The Grama Sabha held here to discuss land acquisition for Mallannasagar project passed off peacefully on Saturday. It was presided over by vice-president S. Karunakar.
Answering queries from anxious villagers, Siddipet Revenue Divisional Officer A. Muthyam Reddy said that a village with similar facilities would be constructed for residents of Vemulaghat. This was the first official assurance given to land oustees in Telangana.
The Grama Sabha was conducted under Section 11 (1) of Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act- 2013 as per the assurance given by the government to the High Court in response to a writ petition filed by the villagers.
Legal steps
Not even a single villager spoke in favour of the Mallannasagar project. While some were totally opposed to the project, some sought to save the village from submergence and others questioned the legal steps followed so far. Regarding some doubts by the villagers, the revenue official said it would be cleared in writing.
However, all the members of the Grama Sabha refused to sign the attendance register, saying that they would sign only after the questions raised by them and the answers given by the officials were included in the minutes of the meeting.
Soon after the meeting commenced, RDO Mr. Muthyam Reddy told the villagers that the government wants to aquire 1,656.8 acres of land from eight villages for the Mallannasagar project.
Informing that an exemption was given from Social Impact Assessment under GO 35, the RDO said that the government has appointed the joint collector as project administrator to look into the R&R package. Kaleswaram Project executive engineer Anand explained how the project would irrigate fields in eight districts.
As many as 25 villagers spoke in the Grama Sabha and sought clarifications. Mr Hayatuddin asked whether the notification already issued stands good as the land rates were not revised which was mandatory and asked how the works were taken up without obtaining environment and forest clearance. Mr. Srinivas Reddy wanted to know what alternative the government was offering farmers who are set to lose their two-crop fields.
Mr. Amarender Reddy wanted to know why the area was selected for the project with Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) survey when there were several areas in Telangana with the same height of 551 metres. He also wanted to know whether the detailed project report (DPR) could be changed as it was done in the case under Mallannasgar and Kondapochamma.
