Even when Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao announced that the government was ready to acquire land as per the Land Acquisition Act-2013, villagers of Erravalli are digging into the agreements made in the recent past.
One of the land oustees of Mallannasagar reservoir came across a document which had a mention of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh government paying compensation between Rs. 30.5 lakh and Rs. 52.9 lakh per acre depending on the location. The document pertains to writ petitions filed by farmers whose land was acquired for construction of Right Main Canal, Unit III, Indira Sagar (Polavaram project).
Three writ petitions were filed by the farmers of 12 villages in Nuziveedu, Bapualapadu, Agiripally and Gannavaram mandals in 2006 and they received a huge compensation in June last. The consolidated statement on fixing the market price was signed by Special Collector, Land Acquisition, Indira Sagar Project on June 21, 2015.
The land oustees are also quoting another case related to the proposed Bhogapuram airport in Vizianagaram district.
The Andhra Pradesh government has been acquiring more than 5,300 acres of land for construction of Greenfield airport.
The rate fixed for at least three villages are Gudepuvalasa- Rs. 33 lakh and Kancheru and Kavulvada- Rs. 28 lakh each. The compensation is decided as per the Land Acquisition Act- 2013, means three times the market value of the land.
Manne Mahipal Reddy, a resident of Erravalli and an IT employee, said when the AP government could offer a good compensation package to farmers despite having a deficit budget, why was the Telangana government hesitating to do so, even when it was a surplus State.
