Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 27: J&K National Panthers Party (NPP), chairman and former Minister Harshdev Singh has expressed grave concern over the pitiable plight of the farmers who constitute around 80% of the State population and are suffering immensely not only due to vagaries of weather but also due to apathy of the Govt towards their concerns.
Talking to media-persons here today, the NPP leader said that the farmers are in distress and utter depression in the State due to continuous crop failures, destruction of agricultural fields caused due to last year’s floods and rains, loss of cattle and other live stock, crash in the price of agricultural produce, non provision of Minimum Support Price (MSP) with utter apathy shown by the Govt towards the said concerns. He deplored that the farmers are a forgotten community today with agriculture related issues having completely disappeared from the imagination of the rulers.
He further regretted that the State Govt had added to further gloom and doom by resorting to large scale acquisition of lands from agriculturists in various districts at throw away prices thus divesting the farmers of their small holdings in the name of public utility works. He said that lands of farmers were being acquired at negligible prices and even free of cost in certain cases by the Govt in J&K notwithstanding the fact that all other states of the country were paying two to four times the market value of land sought to be acquired by their respective Governments for public purposes under the revised Land Acquisition Law enacted by UPA Govt in 2013.
Seeking the extension of ‘Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act’ (LARR Act of 2013) to the J&K, Mr Singh regretted the forcible expropriation of land from farmers in the J&K state by the State and Central Govt at negligible prices for construction of roads, railway tracks, construction of school and hospitals buildings, irrigation canals besides other works.
Demanding the extension of LARR Act 2013 to the State in its original form, Mr Singh observed that the said legislation would not only ensure adequate compensation to the affected farmers but also provide employment to at least one member of the family whose lands would be acquired by the Govt.
Lambasting the Govt for its failure to enact and extend farmer friendly laws to J&K, Balwant Singh Mankotia State president sought the retrospective application of LARR Act of 2013 in its original form so that several thousands of acres of land acquired from farmers after 2011 is paid adequate compensation in conformity with rates paid in rest of the country.
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