Jamshedpur: Jharkhand government has been
planning to bring a legislation to protect farmland from being
acquired for industry, state agriculture minister Mathura
Prasad Mahto said on Sunday.
"We have been working to formulate an act on the lines
of Chhotanagarpur and Santhal Paragana Tenancy Act that
protects the land of Adivasis," Mahto said at a two-day
seminar on `Possibility of cashew production in Jharkhand`.
"The state government is committed to protect
agricultural land in Jharkhand and wants to prevent industries
to procure these lands," he said, adding that the state`s
agricultural output was diminishing due to shrinking
agricultural land.
The government would look into the complaints of such
lands being taken for industrial purposes.
Jharkhand government has initiated steps to ensure
sufficient water supply to agricultural land to increase
production, he said.
The government has set a target to dig 1,000 wells and
rejuvenate half of the government-owned ponds and set up bore
wells, he said.
PTI
