"Manhandled, Phone Snatched," Says Yogendra Yadav, Detained In Tamil Nadu
NEW DELHI: Yogendra Yadav, psephologist-turned-politician, was detained in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvannamalai district today while on his way to meet farmers protesting against a proposed Rs. 10,000 crore eight-lane Salem-Chennai expressway. In tweets, Mr Yadav, 55, alleged that the police stopped him from meeting farmers, accusing the cops of manhandling.
"TN police has detained me and team in Chengam PS, Thiru Annamalai district. We came on the invitation of Movement Against 8Lane Way. We were prevented from going to meet farmers, phones snatched, manhandled and pushed into police van. First hand experience of police state in TN! (sic)" tweeted Mr Yadav, who founded Swaraj India in 2015 after he was evicted from the Aam Aadmi Party for taking on Arvind Kejriwal.
The police has denied the allegations, saying the activist had not sought permission before meeting the farmers. Cops contend that Mr Yadav and his team would have needed police protection as the situation could have turned volatile given the sensitivity of the situation.
In more tweets, Yogendra Yadav, who launched the Jai Kisan Andolan - a campaign for farmers' rights - last year, also alleged that he was arrested minutes after he spoke to a senior district official about complaints of forced acquisition of land for the expressway and police excesses.
The expressway has been facing opposition from a section of locals including farmers over fear of losing their land, as well as environmentalists who are opposed to felling of trees for the project.
In June, actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan slammed the Tamil Nadu government for arresting people protesting against the eight-lane expressway. "To treat anyone talking about environment as a crime is not acceptable. This concern should be there among all," Mr Haasan told reporters.
The police has been accused of indiscriminate and arbitrary arrests of locals and activists who are protesting against the acquisition of thousands of acres of agricultural land.
courtesy : ndtv.com
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SIT to be set up to identify forest, revenue land as per SC directions: Karnataka Minister Gowda
Mangaluru (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Saturday said a SIT will be constituted at the district level to identify forest and revenue land and submit a report in compliance with directions of the Supreme Court.
Speaking after inaugurating the Mulki taluk Administrative Centre 'Praja Soudha' near here, the minister said the long-pending issue of classification of forest and revenue land has caused hardship to farmers and the government is taking steps to resolve it on priority.
Joint surveys are being conducted to demarcate forest and revenue land in areas earlier granted to farmers, he said, adding that instructions have been issued to all deputy commissioners in the state to expedite the process.
Gowda said many farmers had faced problems as land granted to them earlier had not been formally regularised. The government has now taken up the task of completing the process. A special investigation team (SIT) will be constituted at the district level to identify forest and revenue land and submit a report in compliance with directions of the Supreme Court, he added.
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Between 2018 and 2023, plotting was completed for 1,948 beneficiaries in the district, while in the last two years, plotting under the 1-5 scheme was carried out for 60,943 beneficiaries, he said. Of these, 23,620 farmers have been issued pahani documents.
He said title deeds have been distributed to 2.20 lakh beneficiaries under the regularisation provisions of certain sections relating to house sites.
Under the e-Pouthi campaign, about 60,000 legal heirs have been granted mutation of land records that were earlier in the names of deceased persons, the minister said.
He also said a special drive has reduced cases pending for over two years in Tahsildar courts from 10,774 to 130, while similar cases in Assistant Commissioner courts have been brought down from 73,624 to 2,299.
Land records are now accessible online round-the-clock, eliminating the need for people to visit offices for certified copies, he said, adding that nearly 73 crore pages of revenue records across the state have been scanned at taluk offices in the past two years.
Gowda said taluk administrative offices have been named 'Praja Soudha' to bring governance closer to people. An additional Rs 1.60 crore has been sanctioned for compound construction and other facilities at the Mulki centre.
State Health and Family Welfare Minister and Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said efforts are being made to boost investment and tourism in the district.
He said the recent state budget has announced a Global Capability Centre for the district and steps will soon be taken to implement it.
A sum of Rs 70 crore has been sanctioned for a new OPD block at Wenlock District Hospital, while discussions are underway with three private medical colleges to strengthen clinical services at taluk hospitals in Moodbidri, Bantwal, Vitla and Belthangady.
Lok Sabha member Brijesh Chowta urged the revenue minister to resolve forest and revenue land issues in Puttur, Sullia, Kadaba and Belthangady taluks and said approval has been given for development of the national highway from Talapady to Kundapur with service roads on both sides.
