Congress calls amendments mere eyewash

Hyderabad: The main Opposition Congress party on Sunday termed the three amendments to TS Land Acquisition Act as mere eyewash. TPCC chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said a Congress delegation will meet President Pranab Mukherjee within a week and urge him not to approve the amended Act. Mr Reddy said  the amended Act ignored the all important issues like conducting social impact assessment study before land acquisition and ensuring food security provisions for the displaced, which form the main basis for the Centre’s Land Acquisition Act, 2013. Mr Reddy  condemned the manner in which the Amendment Act was passed by Legislature.

Speaking to media persons at Assembly Media Point, he criticised the haste with which the amendments were adopted and the  proceedings of the special session were over in less than 10 minutes. He said Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao did not even come to the House to facilitate debate on such an important issue. Condemning the TRS Government for not accepting Congress party’s demand that the amendments to LA Bill be preceded by a debate on farmers’ issues, he said Congress members were not allowed to speak on the subject.

Further, he said that the State Government was bound by law under the AP Revision of Market Value Guidelines Rules 1998 to revise and update market value of land being acquired. Instead, the government wants to go by “ascertain market value”. He said that the Bill would hurt the interest of lakhs of farmers in the State. “As noticed in the case of Mallanna Sagar and other acquisitions made for irrigation, energy and other projects, the State government would resort to forcible acquisition of land from farmers and other private parties. In a democratic country, a farmer would have equal rights as that of a CM. However, by passing the controversial bill, TRS Government has displayed its arrogance and KCR is treating Telangana as his personal fiefdom,” he said adding that most of the oustee farmers belong to SCs and STs.

He said that the Congress party wants all acquisitions to be made only under Land Acquisition Act 2013  passed after a thorough discussion in both the House of Parliament. “TRS leaders have been carrying out false propaganda that Congress was stalling the projects. We are not against development. But we want the government to protect the interest of farmers by implementing Land Acquisition Act 2013 only,” he said. Mr Reddy alleged that the amendments were carried out in a haste to benefit some contractors who are being awarded huge contracts through 'non-competitive and manipulative' tenders.