Andhra CM targets opposition over farmers' issues

Nellore (Andhra Pradesh), May 12 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy slammed the opposition parties saying they were unable to digest the slew of measures taken by his government for the welfare of farmers.

He alleged that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Jana Sena Party (JSP) were criticising the government only to earn political brownie points while they themselves did nothing for farmers when in power.

The chief minister was addressing a public meeting at Kavali in Nellore district after launching the official process of de-notification of dotted lands from the prohibited list

He advised the public to not be swayed by baseless criticism and reminded the public of TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu's 'treachery'.

"Along with yellow media, Chandrababu Naidu and Dattaputrudu (Pawan Kalyan) are all behaving like Shurpanaka from the epic Ramayana. Their concerns for farmers are false. Their statements are nothing but a cunning veil. Do not fall for their dramas. Pawan Kalyan says he is born to ask questions. Why did he fail to question Chandrababu Naidu after he outrightly cheated farmers," he asked.

He reminded people it was Chandrababu Naidu who said that farming is a waste of time. "Today he has conveniently changed his stance. Clearly, two cheats are siding with each other," the CM said.

He termed denotification of dotted lands as a landmark decision which will benefit 97,471 farmer families across the state. These farmer families will get complete rights over 2,06,171 acres of land with an estimated market value of approximately Rs 20,000 crore.

He stated that farmers will now be able to sell and pledge these lands for their financial needs besides enjoying other rights as land owners.

The inclusion of dotted lands in Section 22 A (1)(e) by the TDP government in 2016 had deprived farmers of their rights to sell or pledge these lands.

The Chief Minister emphasised that his pro-farmer government has been consistently implementing various programmes for the welfare of farmers.

These initiatives include the distribution of 3 lakh acres of RoFR (Rights over Forest Resources) pattas to 1.28 lakh tribal families, with each family receiving two acres of land.

Additionally, 35,000 conditional lands pattas have been removed from the prohibited lands list, benefiting 22,000 farmer families. The government has also distributed 31 lakh house site pattas to women across the state.

In a bid to resolve land disputes permanently, the government has undertaken a re-survey of lands after a century through the YSR Jagananna Saswatha Bhu Hakku and Bhu Raksha programme.

CM Jagan announced that 7,92,238 permanent title deeds have already been provided to farmers in 2,000 villages during the first phase, with the second phase scheduled to begin next month.