Pondy admn should provide free farm lands: Union

Pondicherry, Sep 18 (UNI) The Pondicherry unit of the All India Farmers Union and Farm Labourers Union today urged the territorial administration to take immediate steps to provide free farm lands to the ryots in the Union Territory on the lines of Kerala, West Bengal, Tripura and Tamil Nadu.

Addressing a press conference here, general secretary of the Farm Labourers Union L Kalivaradhan and general secretary of the Farmers Union R Saravanan said around 1.20 lakh farmers below poverty line did not have lands to cultivate to eke out their livelihood.

The administration should launch a scheme to reclaim the lands usurped by big farmers,they added.

Those cultivating temple lands and also government poromboke lands should be made owners by allotting the land to them, they said adding that house site pattas should be given to the poor farmers in addition to housing subsidies.

The union would submit a memorandum to the government after taking out a procession here on September 21, they said.

They also opposed the move to grant autonomous status to the JIPMER hospital here.

UNI PAB ROY ADB1802