Some 20 farmers from Veliminedu and Gundrampalli villages in Chityala mandal, 40 km from the district headquarters Nalgonda, woke up to realise that their decades-owned agricultural land — well prepared and sowed with paddy and cotton seed did not belong to them. It first came as a shock to Y. Yadagiri, owner of nine acres land. “The bank officials told me I cannot avail any loan, as the Encumbrance Certificate showed the owner as ‘Ramky’,” he said. More panicked was Laxmi, whose husband’s three acre land when verified said it belonged to Ramky Multiproduct Industrial Park Ltd (RMPIPL). “But my husband is in Dubai for over a year now, he works there. We didn’t sell our land to anyone,” she said.
Following this, a list of farmers categorised under discrepancy was stuck outside the village gram panchayat office, causing more fear among land owners.
According to Telangana Mass and Social Organisations Forum (T-MAS Forum), more than 100 acres land belonging to 24 farmers in Veliminedu and Gundrampalli was under such discrepancy.
Total failure
A member of the Forum, CPI (M) State secretary Tammineni Veerabhadram, who along with others visited Veliminedu to interact with the farmers commented as “a total failure of administrative machinery.” “It’s been more than 45 days now. Neither the Collector nor the RDO, or the MRO visited these villages,” he said.
Bhoo Nirvasithula Sangham State secretary B. Venkat also alleged: “Ramky had grabbed these lands through fake signatures, witnesses and photographs, even those belonging to the dead by employing agents/middlemen.”
“If it was only the role played by the agents, as the company is saying now, Why is it that the registered owner (based on fake documentation) is Ramky and not the agents?” he asked.
Legal action
However, CEO of RMPIPL M. Sridhar Reddy when contacted rejected the charges as “propaganda being circulated by various political parties.”
Agreeing there were issues found in the registration process ‘caused by the land aggregators’, Mr. Reddy said legal action will be initiated against them and that all registrations done such a manner would be cancelled. “We as a company are socially responsible. Not even a single farmer will be allowed to suffer, we will ensure a smooth transformation back of whatever the farmers deemed have lost,” he said. But T-MAS members suspect that the three months time sought by the company was to mislead the farmers through the back door. “A team of lawyers will be visiting the villages to interact with the farmers and study the documents. We will proceed legally,” Mr. Veerabhadram said. Despite allegations Mr. Reddy maintained that the three months duration was only to verify all technicalities by their expert team. “We want to be doubly sure, also about the issues linked with SRO, MRO and officials who have erred. We are definitely answerable,” he said.
Chityala MRO CH. Visalakshi said the records and possession of lands was still in farmer’s names. Nalgonda RDO E. Venkata Chary when contacted said he was unaware of the issue and that the irregularities would be probed immediately.