Vemulghat farmers seek farm subsidy

What could be an embarrassing situation for the government, the land owners of Vemulaghat village have demanded the government to extend the farm subsidy of ₹4,000 for them as well.

Last week they had submitted a memorandum to the officials in this regard. “The government has not taken any step to extend the farm subsidy of ₹4,000 to the farmers of our village. Our repeated appeals failed to get the attention of officials and force them to act,” they said in the memorandum.

“Some of the villages in Toguta mandal are getting submerged in the proposed Mallannasagar reservoir and some of the farmers had already sold their land to the government and thereby it has changed it’s nature from patta land to government land. But there are still some farmers who have not sold their land to the government and hence they are eligible for the government subsidy which should be offered shortly,” the villagers said in the memorandum submitted to the officials on March 29. There is no response from the officials so far.

“The government has been making all out efforts to get the lands from us by hook or crook for the project and we are fighting it tooth and nail. We will be the rightful owners of these lands till the lands were acquired by the government. It cannot not avoid extending farm subsidy to us. We will be forced to approach the judiciary if we were denied natural justice,” said a farmer of this village on condition of anonymity.

Vemulaghat is one of the five villages that would get submerged under the Mallannasagar reservoir. While farmers of other villages had sold their land under GO 123, the farmers of this village hoisted the flag of revolt.