Hyderabad, April 26: A Round table on conversion of agricultural lands for other purposes was oranised by the Federation of Urban Citizens Associations (FOUCAS) here today. Participating in the discussion, CPM state secretary BV Raghavulu said the government should have awareness on what type of agricultural lands should be allowed to be used for non-agricultural activities. At the same time the government should see that the production of agriculture did not suffer.
Compared with Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, urbanisation in Andhra Pradesh was moving at a slow pace, he said and observed that the rulers of the state were in a hurry to catch up with those states. In this process the government had allotted lands which would produce three crops in a year and the lands of the tanks were given for non-agricultural activities, the CPM leader said and cited the example of Satyavedu special economic zone in Chittoor district.
Raghavulu said that in Rangareddy district hundreds of acres of land was converted into housing plots. To prevent such activities there was a law called Vacant Land Penalty.
If this Act was implemented strictly, the government could get huge revenue instead of converting agricultural lands into other types, he pointed out. CPM secretary categorically stated that there was no point in giving concession to those who use lands for commercial purposes and to gain profits. He suggested that industrialists be penalised if they failed to establish industries in time.
Telugu Desam general secretary V Ramaiah said that in the name of conversion of lands the government was tormenting the poor and middle- class people. He alleged that the government was trying to earn Rs 5,000 crore by converting the lands.
—Agencies