Convert Rewari land into agricultural zone: FM

CHANDIGARH: A week after Haryana chief minister defended the state`s land acquisition policy, finance minister Ajay Singh Yadav on Tuesday reiterated his anti-acquisition demand saying the entire chunk of land in Dharuhera in  Rewari should be converted into an agricultural zone. He said farmers wanted to retain their land even if they had to suffer for it.

Notably, Yadav had earlier written a letter to chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, voicing open opposition to the land acquisition policy of his own government, following which Hooda had recently responded, stating that there could be changes in the land acquisition policy.

Meanwhile, clarifying that the total land in Dharuhera was 553 acres, the minister said 312 acres of land was owned by farmers and the rest of 241 acres was with the industrial houses. Yadav said out of total 241 acres of land around 150 acres had been with the industrial houses since 1990.

The state government is planning to set up an industrial township in Dharuhera in Rewari and the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) has been acquiring the land. Yadav, a six-time Congress MLA from Rewari said the land which the state government wanted to acquire was fertile and farmers there did not want to sell it. He said the fertile land should not be acquired by the government and added that on this particular piece of land no colony or industry should come up. Yadav said there was no need for industry on fertile land in Dharuhera and that if the state government wanted to set it up it should do it in areas where the land was not fertile.

The finance minister had also recently written to the chief minister saying he was opposed to the acquisition of farmers` land for commercial purposes even as he also denied any differences with the CM on the issue. Stating that in Dharuhera belt there were already enough industries, Yadav had asked the chief minister to intervene and ask the HSIIDC to stop the land acquisition. He had also demanded that those farmers whose land has already been acquired should be guaranteed jobs.

The state government has been facing stiff opposition from farmers, including in Ambala and Fatehabad. The state government is planning to set up an industrial township in Ambala and nuclear energy plant in Fatehabad, however, the farmers of the areas have been opposing the acquisition of their land for a long time now.

Read more: Convert Rewari land into agricultural zone: FM - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Convert-Rewari-land-into-agricultural-zone-FM/articleshow/7607682.cms#ixzz1FRVR5tpw