Penumaka (Guntur): It has been alleged that the social impact assessment was not conducted properly in Amaravati, and this is posing a hurdle for land acquisition. Landowners in Penumaka, Undavalli and other villages said their irrigated, multi-crop farms had been registered as dry, barren land. Mangalagiri MLA A. Ramakrishna Reddy has filed a petition in the High Court, stating that norms have been violated during land acquisition procedures in Amaravati. The Court has directed the government to file a counter.

Farmers leader G. Naresh Reddy said the Environment Protection Training and Research Institute, Hyderabad, was appointed to conduct the SIA but its officials did not visit every house and farm but conducted an “armchair survey”. He says half the irrigated, fertile farmlands had been registered as dry land so as to facilitate acquisition. Since the government cannot acquire fertile land, he believes that it has hatched a conspiracy to grab lands by labelling them as unfit for cultivation. He welcomed the court’s direction to conduct a survey and to adhere to norms on acquisition of irrigated, multi-crop farms.

Advocate P. Sudhakar Reddy said the government was permitted to acquire only one per cent of irrigated, multi-crop farmland in five years, but it had violated this by acquiring large extents of land. He said the government was supposed to notify irrigated, multi-crop farmlands, but it has failed to do so. Mr Ramakrishna Reddy says said that as per the Land Acquisition Act of 2013, farms cannot be acquired without a survey. He alleged the government had issued land acquisition notification on false survey reports. He said the government had collected 33,000 acres and was not permitted to acquire more without providing proof of utilisation of the previously pooled lands.