RESISTANCE to deceitful attempts of the Telangana Rasthtra Samithi government in Telangana state for proposed  acquisition of about five lakh acres of land in the name of re-designed irrigation projects, schemes for drinking water and industrial use, subverting provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 by issuing Government Orders, contravening provisions of the central Act, to deprive the oustees of fair compensation and mandatory measures for rehabilitation and resettlement and adopting coercive measures for acquisition of lands, has gained popular momentum in various forms of agitations of the people. The state units of the CPI(M), All India Kisan Sabha, Agricultural Workers’ Union, CITU and other mass organisations are leading the agitation from forefront. The government has decided to acquire about 35,000 acres of land in Thoguta and Kondapaka mandals and proposed acquisition of 12,000 acres for National Infrastructure Management Zone (NIMZ), all in Medak district.  NIMZ land is not going to be immediately used but will be kept in reserve with the government for future industrial use. In these lands, two crops of potato and ginger are being raised successfully for the last several years, even under very severe drought conditions, as the groundwater in the area is shallow with good natural recoupment. Though the government has been saying that land would be acquired from the willing farmers only, under the GOs issued by it, ignoring the Central Act of 2013 and deceitfully removing the words “Rehabilitation and Resettlement” in GO Ms. No.124, in practice, all possible forms of coercion are being used to acquire  the lands. Signatures of the farmers are being obtained under duress on white papers. Both police and revenue officials have been camping in the villages to coarse the farmers to ‘voluntarily’ give their lands to the government. These coercive methods are being resisted by the displaced people living in the villages and even false cases are being foisted on men and women who are resisting the coercive attempts of the government to acquire their lands under the questionable and untenable GOs. Even the chief minister, K Chandrasekhar Rao, and his niece and minister for irrigation T Harish Rao have gone to the extent of threatening the affected people that the opposition parties would be responsible if the interests of the oustees are affected, unable to digest the growing resistance of the people to their devious attempts to acquire the lands and to cover up their inability to take up the gauntlet thrown by the CPI(M) and other opposition parties for a public debate on the issue. These undemocratic methods and adamant attitude of the government are reminding one of the coercive and repressive methods adopted by the autocratic Nizam ruler in the erstwhile Hyderabad state through Zamindars and their henchmen.

Later, other opposition parties like the Congress, TDP and BJP also have taken up their agitational programmes on the issue.  Some of the people affected under land acquisition for Mallanna Sagar project moved the High Court of Hyderabad, questioning the constitutional validity of the GOs issued by the state government, and approached the State Human Rights Commission as well. The CM had announced that depending on the choice of the oustees, lands would be acquired either under the central Act, 2013 or the GOs issued by the government. This dilly-dallying stance of the government is rightly questioned by the opposition parties and other social activists with a pointed poser as to how it would adopt two different yardsticks for the same purpose. Questioned by the High Court, the government contended that if farmers were not willing to give land and if it still wanted the land, the central Act would be invoked for the purpose.

At the beginning, CPI(M) and several mass organisations conducted campaign by organising conferences, dharnas, rasta rokos, and gherao of local revenue offices and padayatras and relay hunger strikes. Affected people have started indefinite hunger strike on their own. Public meetings were also organised. All these activities have enlightened the farmers about their rights under the central Act and about the dubious method of land acquisition being adopted by the state government through its questionable GOs and immense loss that is going to be caused to them.  CPI(M) state Secretary Tammineni Veerabhadram, along with several other leaders, conducted padayatra to all the villages, which are going to be submerged under the proposed Mallanna Sagar reservoir, for four days from the July 1. The padayatra was started from Erravalli village where the chief minister had his farm house of about 75 acres and ended at Etigaddakistapur in Medak district. Addressing the people at Erravalli, Veerabhadram asked the villagers not to sign on papers to give their lands and not to move out of their village, but to continue to fight unitedly to save their lands and villages and assured them that Red Flag would stand by them. Though experts like former engineer-in-chief and consultant to the United Nations T Hanumantha Rao had made it abundantly clear that Mallanna Sagar reservoir was not required and that water could be given under canals, the government was not paying heed to it and going ahead adamantly to bring water from a distance of 200 km to fill the reservoir and construct a bund for a distance of 22 km, he criticised. He doubted whether the 16,297 acres of land proposed to be acquired was for the project only. Convener of united forum of artists Vimalakka criticised the CM for going back on his promises before the general elections that there would be no submergence of villages, no migration and no land oustees. On the second day, speaking at Vemulagattu, Veerabhadram lashed out at the minister for irrigation Harish Rao for misleading the people that implementation of Act, 2013 would result in loss to the oustees, pointing out that it betrayed his lack of understanding of the issue. CPI(M) MLA Sunnam Rajayya said that the movement on Mallanna Sagar is being observed all over the country. On the third day, CPI state secretary Chada Venkat Reddy and leaders of RSP and BPS Janaki Ram and Srinivas Bahadur extended their solidarity to the padayatra of Veerabhadram.  Addressing a huge public meeting organised at Etigaddakishtapur on the concluding day of the padayatra, Prof G Haragopal expressed concern that the rulers in the Telangana state were creating destruction in the name of development. He asked the people to stand unitedly to safeguard their lands and properties.  Former judge of the High Court of Hyderabad Justice B Chandra Kumar questioned the propriety and legality of the way in which the government has been acquiring lands and asked it to make public the details relating to industries set up and employment created in the lands acquired earlier.  Veerabhadram questioned the propriety of issuing notification for land acquisition even without preparation of a detailed project report on Mallanna Sagar reservoir. He explained that there was scope for supply water under canals, citing several examples in the country and abroad, and warned that there was every danger of misusing funds to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees for the re-desigened and unwarranted projects proposed by the state government. State CITU President C Ramulu, state secretariat members of the CPI(M), D GNarasimhaRao, G Ramulu, T Jyothi, secretary of Medak district committee of CPI(M) A Mallesam, district secretary of AIKS Jayaraj, state convener of struggle committee of land oustees B Venkat, state secretary of AIDWA Hymavathy, former MP S Ramachandra Reddy, CPI(ML) state leader Rangayya, converner of Telangana Praja Front G Innaiah and others participated in these programmes.

Saraampally Malla Reddy, vice president of AIKS,   secretary of Telangana Rythu Sangham, B Chandra Reddy and other leaders participated in the first activity of resistance to land acquisition under Mallanna Sagar reservoir. CPI(M) and several mass organisations conducted padayatras from May 14 to 16, dharna before the district collectorate on May 2, and gherao of local Revenue Division Office with 1600 farmers. Gram sabhas were conducted in 16 villages affected by the reservoir. Relay hunger strikes were conducted before the district collectorate successively for 13 days and indefinite hunger strike for three days in June, demanding land acquisition as per Central Act, 2013.

State convener of struggle committee of land oustees B Venkat and other leaders announced that on the issues of land oustees, padayatras would be conducted from July 7-18 in several areas covered under different projects in  Mahabubnagar, Karimnagar and Khammam districts. 

Government is implementing land acquisition through questionable GOs under the proposed projects Mallanna Sagar, Ranganayak Sagar, Kondapochamma Sagar, raising the bund of Ghanapuram reservoir and for NIMZ. Government’s attempts to acquire land worth thousands of crores of rupees by paying paltry sums have been resisted by the displaced people in a very effective manner. After these struggles, the government was forced to accept to implement land acquisition through Central Act, 2013. But the government is refusing to implement key provisions in the Act such as getting concurrence of at least 70 percent of the people in the village concerned for land acquisition, examining availability of lands, assessing socio-economic impact, and updating land records and market value of lands for payment of compensation four times the market value.

DISPLACEMENT IN

MAHABUBNAGAR DISTRICT:

Palamuru Lift Irrigation scheme for supplying water to Mahabubnagar district has been redesigned, shifting water take-off point from Jurala to Srisailam backwaters. As a result, extent of land to be acquired has increased from 10,000 acres to 30,000 acres. Project cost also has increased, as a result, from about Rs 12,000 crores to about Rs 34,500 crores. Power consumption will also increase enormously, which will be a permanent liability to the state. Land acquisition is required for constructing reservoirs viz: Narlapur (4350 acres), Yedula reservoir (5,300 acres), Vattem (4,500 acres), Uddannapet (5,393 acress), Karivena (650 acres) reservoirs, all of which are part of Palamur lift irrigation project. Apart from the lands required to construct these reservoirs, land is also being acquired to dig distribution channels which require an estimated extent of land of about 25,000 acres. Here, also, land has been proposed to be acquired through the questionable GOs.  In these areas also, displaced people have been agitating in a big way under the leadership of CPI(M) and AIKS.  Tammineni Veerabhadram, Justice B Chandra Kumar, secretary of Mahabubnagar district committee of  CPI(M)  Md Jabbar, C Ramulu,  state secretary and president of AIKS, B Chandra Reddy and P Janga Reddy visited the areas and participated in all the programmes.  Relay hunger strikes have been continuing at two mandals for the last 43 days.  Conferences were organised in seven villages after conducting survey to understand the ground reality. Under Yedula reservoir, hunger strikes are going on since 20 days in Theegalapally and Rayapakula villages. Lokayukta issued stay orders on land acquisition for Vattem reservoir. In Gattumandal, government proposed land acquisition of 5300 acres for a solar power project. After agitation for several days, High Court stayed the land acquisition for the project.

Ranga Reddy District

Government has proposed to take over 15,000 acres for pharma city in Mucherla area in Kandukur and Yacharamin in Ranga Reddy district and in Mahabubnagar district. Government is paying compensation of only Rs 8 lakhs per acre for the land taken over under GO 123, while it has to pay an amount of Rs 32 lakh per acre under the central Act.  Government has been telling that it will pay only 50 percent compensation for the assigned lands.  But a seven-judge bench of the High Court gave a judgment that assigned lands also should be paid compensation on par with patta lands.

In the same manner, government has been acquiring 6,000 acres of land for a power plant at Damercharla in Nalgonda district and 1700 acres for expansion of Gowravelli reservoir in Karimnagar district. In these cases, too, government has taken the stand not to pay any compensation to the assigned lands.  Government has identified one lakh acres for land bank in Karimanagar district.