In a major policy decision that will make the government’s job of acquiring land for public purposes easy, the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet has resolved to make some crucial amendments to the Right to Fair Compensation in Relief, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act of 2013 through an ordinance .
The announcement was made by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu during his media briefing on the Cabinet meeting held at the Interim Government Complex, in Guntur district, on Saturday.
The legislation will be similar to the one adopted by the Gujarat government in April this year. Gujarat had cleared the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Gujarat Amendment) Bill, 2016 by discarding the provisions for social impact assessment and consent clauses for the acquisition of land for public purposes and industrial corridors.
Another resolution whose financial implications will emerge in the days to come is the Aarogya Raksha scheme aimed at providing affordable health insurance cover to families.
The insured need to pay just Rs. 100 per month and the registrations have to be done before February 28. The scheme will be implemented by Dr. NTR Vaidya Seva Trust.
Another decision was to regularise and facilitate the sale and purchase of ‘dot lands’ (which become government property in the absence of clear titles) subject to the scrutiny of documents pertaining to the last 15 years. Such proposals will be cleared by the district-level committees headed by Collectors and comprising joint collectors, RDO/sub-collectors and MROs as members. Other decisions taken were star-rating for villages in civic amenities and administrative parameters during the Janmabhoomi programme to be launched on January 2 — best performing villages will be given up to seven stars for encouraging them to set an example to others — and payment of one-time compensation of Rs. 480 crore to 9,096 families affected by Phase-I of Gandikota project in Kadapa district.
Sanction of 670 junior assistant–cum-computer operator posts in as many mandals, handing over of the 21st Century Gurukulam at Etcherla in Srikakulam district for the construction of an IIIT at a cost of Rs. 6.60 crore and redevelopment of scavenger colony on Leela Mahal Road in Tirupati by private developers in 2.34 acres were the other decisions taken by the Cabinet.
Land allotment
The Cabinet allotted nearly 1,300 acres to the A.P. Industrial Infrastructure Corporation for the establishment of industrial parks in Menakuru and Polepalem villages of Nayudupet Mandal of Nellore district and another 693 acres for a proposed industrial park in Satyavedu Mandal of Chittoor district.
