation of the recommendations made by the land committee.

"By releasing the recommendations, the Government is trying to cover up the panel's suggestion against amending the Assignment Lands Act," union general secretary B. Venkat said on Monday.

Addressing a press conference here, he said the Government had amended the Act to favour those close to Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

Big cities ignored

This was evident from the fact that the Government had set aside major cities like Visakhapatnam and notified several mandals in Kadapa district paving way for setting up of the proposed cement factory by Raghuram Cements that had the Chief Minister's son Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on its board.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist)-affiliated union that was leading the land occupation movement along with mass organisations represented the irregularities in land deals that were going against the policies of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. "We are ready to prove our claims," he said.

Claims criticised

Mr. Venkat criticised the Congress' claims that farmers affected by the land occupation movement were committing suicide and said the Government could conduct an inquiry into the issue and verify the facts.

The agitating people were taking possession of vacant Government lands.

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