JOIN US‘Instead of giving title deeds to poor, the govt is clearing small land holders who have encroached land for livelihood’
Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha (KPRS) district committee and All India Kisan Sabha members staged a protest demanding houses for homeless, rights for the forest dwellers under Forest Rights Act, and stop eviction from encroached land by poor farmers and labourers, here in front of the DC’s office on Tuesday.
Addressing the protesters, Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha district committee President K R Sriyan said that thousands of poor, farmers and labourers have submitted applications for sites, regularisation of land on which they have been cultivating for ages and cultivation (saaguvali) chits.
However, the government has not initiated any measures in this regard. Instead of handing over the title deeds and cultivation chits to the poor, the government is engaged in clearing the small land holders who have encroached land for livelihood.
This will have an impact of thousands of poor labourers and small scale farmers. He alleged that the government was entrapped by real estate mafia. He said land encroachment by poor was for livelihood. The rich who engaged in land grabbing, which involved influential people creating fake documents and claiming the ownership of government land.
“In the name of implementing A T Ramaswamy Council Committee and Dr Balasubrahmanyam Task Force recommendations, the government has directed the Deputy Commissioners and Tahsildars to clear poor farmers from their land holdings. The government instead of initiating action against land grabbers are engaged in damaging crops of farmers. It is the duty of the government to provide sites for the siteless. To protect the cultivators, the government should withdraw the affidavit filed in the High Court on clearing the encroachers.”
Sriyan said the government should bring in suitable amendments to the Land Revenue and Forest Acts to provide title deeds to the poor. On the one hand, the government has filed an affidavit in the court that it will clear the encroached land. On the other, Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment Ramanath Rai has said that those occupying less than 10 acres of land will be spared.
CPM leader Vasanth Achari accused the government of clearing the encroached land for supporting the MNCs for fulfilling slogan of BJP government ‘Make in India’ and Siddaramaiah government’s ‘Make in Karnataka.’
“Siddaramaiah who speaks on socialism should implement it by giving power to the voiceless. If the government fails to protect the interest of the poor farmers and labourers, then the next people’s mandate will be against the government. The government should not clear the encroachments of less than 10 acre land and act against land grabbers,” he said.