No forcible land acquisition for Yadadri project

Hyderabad: Minister for Power J Jagadish Reddy has refuted allegations that some farmers in Nalgonda were forcibly evicted as part of the land acquisition process for the Yadadri power project. Responding to charges made in this regard by Congress member K Rajagopal Reddy during the short discussion in the Legislative Council on Friday, he said that the procedure adopted was transparent.

The farmers were taken into confidence and told about the ‘technical’ problems. He said the authorities were fair to the farmers. In fact, the Yadadri project would remain as “an example in the history of land acquisitions by any government in the country”. Earlier, during the Question Hour, the Minister said that the Bhadradri Thermal Power Generation Plant in Manuguru did not require clearance from the ‘National Green Tribunal’.

The application for grant of environment clearance was submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest & Climate Change on April 8. He expressed hope that the Centre would soon give its nod. The Minister exuded confidence that the project would be ready by 2017-18.