Hyderabad: While the state government is looking to acquire large expanses of private land for various projects, politicians are pressurising the government to increase the compensation offered for horticultural land.
GO 357 prescribes the compensation payable for horticultural land, calculated on the basis of the number of trees per acre. For a mango plantation, the state government is liable to pay a compensation of Rs 4,162 to Rs 6,936 per tree, for a maximum of 40 trees per acre; and for a coconut plantation, it pays Rs 3,480 to Rs 5,800 per tree for a maximum of 60 trees per acre.
Politicians say that techniques such as drip irrigation help farmers grow a higher number of trees per acre of land; and so, the maximum number of trees for which a government pays compensation should be increased. Officials say that this could lead to the misuse of funds.
Local officials play a key role in the estimation of the compensation due for horticultural land. If the cap on the number of trees is inc-reased, officials could collude with land owners and inflate the number of trees recorded, so that they get a higher compensation, in exchange for kickbacks.
While officials say that there could be a misuse of funds, political leaders contend that the system is unfair to farmers who use the latest technologies to grow more trees.
They say that these farmers will lose money because of the government’s policy.
The government has categorised trees based on their varieties and set a compensation amount for each variety. Pressure from political leaders has forced them to take up an exercise to revise the maximum number of trees per acre for which a farmer is eligible to receive compensation.
