The Vizianagaram district administration has decided to hand over land to the Bhogapuram International Airport Corporation Limited (BIACL) by the end of this month as it has completed 80 per cent of land acquisition in villages of Bhogapuram mandal. Vizianagaram District Collector Vivek Yadav told BIACL Managing Director Venkateswara Rao when the latter met him recently that the land would be handed over as the government appointed special revenue teams to settle the compensation issues in the villages itself. Mr. Venkateswara Rao expressed happiness over expediting the process, though it was initially delayed because of resistance to land acquisition. It is learnt that Vizianagaram Revenue Divisional Officer Srinivasa Murthy has been entrusted with the responsibility of conducting meetings with farmers in the Bhogapuram tehsildar office itself to finalise the land acquisition process on a war-footing.
The government has decided to give Rs.33 lakh per acre for lands in Gudupu Kottavalasa and Rs.28 lakh for lands in Kauluvada, Kancheru, and other places.
“There will not be any change in the compensation amount as it has been fixed at the State-level meeting. People should not be misled by false propaganda that it would be enhanced further,” said Mr. Vivek Yadav. “In all, 830 farmers have so far come forward to accept the compensation amount. We have disbursed the amount to almost 600 farmers,” the Collector added. Mr. Srinivasa Murthy asked the revenue officials to convene meetings after Dasara holidays to convince other farmers to accept the compensation fixed.
