BENGALURU: A day after the state government took a decision to issue an ordinance on amendments to the Karnataka Land Reforms Act again, farmers associations have urged the Governor to reject it. “The state government failed to get amendments to the Karnataka Land Reforms Act and other bills passed in the recent session of the state legislature. Farmers had protested across the state and bills were opposed by opposition parties. Now, the government has again decided to issue the ordinance and we condemn it,” said Kuruburu Shantakumar, State President of Federation of Farmers Associations and State Sugarcane Growers Association.
The federation has written to the Governor asking him to not give his assent as it is against the Constitution to issue an ordinance for the second time, especially after it failed to pass in the legislature session. The government had issued an ordinance in June to bring amendments to the Act that allowed even non- agriculturists to buy agriculture land in the state. The amendment bill was passed in the Assembly amid protests by Congress, but it got stuck in the Legislative Council, in which the combined strength of Congress and JDS is more than the BJP.
“If the government is really committed to develop agriculture and help farmers, let them put a condition that people who buy agriculture land will only use it only for farming,” Shantakumar said, adding that allowing non-agriculturists to buy large tracts of lands will only help real estate companies and big firms and not farmers. The federation president said their next move will depend on how the government handles the issue. He said if the government invites them for talks they are willing to discuss it with the CM and explain their concerns.