Excise and B.C. Welfare Minister Kollu Ravindra on Sunday said that the state government had decided to hold a joint meeting with all the stakeholders including officials and the farmers to discuss issues pertaining to the proposed deep sea port at Machilipatnam.
Speaking to the media Mr. Ravindra said the meeting, to be held in a few weeks, was aimed at discussing issues such as actual land requirement for the project and rehabilitation package.
“Farmers’ nod is mandatory for us to go ahead with the project, for which the State government has planned to begin the works possibly within six months,” Mr. Ravindra said.
He said that the issue figured in Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan’s speech in the Assembly and it was included in the list of most important projects of the State government. However, he appealed to all political parties to express their views on the project and promised to consider their views at the meeting.