Polavaram R&R Funds : Massive loot by ruling party leaders alleged

Mangalagiri: TDP national spokesman K Pattabhi Ram on Monday expressed concern that the ruling YSRCP leaders were breaking new records in cheating and corruption going by how they were setting their eyes on the rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) package funds of the innocent tribal evacuees under the Polavaram irrigation project.

Pattabhi Ram alleged that the YSRCP leaders were creating false land documents to loot the R&R funds without the knowledge of the local tribal population. Unfortunately, local YSRCP MLA Balaraju and some unscrupulous officers were resorting to this looting with active support from the government.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, the TDP leader said that the officials opened a bank account in HDFC's Bhadrachalam branch in the name of tribal woman evacuee Maccha Mahalakshmi on July 13, 2020. Over Rs 1.16 crore was deposited into her account towards R&R compensation. All this money was withdrawn without authorisation and without her knowledge by December. Similar was the case with Madakam Savitri into whose account Rs 99 lakh was deposited and later diverted.

Pattabhi demanded the ruling party MLA and the government to explain the unauthorised transfer of funds from the bank accounts of the Polavaram tribal evacuees. Details of the bank accounts to which the tribal funds were transferred should be made public. The government should order a CBI probe to bring out the facts in this massive cheating.

The TDP leader demanded the Union Jal Shakti minister, the Central Water Commission and the Polavaram Project Authority to give their immediate response on the cheating of the tribals' R&R funds. Irrigation minister P Anil Kumar Yadav and Chief Minister's Advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy should come out with their clarifications on the open swindling of tribals' funds, he said.