Medak district farmers raise war cry

ACQUISITION OF FARMLANDs FOR PRANAHITA - CHEVELLA project

The Irrigation officials have estimated that as many as 37,000 acres of land is required for the project. The government has also issued GO 123 on July 30 for acquiring lands.

Siddipet: The farmers are putting up stiff resistance to the government acquiring farmlands for building reservoirs and digging canals, besides laying pipeline as part of Pranahita-Chevella project. But the government is going ahead with the acquisition of land without announcing compensation for the displaced farmers.

The Irrigation officials have estimated that as many as 37,000 acres of land is required for the project. The government has also issued GO 123 on July 30 for acquiring lands.

As per the GO, compensation would include the value of land/ house lost and the cost of rehabilitation. However, recently the government has issued another GO 214, making changes to the earlier one. The latest GO was conspicuously silent on the issue of “rehabilitation and resettlement” displaced farmers, making it a purely compensation-based settlement.

According to the new GO, based on consent from the farmers, compensation would be determined and would be given to them. If the farmers rejected the offer, the officials would go ahead using the “Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act of 2013.”

It would take six months for the government complete the process because was required to deposit the entire amount to be paid as compensation. The government would deposit the compensation amount in the court and the amount of the compensation would be determined by the court.

However, farmers feel that it would be better to negotiate with the government rather than going though vexatious process. A scare has been created among the farmers that if Land Acquisition Act is invoked, their lands would fetch compensation as per the registration value much lesser than the market value. It is also a time consuming process.

Therefore, many farmers are negotiating with the government as per the GO 214, though they would lose on rehabilitation and resettlement front, guaranteed to them through the Act of 2013. There is also nothing on the negotiation table to rehabilitate or resettle land-less people including farm labourers and tenant farmers whose fate hangs in balance due to displacement.

Reservoirs will be built at Siddipet division. Apart from it, Ananthagiri reservoir bordering Karimnagar district, will completely submerge Kochagutta pally, Yellaipally and will partially submerge Chelkalapally villages in Chinnakodur Mandal.

Under Ranganayaka Sagar reservoir, Revenue officials are under the process of acquiring lands under Peddakodur, Chandlapur and Chinnakodur. The farmers are organising agitation with the support of the Congress, TDP, BJP and other NGOs. The farmers are staging relay hunger strike for the past 82 days are not being met.

Meanwhile, the government has decided to acquire 27,271 acres of land for the construction of Mallanna Sagar. It would submerge 10 villages in Thoguta and Kondapaka mandals.

The revenue officials of Nangunuru, Siddipet, Doultabad, Chinnakodur, Dubbaka and Thoguta have been deployed for acquiring the lands. About 3,112 houses would also be submerged as part of Mallanna Sagar in 8 villages.