Despite surrendering their land for new capital, Andhra Pradesh farmers restart farming
Guntur: Despite surrendering their land for the new capital, some farmers in Tullur are sowing Rabi crops despite a CRDA order to desist from cultivation.
The CRDA’s announcement about allowing cultivation in non-Land Pooling System (LPS) lands is creating suspicions about the new capital establishment getting further delayed, and this is driving farmers who have participated in the LPS towards fresh cultivation.
Paddy variety MTU-1010 has been sown in nearly 70 acre of surrendered lands in Tullur while maize has been sown in 50 acre of surrendered lands.
Farmers, on condition of anonymity, said that these farmlands were situated next to the Tullur road at the beginning of the village and CRDA officials, ministers had travelled along the stretch numerous times but no one had objected, hence they were continuing cultivation.
They added that they had submitted their farmlands under LPS to the CRDA but due to the slow pace of land collection they were suspecting further delays in the capital building process.
The farmers added that the yield of the paddy short-term crop would come in 90 days and the maize would come in five months. They thus hoped that by June, by when the capital process would start in earnest, they would have reaped their crops.
The farmers also said that they would stop cultivation after the Rabi season.
Farmers D. Subba Rao, K. Bapaiah and others said that they would stop cultivation only after getting the lease amounts and the government should start distributing the same to speed up the new capital establishment.
Tullur tahsildar Mr A. Sudheer Babu said that non-LPS farmers could continue cultivation but farmers who had surrendering their land should stop cultivation. He said that some farmers might have started cultivation due to some misunderstanding and officials would spread awareness among these farmers.