Reverse trend: Trinamool men ‘grabbing land’ from CPM supporters

In the last two decades,Congress and Trinamool Congress supporters had been on the receiving end of forcible land grab. But now,the situation has reversed with TMC party workers allegedly evicting patta-holders who were CPM workers,leading to frequent clashes and police firing.

Land Commissioner R D Meena said,“Information has to be collected from the district authorities as the incidents are taking place there. I cannot comment on the issue.” Abdur Rezzak Mollah,former Land and Land Reforms minister,described these clashes as those between “red Trinamool Congress (CPM men who joined TMC)” and “green Trinamool Congress (original TMC members)”.

“The situation is so bad that TMC leaders are capturing land from their own party members as they were earlier members of the CPM,” said Mollah.

“In Canning and Basanti,thousands of farmers have been evicted. Our party does not have any capability to resist the TMC men. If we had the capability,we would not have been thrown out of power,” said Mollah.

Clashes have been frequent in South 24 Paraganas. A couple of days ago,a TMC worker was shot dead at Kumirmari village in Canning. In Bantala area,located near Kolkata,TMC men allegedly grabbed 400 bighas of land. evicting earlier owners.

“We are receiving reports from the districts and from block officers about clashes over patta land. Land documents were snatched from several farmers in Burdwan,North 24 Paraganas and South 24 Paraganas districts. We have forwarded all reports to the Chief Minister as she is in charge of the Land Department. We are investigating the matter,” said a senior land official.

In Burdwan district for instance,in the first week of June,land pattas were forcibly taken away from 2,200 beneficiaries of 1,200 bighas of land in Kakra,Kalna,Galsi,Bhatar and Khandaghosh area — red fortresses during the Left rule. There were reports of sporadic clashes in these areas.

Abdur Rezzak Mondal,secretary of Burdwan Krishak Sabha and district committee member of CPM said,“Since June first week,TMC men are capturing land from landless farmers who belong to our party. They are snatching land pattas and getting them transferred to their loyalists. Block land officials remain silent. But we have now started resisting forcible land grab. Our people have recaptured more than 500 bighas of 1,200 bighas taken over by the TMC.”

The situation turned worse when the police opened fire at agitating farmers whose land pattas were forcibly taken away by local TMC men at Haroa in North 24 Paraganas on July 12. Three farmers were injured. Tension was also brewing at Haroa over capturing of fish ponds. Landless farmers,who got plots in Haroa and Minakha from the Left Front government,came under threat soon after the change of guard. Trinamool supporters are allegedly on the prowl to take control of bheris and distribute them to their supporters.

Reports of forcible land grab have also came in from West Midnapore and North Dinajpur districts. According to a senior CPM district committee leader of West Minapore,15 acres of land were forcibly captured from farmers in Chubka gram panchayat in Jhargram block and 20 acres in Rajnagar and Radhanagar villages in Gopiballvpur II,Nayagram,Binpur and Lalgarh.

Madan Ghosh,a state committee member of CPM and a senior leader of Krishak Sabha said: “It is a crime to take away land from landless farmers. We will hold a meeting with farmers at Haroa in North 24 Paraganas on August 17. We will hold the meeting at Haroa as thousands of farmers were evicted from there and farmers suffered bullet injuries after the police fired on them.”