13 cultivators contested polls to demonstrate their resentment at acquisition of their land by the government

The 62-year-old and 12 other farmers who contested the recently held Jadcherla assembly by-elections lost so badly that they forfeited their security deposits. So, why is she so happy?

Jangilamma, Etti Peda Pentaiah, Depalli Yadaiah, Bandapalli Jangamma, Kanduru Mogulaiah, Kanduru Jangaiah and others lost the meagre land they owned — two to eight acres each — to make way for a special economic zone, or SEZ. “Victory or defeat was not the issue. I am elated we could draw the attention of people across the state to our struggle against the SEZ,” says Jangilamma.

Earthy demands: Mala Jangilamma, who contested the elections, was one among the 350 families that have demanded their lands back.

The Andhra Pradesh government acquired 7.3 acres she owned in Polepally in Mahbubnagar district, which is part of the Jadcherla assembly constituency, to build an SEZ.

Jangilamma now works as a construction worker for Rs120 a day on the the same land where Hetero Drugs Ltd, a Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical firm is building a factory.

The farmers say the government has short-changed them, and want their land back. They say they got between Rs18,000 and Rs50,000 for an acre for land that is available in the market for about Rs20 lakh per acre.

The government acquired close to 1,000 acres from about 350 families, who were marginal and small farmers belonging to Dalit, backward and tribal communities. Since their protests fell on deaf ears, 13 of them decided to contest the polls under the banner of Polepally SEZ Vyathireka Ikya Sanghatana (Alliance against Polepally SEZ, or PSVIS), to draw attention to their battle against what they say is a grave injustice.

“We did not receive even half of the compensation that the government announced. Officials at every level from the village to the district took commissions (bribes), and we ended up with paltry amounts,” says Depalli Yadaiah, whose family lost five acres. Yadaiah now works as a mason at construction sites.

“We used to cultivate dry crops such as maize, wheat, pulses and oilseeds in our one acre of land. For other essentials, we used to do labour occasionally,” says Etti Lingaiah, another farmer whose family lost four acres of land. “Since we don’t have land anymore, we now are compelled to work as labourers throughout the year.”

Why field 13, when just one representative would have sufficed?

“We had, in fact, initially thought we will field 150 farmers, but we couldn’t collect the Rs7.5 lakh required for security deposits,” says Madhu Kagula, social activist and convenor of PSVIS, arguing that they knew they could not defeat the candidates of established political parties, and this was their way of registering protest.

“Ever since we announced our decision to contest the elections, leaders of key political parties threatened us. Even election commission officials harassed us by slapping notices on us for not submitting the details of our poll expenditure,” says Etti Srinivasulu, another of the 13.

While political party candidates said they spend a couple of lakhs each to campaign for the elections, the farmers say they collectively spent Rs1.58 lakh that includes the aggregate security deposit of Rs65,000. “We are now left with loans of around Rs78,500,” says Kagula.

In 2003, a government led by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had acquired the land in Polepally through the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corp. (APIIC) for industrialization, but it was during the tenure of a Telangana Rashtriya Samithi (TRS) legislator that a Congress party-led state government allocated the land to an SEZ. The farmers are, thus, against all these parties.

They demand that the state hand back their land. “We are willing to give back whatever compensation we received,” said Etti Peda Pentaiah.

Currently, construction works have been taken up in around 100 acres of the 1,000 acres the government has acquired for the SEZ.

“We want the government to give back the balance 900 acres to the farmers and extend better compensation package to them,” says Kagula.

“Let APIIC pay to farmers the difference between the cost of acquisition of land from farmers and the cost at which the land was sold to the companies in the SEZ,” he added.

The Jadcherla assembly seat fell vacant after 17 MLAs and four MPs of TRS resigned, saying the ensuring by-elections would be a referendum on their demand for a separate Telengana state in northern Andhra Pradesh.

The sitting TRS MLA lost the polls by a margin of more than 24,000 votes, coming third after Erra Shankar of the TDP, who lost by 2,106 votes. Mallu Ravi of the Congress party won the seat.

Jangilamma polled 1,771 votes, or 3.92% of what Ravi polled. The 13 farmers collectively secured 8,600 votes.

PRESS NOTE

We, Polepalli SEZ Vyathireka Ikya Sanghtana are contesting these elections as we find all political groups have cheated the poor farmers and are responsible for the deaths of the farmers. All political parties are silent of this major crime that’s taking the lives of the people in the name of SEZ.

Special Economic Zone Act 2005 was brought in by BJP government at the Centre. Around 200 SEZs got permission in India and they are slowly spreading their giant foot in the villages.  In the name of development the SEZs are taking away lives of poor, exploiting natural resources and demolishing the socio cultural fabric of our rural societies. So far it has taken 14 lakh acres of land from poor and gave to them in the name of development.  

- By Sainath

It’s a simple strategy of protest with no pretensions of winning. The aim of the Polepally Protesters : “That we get our lands back, our lives back. Our one and only demand.”

COMMON APPEAL: “Voting for the Jadcherla 13 means saluting with love our Mother Earth.”

          There are as many as 13 of them contesting the same Jadcherla Assembly seat as independents. Only, they’re not contesting against, but for, each other. Their symbols range from a Whistle and a Gas Cylinder to Bangles and a bunch of Bananas. Though pitted against one another, they have a common manifesto and even campaign jointly. These dalit, adivasi and BC farmers are the most fascinating candidates in the bypolls now on in Telangana to four Lok Sabha and 17 Assembl y seats.

All the ‘Jadcherla 13’ have lost their lands to the Polepally Pharma Special Economic Zone and other projects in Mahbubnagar district. And they now contest the polls to draw attention to their loss. Even while a few work as construction labourers on their own land, raising the very SEZ buildings that will seal their destitution.

“Over 41 people have died since the land acquisition process began in 2003,” says an angry Muravat Chandi. She’s a Lambada in the Gundlagadda ‘Tanda’ (adivasi colony) here. “That includes three close relatives of mine. Cut off from their land, people are losing their will to live. My family has lost 27 acres to this SEZ. It’s why I’m contesting.”

Seated besides Chandi are young Seenu and Lakshman, sons of Balu one of those who died three months ago. “Having lost all our land to the SEZ, we had no place to conduct his last rites,” says Seenu. “So we bought a tiny plot, just a few square feet, for Rs. 5,000. There we cremated him.” This, says a neighbour, “was a man who once owned several acres of land in his life. But not an inch to receive him in death.”

The story of the mounting toll first appeared in Eenadu, the State’s giant newspaper. “We confirmed 25 of those deaths” says M.L. Narasimha Reddy, the reporter who broke the story. Officials dismissed these as “due to natural causes.” But the adivasis say their demise was hastened by trauma and demoralisation. After a struggle during which the Lambadas refused to perform the last rites of their dead, the government assigned them six acres. Four for the tanda to live on and two for a burial ground.

“They’re killing us — and they kindly give us a graveyard,” says Dharmia, Chandi’s neighbour, with dark humour. “It’s the only place we can go to. No one in this tanda of 80 households has a job outside of farming.”

350 families displaced

Chandi and 12 more from other groups are independents “as both major political parties backed this SEZ.” In 2003, the then Telugu Desam government notified a ‘Green Park’ and began acquiring 969 acres of land. Much of these belonged to the dalits and Lambadas. Including government assigned lands given to them earlier to better their lives. “We were first told there was to be a Leather Park,” says Etti Linagaih (candidate symbol: Gas Cylinder) in Polepally village. “Then came the Green Park idea. And now the SEZ. They take our land first and make their plans later.” In 2005 the new Congress government enforced the plans. In all, the SEZ and other projects have displaced some 350 families.

In the eyes of the official machinery, everything was done by the book. The SEZ was legally notified and the land losers paid off. No one was left out. “Sure,” says a chorus of voices. “For the government-assigned land they declared Rs. 18,000 an acre. For patta land held by us, Rs. 32,000 to Rs. 50,000. And we never received the full amount of even such a pittance.” Land rates in the region, adjacent to the national highway, are worth over Rs. 20 lakhs an acre.

Officials point to the fact that the land losers accepted the cheques. “Certainly,” says candidate Chandi. ‘Take your cheque now or never. You will go to jail and get nothing.’ These were the sort of things we were told. Our consent never mattered.’ The low rates aside, there was no other compensation. House sites were spoken of but not seen. Some land losers were given work at construction sites. But many are too old to be able to do that kind of labour.

Eight of the 13 candidates speak to us in Polepally. It’s a curious sight. Eight contenders seated together agreeing vociferously with every word the others said. Each of them has lost all his or her land. Distress sales of cattle have decimated their few other assets. The family of T. Mogilamma (symbol: Brick) have lost their eight acres. And sold off 16 buffaloes and cows for just Rs. 20,000. “We could no longer feed them, anyway.” Most of the others have done the same. Jangilamma (symbol: Battery Torch) who has lost seven acres, also sold off four head of cattle for just Rs. 1,000.

In the Lambada tanda, a once relatively prosperous tribal group faces ruin. “Most of the families here had 50-60 buffaloes,” says Dharmia. “Most have sold half or more at dismal prices.” And says candidate Chandi, “we have borewells on that acquired land. What happens to those?”

“Weddings are paralysed,” says Jangilamma back in Polepally. “No one wants to marry into our disaster-hit groups. We have no land, no assets.”

Down to begging

Meanwhile, the price rise is also taking a toll on a community for whom the bottom has fallen out of the world. Some of the candidates often go hungry, trying to keep their children fed. “From soap to dal, every item is much costlier. To tell you the truth, some of us are down to begging to feed the kids,” says Satyamma (symbol: cupboard). “We are contesting these elections to highlight the injustice done to us,” says Lingaiah.

But why should 13 of them contest the same seat? Wouldn’t it make sense to have just one common candidate?

Lingaiah knows they cannot win. “Our strategy is to lower the votes of the main parties. Each of us will draw the votes of his or her own group. That’s why so many of us. In fact, we wanted to put up 150 candidates for this seat. But most could not raise the Rs. 5,000 security deposit required.”

It’s a simple strategy of protest with no pretensions of winning. “It’s more honest,” says Hyderabad-based journalist Uma Maheshwari, “than the middle class as elite parties that spring up claiming to end corruption and transform society.”

The aim of the Polepally anti-SEZ protesters is modest: “That we get our land back, our lives back. Our one and only demand.”

As their common leaflet puts it: “Giving us house sites and rice at Rs. 2 a kilo clearly means taking away lands from farmers” and giving them to big industries. There is a poignancy to their manifesto which makes no promises. “Voting for the Polepally farmers means saluting with love our Mother Earth who has been bearing our weight since ages.”