The district administration has come up with an innovative idea to settle the land acquisition disputes with regard to Vamsadhara-displaced persons.
It made many of them attend Lok Adalat to settle their issues permanently and help the Irrigation Department construct the project smoothly. The cases once settled at the Lok Adalat cannot be challenged further, helping the administration resolve the disputes as early as possible.
The Revenue Department paid Rs.1.04 crore to the 54 displaced persons. It plans to help the remaining 1,696 persons by disposing off their cases at the Lok Adalat being conducted by senior judges of the district courts. Collector P. Lakshmi Narasimham and Joint Collector Vivek Yadav took the initiative in this regard.
According to officials, some middlemen were instigating the displaced persons to agitate for more compensation as laid down in the Land Acquisition Act-2013. The Revenue Department made it clear that it was not possible to apply new Act since acquisition was completed 10 years ago and payment was due only to 1,750 persons.
Around 99 per cent of the process was completed smoothly and payments were made long ago. But, the people who were supposed to surrender one per cent of land for the construction of the project were demanding higher compensation citing flaws in the assessment of the property.
“For the first time, the Revenue Department took the help of Lok Adalats to settle the land dispute cases quickly. We are happy with the positive response from the displaced since they would also get legitimate compensation without further delay,” the Joint Collector added.
The Irrigation Department was also happy as it could complete Vamsadhara Phase II quickly. Phase II got delayed due to disputes with the Odisha Government during the last 50 years.
The Central Water Commission (CWC) approved the construction of a side-weir near Battili of Bhimini mandal. The move was seen as a major relief to the Government, which has been engaged in a dispute with the Odisha Government to get its legitimate share of Vamsadhara water.
Once the side weir was in place, more than 1 lakh acres in the district can be brought under irrigation. However, the benefits will not reach the needy farmers if the project was delayed further. Initially, senior officials felt that side weir and other works would be completed within a year but it might take over two years with the little progress at the project site.
