The Hindu

Mangalore, Nov 1: All land survey work by the Joint Measurement Committee team, for the Mangalore Special Economic Zone (SEZ), in the four villages of Permude, Ekkar, Delantha Bettu and Kuttetur will be stopped. The work will progress only after Deputy Commissioner M. Maheshwar Rao convenes a meeting with farmers who are agitating against the land acquisition in the region.

The announcement was made jointly by tahsildar Raju Moghaveera and the Special Land Acquisition Officer of the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) Vijaya Kumari Shenoy on Tuesday.

A total of 2,035 acres of farmland has been notified for the SEZ in the four villages.

The decision was arrived at, after hundreds of agitating farmers and activists led by the panchayat president Keshav Devadiga gathered at the Permude Gram Panchayat office and threatened to seal it.

The Permude panchayat’s jurisdiction covers the twin villages of Permude and Kuttetur.

Addressing the officials, Mr. Devadiga said: “If the officials of the Mangalore SEZ do not find it necessary to consult the local panchayat before surveying and acquiring land in the region, the gram panchayat has become redundant. I request you (tahsildar) to allow me to close the office.”

Villagers claimed that all activities of the panchayat had come to a standstill since the notification of the land for the SEZ. They said that construction and development projects had been affected and nationalised and cooperative banks had stopped giving loans.

Mr. Moghaveera and Ms. Shenoy first heard the farmers’ grievances and then responded to them. Initially, the officials pleaded their inability to do anything. However, as it became apparent that the farmers will not withdraw their agitation, the two officersannounced that no work would continue on the SEZ project before a meeting took place between the farmers and the Deputy Commissioner.