Cultivable land in Andhra Pradesh on the decline

Visakhapatnam: The extent of cultivable land and average size of operational holdings in Andhra Pradesh have been on the decline over the last few years. Though the situation doesn’t seem volatile, agricultural experts warn that it could reach an irreversible tipping point in terms of food grain production, given the ever-increasing population. According to statistics provided by the Union Government, from the 10th Plan period (2002-2003 to 2007-2008) to 2014, about 7,20,000 lakh acres were put to non-agricultural use in AP.

The average size of ope-rational holdings has co-me down from three acres in 2000 to 2.6 acres in 2010-11. The impact was even more palpable after bifurcation of the state, with real estate activity gaining steam, grabbing even the fertile farmlands of the villages. What’s more, the state government’s pattern of procuring and parting with vast tracts of land is also adding to the decline in cultivable land. In more recent times, the state government has been embarking on a land pooling spree for projects such as the Bhogapuram Greenfield International Airport, the capital city of Amaravati, the proposed port near Machilipatnam, Bhavanapadu port, private universities, medical institutions, IT industries, etc. It was often alleged that the state government was giving away much more land than was required for various projects in the guise of development, without learning any lessons from delayed or non-starter projects in the past.

Former Union energy secretary and noted environmentalist EAS Sarma commented, “Large stretches of agricultural land, often fertile, and multi-cropped land, are being diverted to SEZs and industrial projects and being put to other uses in Andhra Pradesh. This erodes food security and displaces and impoverishes lakhs of farmers and others dependent on agricultural activity. Section 10 of the 2013 Land Acquisition Act has recognised the need to safeguard food security by casting an obligation on the states to prescribe district-wise, cumulative upper limits. But the AP government and others have ignored this obligation and are proceeding to implement the Act in violation of that requirement.”

The state government had first planned to pool about 15,000 acres for the Bhogapuram Greenfield Airport. When criticism came from all quarters, it agreed to cut down the required land size to 5,000 acres. So was the case with a deep water port and an industrial corridor near Machilipatnam Port. The state cabinet first decided to pool an enormous 1 lakh acres for this project. But it had to come down to 22,000 acres after stirring up a hornet’s nest in protest.

The Kakinada Special Economic Zone (KSEZ), for which about 10,000 acres was procured, is still a non-starter and the farmers are protesting on a daily basis. YSRC Vizag district president, Gudivada Amarnath, said that the state government was on a land-looting spree under the guise of development. “Even after several studies have warned about non-viability of an international airport in Bhogapuram, the government is getting ready to pool 5,000 acres. While the Chennai, Ahmedabad and Kochi airports were built in less than 1,300 acres, why was the government acquiring this vast stretch of land? The state government has been planning to snatch away lakhs of acres from farmers and give them away to their benami industrialists. The government should learn lessons from the Supreme Court verdict on the Singur land acquisition,” Mr Amarnath added.