The State government is going to shell down a huge sum to reclaim a large parcel of its land in this region that was occupied decades ago.
It is a nearly 716-acre site that is set to make the exchequer poorer by a whopping Rs. 51.50 crore in the coming days.
The land in question is one where the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (APIIC) proposed to establish a Mega Food Park but it had to pay ‘ex gratia’ to the encroachers for two reasons: Its own failure to maintain proper records of the land and agitation from the occupiers.
The Revenue Department was recently permitted by the government to acquire the site at Mallavalli village in Bapulapadu mandal, on behalf of the APIIC for the establishment of the food park. Following protests by the occupiers, who insisted that they have been enjoying it for several years and hence it was unfair to evict them, the government struck a bargain with them.
It identified 490 encroachers to whom an ex gratia of Rs. 7.50 lakh per acre and Rs. 50, 000 to each family are being paid irrespective of the period of occupation. The ex gratia amount was calculated as per the provisions of Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The total area of government land available there was 1,360 acres, for which the APIIC has deposited approximately Rs. 74.8 crore for giving ex gratia but the final settlement was pegged at Rs.51.50 crore.
The government is now paying equal sums as ex gratia to all the encroachers though it is not under any obligation to pay even a single rupee for lands encroached less than five years ago, due to agitations. Encroachers enjoying the lands for more than 10 years and those between 10 and 5 years are supposed to be paid full (100 per cent) and 50 per cent ex gratia respectively.
A city-based industrialist told The Hindu that the government was not prepared to precipitate any crisis by attempting eviction of the encroachers.
Its intention to allot the plots at a price higher than the ex gratia, thereby make a net gain is evident from the lenient view of the encroachments taken by its departments over the years.
