VIJAYAWADA: The state government appears to be at a standstill regarding the contentious issue of free-hold lands. Registration for approximately 20 lakh acres of assigned lands has been halted due to suspicions of record tampering. Despite conducting village-level revenue meetings to review land records, the government has failed to address the free-hold lands issue over the past year.
Hundreds of thousands of farmers are struggling to sell their lands while the government delays in lifting the ban on registrations for lands marked in the prohibitory lands register. A Group of Ministers (GoM) has been appointed to examine the issue, but they too have not provided a clear resolution after several meetings. “We hope to find a solution by October. The delay is primarily to prevent irregularities in transferring assigned lands to influential individuals. We aim to protect the rights of genuine landowners as well as government property,” stated Revenue Minister Anagani Satya Prasad.
Many farmers and eligible assignees expected the government to at least allow the registration of lands not under suspicion. However, they were shocked when the government extended the ban for an additional three months under the pretext of further record verification.
“The government seems determined to transfer poor people’s lands to landlords and corporations with these delay tactics. We demand an all-party meeting to create a comprehensive policy addressing this land issue,” said CPM state secretary V. Srinivasa Rao.
Srinivasa Rao noted that successive governments have claimed that about 32 lakh acres of surplus land have been distributed to the poor since 1970, yet previous administrations reported that around 15 lakh acres had been encroached upon by influential figures. “Before the elections, Naidu promised to reclaim assigned lands from ineligible individuals and allocate them to real beneficiaries. However, not even an acre has been distributed, nor has the 22-A controversy been resolved,” he added.
