SRIKAKULAM: Minister for Water Resources Devineni Umamaheswara Rao and Labour Minister K. Atchannaidu on Tuesday assured the displaced persons of the Vamsadhara Project that all of them would be given cheques by January 31 as the government had already released ₹150 crore of the ₹421 crore sanctioned for payment of compensation. They said the government was keen on settling the payment disputes which “started during Congress regime”.
On the advice of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, the Ministers, public representatives and senior officials visited Krishnapuram village and Hiramandalam to pacify the villagers who set afire vehicles of government departments and construction companies on Sunday.
Mild tension prevailed during their tour but the situation was under control for the whole day with the deployment of police force by SP J. Brahma Reddy. Mr. Umamaheswara Rao who distributed cheques each worth ₹5 lakh to the eligible farmers and youngsters under the Youth Package said the Chief Minister was also not happy with the delay in the payments though all the villagers were assured of compensation before Sankranti itself. “Special counters will function regularly both in Hiramandalam and Kotturu Tehsildhar offices for the distribution of cheques. The villagers who have grievances can submit their petitions to the officials in the counters. The government will go through them and do justice as early as possible,” he said.
Srikakulam MP Kinjarapu Rammohan, whip Kuna Ravikumar and Patapatnam MLA Kalamata Venkata Ramana made it clear that the project work would resume only after completion of payments to the displaced persons.
“The Vamsadhara project is the lifeline of Srikakulam district. People don’t need to migrate to other places when lakhs of acres are irrigated with the the phase-2 project. The government will take into account the sacrifices of the displaced and extend maximum help to them,” said Mr. Rammohan. Collector P. Lakshmi Narasimham said a dedicated team was trying its level best to complete payments within one week.
Earlier, a few locals entered into an argument with the Ministers on the relief and rehabilitation in Hiramandalam. The Ministers, who tried in vain to convince them, left the premises immediately after handing over cheques to eligible persons.The Opposition parties are trying to expose the variations in the fixation of compensation. YSRCP Srikakulam district president Reddi Shanti visited a few villagers and listened to their grievances. The Left party leaders planned to visit the villages in Hiramandalam, Kotturu and LN Peta to get justice for the displaced. They are insisting on payment as per the New Land Acquisition Act-2013.
The officials said it was not possible to apply the Act for pending petitions since payments were being made during the last nine years. They feared that the persons who had already taken around ₹1.2 lakh per acre as compensation might protest if new rates were applied for the villagers who were not given compensation due to legal tangles and other disputes.
