Land pooling for layouts facing hurdles in Khammam
Many farmers have already unofficially sold their lands to others. The buyers have the lands in their possession and are cultivating them
KHAMMAM: Land pooling scheme for developing layouts within municipalities and corporation limits of Khammam district is facing hurdles.
Officials are, however, trying to convince landowners that value of their agricultural land will go up once it becomes part of a layout. The layouts will be developed by municipalities and corporations at their own cost. Owners will be given plots in proportion to the land contributed by them.
Officials are also pointing out that landowners will anyway be unable to sell their farm lands, as there is a ban on transactions related to assigned lands. Officials feel it is a win-win situation for landowners as value of their land given for pooling will go up and plots given to them will have clear titles.
Sources, however, point to a hitch. Many farmers have already unofficially sold their lands to others. The buyers have these lands in their possession and are cultivating them, though they have no clear titles. Such owners do not want to give their land for pooling, as plots given in return will be in the name of original assignees.
For example, there are nearly 200 acres of assigned lands at Mangalapuram in Khammam Rural mandal. Sixty percent of farmers are opposing land pooling for layouts giving various reasons, the main reason being they are not the original assignees. The issue of land pooling can be settled only if current owners get into agreement with original assignees. This could be a time-taking process.
However, there are also farmers like N. Laxmaiah. He says his family had been tilling the land for last two generations. They will have no work in case they hand over the land to government that will pool it into a layout.
State government has its own reasons for initiating land pooling. One is making residential plots available in areas surrounding towns and cities. Government will get some revenue from auctioning its share of plots that it develops. Further, it will get registration fee once these plots are registered.
Given the reservations from current owners, it is not yet known how the land pooling system will move forward.