TALKING TOUGH: Representatives of farmers' associations at a meeting on utilisation of natural gas in the State for the benefit of local farmers in Vijayawada on Saturday. — Photo: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar

VIJAYAWADA: Representatives of the Federation of Farmers' Associations A.P. (FFA-AP) have urged farmers in Krishna, West Godavari and East Godavari districts not to accept cheques from Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) till proper compensation is offered to them for using their lands for laying a pipeline to transport the natural gas.

The leaders, at a meeting here on Saturday, resented what they called `unilateral' move by the RIL to lay its pipeline through farmers' lands without their prior permission.

Strong feelings were expressed at the meeting, as farmers poured out their grievances and wanted the farmers' associations to pursue their case immediately. They said that they had not accepted notices issued to them with regard to use of their lands.

Even then, the RIL was offering cheques and farmers too were accepting them in some places largely due to lack of awareness.

Power generation

FFA Krishna district president Y. Hanumantha Rao said that there was a need for unity among farmers to fight against the "injustice" being meted out to them in respect of the laying of gas pipeline. He pointed out that the Reliance had purchased land in Ibrahimpatnam mandal at the rate of Rs. 55 lakhs an acre for setting up a petrol bunk, but it was refusing to offer a similar price for farmers' lands nearby.

Only Rs. 60,000 had been offered for an acre in G. Kondur mandal, while the market rate was much higher.

Kolli Nageswara Rao, vice-president of Akhil Bharatha Kisan Sabha, demanded that the gas that was being explored in the K-G basin should be first used to meet the economic, industrial and power needs of the State. "Natural gas is a very useful resource to cut cost of power generation.

Nearly 2,000 MW of power generation can be achieved additionally with the help of natural gas in the coming years. This will supplement efforts to support agriculture more," he reasoned.

Compensation

Peddireddy Chengal Reddy, general secretary of the Consortium of Indian Farmers' Associations, argued that it was not proper that the value of farmers' lands should be estimated on the basis of a report prepared more than four decades ago.

The farmers' associations would wage a united struggle to secure proper compensation to those being affected by the laying of the pipeline in the State, he asserted.

On the RIL's offer to pay compensation at the old rates of land, a farmer wondered whether the Reliance would give farmers its shares at the value that was offered in the 1960s.

G. Murali Mohana Rao, a farmer from Munagapadu in G. Kondur mandal, said that he was being offered only Rs. 10,000 an acre, while the market rate was anywhere near Rs. 5.5 lakhs.

He regretted that the officials were not listening to their woes, and their lands would be of no use if the pipeline was laid.

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