Speakers at a seminar on ‘Agriculture crisis and land rights in Odisha’ here on Sunday came down heavily on the State Government for the mega land scam and stated that agricultural lands in the State and the country are decreasing alarmingly due to various reasons.
“Agricultural lands are decreasing in the State and in the country after the liberalisation era since1990-91. While a group of people are capturing a huge amount of land and using the farmland for other purposes, many dalit and tribal people are still landless even after 67 years of the Independence,” said CPI(M) State secretary Janardan Pati at the seminar organised by the Odisha Krushaka Sabha.
He also slammed the Government for the mega land scam in the State and demanded an independent probe into the corruption. “land scam is now all pervasive in the State. In every part of the State, influential people have been allotted land illegally. Moreover, while a landless and tribal person approaches the Government for a piece of land, he or she is not allowed to take it easily. But when an influential person seeks land, it is provided to him or her even violating guidelines,” observed Pati.
Prof Golakh Bihari Nath stated that the crisis in the agriculture sector is becoming an issue of increasing concern. He also highlighted the issues relating to land rights. “Due to various reasons like proper irrigation facility, the agriculture sector is witnessing a very bad time. Similarly, deserving people are deprived of land for agriculture and other purposes,” observed Prof Nath. Odisha Krushak Sabha president Nirmal Nayak also highlighted various issues relating to the crisis in the agriculture sector and land rights issue.