AP government move to procure huge land for Machilipatnam Port draws flak.

What is the exact extent of land the state government wants to procure for the development of Machilipatnam Port? Is it 1.05 lakh acres or 22,000 acres or 36,000 acres?

Different statements given by the state government in the past two days over the issue led to this confusion.

IT minister Palle Raghunatha Reddy on Friday announced that the state government would acquire 1.05 lakh acres to develop a port and an industrial corridor at Machilipatnam. The same day, the government said the extent of land would be just 22,000 acres. On Saturday, excise minister Kollu Ravindra, who hails from Krishna district where the port is located, said the government would take 36,000 acres for the port.

According to sources, the state Cabinet had already decided to take 1.05 lakh acres of land in a phased manner from the local farmers for the development of deep water port at Machilipatnam. But, now, the government wants to keep the number at the bare minimum so as to pacify the local farmers, who are upping the ante against the government’s proposal.

The proposal to procure such a vast extent of land for the development of a minor port is drawing flak from various quarters including opposition parties such as YSRC, Congress and the Left.

CPI state secretary P Madhu went further and announced that the Left Parties would launch an agitation by involving local farmers in protest against the state government’s move.

“Indiscriminate acquisition of agricultural lands for non-agricultural purposes will erode food security. State Cabinet’s decision to acquire 30,000 acres of agricultural land for Machilipatnam port is not in the public interest,” former bureaucrat EAS Sarma said. In a letter to state’s agriculture secretary on Sunday, the retired IAS officer said, “Already the state has taken 40,000 acres of fertile land in Guntur district for the new capital. The state government’s proposal to acquire another 30,000 acres of agricultural land in Machilipatnam for the port will only compound the problem of food security of the region.”

According to him, Chapter I of the Right to Fair Compensation & Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act of 2013 deals with the need to safeguard food security as a precondition to land acquisition. Section 10 in this chapter requires the state to prescribe district-wise cumulative limits to acquisition of irrigated, multi-cropped lands in particular and agricultural lands in general, he added. “In my view, such an indiscriminate approach violates the provisions of the Act and detrimental to food security,” he remarked.

While mentioning that important seaports in the country are developed only on a lesser extent of land, veteran politico Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao too expressed displeasure, saying, “Nowhere in the entire country, any major seaport has been developed on a land of more than 5,000 acres. But, Machilipantam port is a minor port. Hence, 2,300 acres of land is enough for its development.”

According to him, even major ports in the country such as Chennai Port (500 acres), Ennore Port (2,000 acres), Tuticorin Port (2,150 acres), Cochin Port (500 acres), New Mangalore Port (1,908 acres) and Mormugao Port (530 acres) were developed in an area of less than 2,500 acres of land.

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS