Date:11/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/11/stories/2008101157030300.htm

Karnataka

Dharna against Government’s anti-farmer policies on Tuesday

Staff Correspondent

Only barren land must be acquired for setting up SEZs: sangha

Government must take agricultural land on lease
rather than buy it, farmers’ leaders suggest
Uninterrupted power supply to villages is their
other demand

Chitradurga: The district unit of Bharatiya Kisan Sangha will stage a dharna against anti-farmer policies here on October 14. South Zonal Organising Secretary Puttaswamy told presspersons here on Friday that the sangha had been holding nation-wide protests for the past two months in connection with various issues related to farmers such as land acquisition for setting up Special Economic Zones, crop support price and uninterrupted power supply to villages.

Mr. Puttaswamy said that under the pretext of setting up Special Economic Zones (SEZ), the Union and the State Governments had been acquiring fertile land from farmers without giving them adequate compensation. He explained that the Government was giving tax exemption to SEZs for 10 years. For each SEZ, a minimum of 5,000 hectare of land was being allotted. But investors would use only 25 per cent for setting up industries, while the rest of the land could be used for any other purpose.

Mr. Puttaswamy asserted that though the sangha was not against the SEZs, they were opposed to anti-farmer policies. “The Government should first ensure that only barren, non-cultivable land is acquired, second, only that much land required for setting up industries must be allotted and, third, the SEZs should be set up across the State and not just around Bangalore”, he said.

He demanded that the Government should acquire farmers’ land on lease so that they can earn annual profit instead of acquiring land from them for compensation not worthy of mention.

He also demanded that the Government supply uninterrupted power as many farmers depended on electricity to irrigate their lands.