The Hindu, Dec 12 2015, Vijayawada: Officials of the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) have come under sharp criticism for their reported bull-dozing of banana crop in 7.3 acres of private land belonging to a farmer in Lingayapalem village.

Members of the National Alliance of People’s Movement (NAPM), including its founder convenor Medha Patkar, have strongly criticised the CRDA act, calling it “highly irresponsible”.

“The CRDA move is in gross violation of the National Green Tribunal’s directive against disturbing any crop in 29 villages in the capital region. This is not an accidental incident as is being projected by officials. It is a deliberate act of harassment. Even if the situation warranted such a move, officials should have informed the farmers concerned and allowed them to take away the ripened crop. We demand that the CRDA Commissioner own responsibility and compensate the farmers who owned the land,” said B. Ramakrishnam Raju, national convenor of the alliance. G. Rajesh Kumar, a Lingayapalem farmer, is said to have filed a complaint against the CRDA office, alleging that officials had razed his ripened banana crop worth Rs. 20 lakh.

The CRDA officials are believed to have cleared his crop even though he had refused to give up his land under land-pooling. In his complaint, Mr. Rajesh Kumar alleged that the government was trying to create a psychosis among farmers .

Web: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/napm-deplores-crda-act/article7979494.ece