Hyderabad, March 19: Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Thursday announced that the policy on land allotments to companies will be reviewed. “The government has already conducted two meetings in this regard and will seek suggestions from political parties, experts and other stakeholders before coming up with a revised policy,” he said.
Making the announcement in the State Legislative Assembly, Kiran Kumar Reddy said the government was not ready to give away land to any company. The revised policy will examine various aspects like the extent of land requested, land actually required and also land allotments made to various companies earlier. “My previous statement in the Assembly (on March 8) has been misinterpreted. I had said that the government would not review all land allotments made by previous governments. I had only said it will review the entire policy of land allotments to ensure that natural resources are not used for wrong purposes,” he clarified.
The Chief Minister’s statement led to an uproar in the House with the Opposition, particularly the Telugu Desam Party which has been demanding a Joint Legislative Committee (JLC) probe on all land dealings since 2004-05, sticking to its guns. TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu said his party was not opposed to the decision of the State government to review the policy but had demanded a JLC probe to bring out irregularities in land allotments over the past few years. “Natural resources belonging to the people are being used for the personal gains of a few people. We will not relent until the government constitutes the JLC,” declared Naidu.
Lok Satta Party’s Jayaprakash Narayan said natural resources in the State were going into the hands of a handful of people due to which people were suffering on various fronts. He alleged that land and other natural resources were being exploited by the rich which was in turn breeding corruption.
BJP floor leader G Kishan Reddy demanded that the government stop using agricultural fields for industrial development and wanted it to take back unused land allotted to various companies. G Mallesh of the CPI stated that the Congress had failed to keep up its election promise of protecting the poor. “Instead, it is taking away their lands,” he alleged. CPM leader J Ranga Reddy emphasised the need for the government to prove its commitment by constituting the JLC. He pointed out that the companies which took lands were not bothered about rehabilitation of the poor who lost their lands.
Proceedings of the House were stalled three times during the day by the Opposition parties who demanded the constitution of the JLC. There were heated arguments between the treasury and Opposition benches over the issue as TDP MLAs rushed towards the Speaker’s podium.
The State government offered to make a statement on the issue on Monday, but the Opposition remained unconvinced. Despite repeated appeals of Deputy Speaker N Manohar, the TDP members did not relent following which the Assembly was adjourned till Monday.
–Agencies