The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Karunanidhi appeals to farmers to give up agitation

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Monday, Aug 06, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Karunanidhi appeals to farmers to give up agitation

Special Correspondent

CPI(M) says associations will modify the form of protest

CHENNAI: Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Sunday appealed to the Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam (TNVS) and the Tamil Nadu Vivasaya Thozhilalargal Sangam (TNVTS) to give up their “occupy the Government offices”-agitation slated for Monday to highlight the demand for issue of house site pattas.

Dubbing the proposed agitation “unlawful”, he also sought the cooperation of these associations to the Government.

In a statement here, the Chief Minister said the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Government had understood the feelings of the alliance partners, besides keeping in mind the promises made in the election manifesto while performing its role. It had been decided at the recently held Collectors’ conference to give emphasis on the implementation of the scheme to issue house site pattas for three lakh persons before March, 2008.

Responding to the Chief Minister’s appeal, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which had decided to support the proposed agitation, announced that the associations would modify the form of the protest.

State CPI (M) secretary N. Varadarajan said in a statement that farmers and farm workers of both the associations would only stage protest demonstrations. He called for early talks with their representatives on the house site issue.

Referring to TNVS secretary K. Balakrishnan’s statement that over one lakh people would occupy offices of tahsildhars and Revenue Divisional Officers and Collectorates in the State till they were issued house site pattas, Mr. Karunanidhi asked the associations to give a thought to the kind of undesirable incidents such statements could cause.

Whenever DMK came to power, importance had been given for the issue of house site pattas for the poorer sections, he said.

Recalling the steps taken by successive DMK Governments from 1967, he said the decision to reduce the land ceiling from 30 standard acres to 15 standard acres in 1970 enabled the Government to redistribute 1,78,880 acres of surplus land to 1,37,236 farmers.

From 1996 to 2001, pattas for 35,596 acres of land were distributed to 52,792 landless farmers. The beneficiaries included 13,753 Adi Dravidars and 529 Scheduled Tribes.

House site pattas were distributed to 7,51,235 persons belonging to poorer sections during the previous DMK Government from 1996-2001, he said.

The previous AIADMK Government had distributed pattas to only 3,60,625 persons during 2001-2006, he pointed out.

The then DMK Governments distributed 5,03,697 house site pattas from 1967 to 1975 and 4,78,095 pattas in 1989-1990, he recalled.

As many as two lakh persons including Dalits and Backward Classes became owners of the house sites under their occupation in 1971, in the wake of the enactment of a law to confer them ownership right.

Under the wasteland distribution scheme, 1,01,523 acres had been distributed to 91,576 families of farm workers in four phases under the present DMK rule, he said.

If the personnel entrusted with the responsibility of issuing pattas were prevented from entering the offices, how they could continue with this progressive scheme of the Government, he asked.

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