Facing the heat from land oustees over various violations in the implementation of Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R), the officials announced cancellation of Grama Sabha and draft list of beneficiaries at Vemulaghat on Monday. They promised to come with a comprehensive draft notification at a later date and to hold grama sabha again following all the due procedures. A grama sabha was held at Vemulaghat in Toguta mandal on Monday. This village will be submerged in Mallannasagar.
Villagers urged the officials not to hold any meetings till May 7 as local body elections were scheduled.
The grama sabha commenced with a note by Siddipet Revenue Divisional Officer M. Jayachandra Reddy explaining the oustees what the government would offer to them. Questioning the rationality behind stipulation of three years time to become eligible for benefits as land oustees, the villagers wanted to know under which rules the three-year mandatory period of staying local was mentioned. They have also made it clear that the notification issued in the year 2017 was not valid as it’s validity expired within one year.
“Revenue and irrigation officials write to the contractor citing the orders issued by the High Court not to take up works till R&R was extended to landless poor and labourer. Still the works are on and when we stop the work showing the copy of court order, the police register cases against us, the land oustees. The revenue department has completely failed to act,” alleged Md. Hayatuddin, one of the land oustees. He has also requested the officials to let him know where the three years of mandatory period was mentioned to consider a resident as ‘local.’ “What is the Act you are following? Under which section of which Act the grama sabha is being conducted?” asked Mr. Hayatuddin urging officials to fix an appointment with Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao so that they can bring all these issues to his notice. Mr. Amarender Reddy, another resident of the village said that they were promised lot of things when they accepted to sell their land for Mallannasagar project but most of them were not materialised. “We were taken for a ride by the government and it was not right on its part. Let the government keep its word,” said Srinivas Reddy, another resident of the village.
Mr. Jayachandra Reddy assured the oustees to do justice without fail.
Earlier in the day, the grama sabha scheduled at Etigaddakishtapur in the afternoon was cancelled by the officials without any prior notice. Many of the villagers were surprised to know about the development.
