SANGAREDDY: Officials have hit a stumbling block in the acquisition of lands for the proposed NIMZ project at Jharasangam and Nyalkal mandals in Zaheerabad constituency.
They had set a target of acquiring 8,500 acres under the second phase of the project, of which, the State government owns nearly 4,000 acres. At least 90 per cent of these government lands are categorised as assigned lands and the remaining as patta lands.
However, the farmers in the region are refusing to sell the lands as it is a hub for commercial crops. They want to keep their fertile lands because a job in the industries, they say, would only pay them Rs 10,000 or so every month. "We will not be able to feed our families with that kind of money. We won't be able to give good education to our children," a farmer said, on the condition of anonymity.
The officials had recently notified that about 1,045 acres of land in Mamidgi village in Nyalkal mandal would be acquired for the NIMZ project. "We do not want any industry here. We will not give away our lands," said Sanjeeva Reddy, a farmer from the village. "Officials should not try to grab lands for industrialists without respecting the sentiments of the farmers of any given area," he added.
Farmers, whose names were mentioned in the notification list, submitted a memorandum to the District Collector on Monday, stating that they would not even give away one cent of their lands for the project, no matter how much money the government gave them.
They said that several labourers also depend on their lands for livelihood and that they would lose their jobs if they sold the lands to the government.
Meanwhile, Zaheerabad Revenue Divisional Officer S Ramesh Babu informed Express that 8,500 acres were to be acquired in the second phase of the acquisition process. "A compensation of up to `9 lakh per acre is likely to be paid if lands are acquired with the consent of the farmers," he said.
Farmers, whose names were in the notification list, submitted a memorandum to the District Collector on Monday, stating that they would not give away even one cent of their lands for the project, no matter how much money the State government gave them