Farmers' support sought for Devadula project

Warangal: Farmers' support sought for Devadula projectMinister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Errabelli Dayakar Rao sought the support of farmers for the completion of the third phase of JCR Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme.

The Minister reviewed the progress of Devadula project works separately at Kolanupally under Raiparthy mandal and Mallampally under Palakurthi mandal on Saturday.

Even though work on the Devadula project was started in 2004, the then Congress government ignored it by not allocating funds. The works picked up pace after K Chandrasekhar Rao became the Chief Minister. Despite this, project works lagged behind due to the negligence of the contractor, Errabelli said.

Land acquisition is also one of the main hurdles that put the project works on backtrack, he said, appealing to farmers to come forward to give their land. As many as 247 farmers together lose 142 acres in Palakurthi constituency under the project. As of now, 9,780 acres in Palakurthi constituency are being irrigated under the Devadula project.

"The government has a plan to satisfy the farmers. Even though the compensation was Rs 4.5 lakh per acre, the Chief Minister had agreed to provide Rs 9 lakh per acre. This apart, the government will also construct houses for those displaced who lose their shelter," Errabelli said. Once the work on the project was completed, the region will have green pastures round the year, he said. No State in the country was implementing as many welfare schemes as the Telangana government for the farmers, Errabelli said, referring to Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima and 24-hour free power supply. Even though it was a burden to the exchequer, the Chief Minister directed the administration to procure the paddy from farmers, he added. "Land prices have shot up in Telangana due to the all round development of the State. Land cost is as high as Rs 1 crore per acre even in Palakurthi," the minister said, attributing credits to KCR Government.

Warangal and Jangaon district collectors B Gopi and Ch Siva Lingaiah, additional collector Praful Desai, RDO Krishnaveni, Ramesh and Devadula project chief engineer Sudhakar Reddy were among others present.