The State government has released ₹161.86 crore to the fishermen who lost their livelihood due to pipeline works of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema and Kakinada Districts. The compensation is being paid by the ONGC through the State Government
Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy released the amount of ₹161.86 crore compensation by pressing a button at his camp office at Tadepalli, near Vijayawada, on November 21. This is the fourth installment of the compensation being paid to the fishermen there. The compensation is for six months from January to June this year. The amount is directly paid into the bank accounts of 23,458 fishermen families of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema and Kakinada Districts. Each family would get ₹11,500 per month , totalling ₹69,000 for six months. The fishermen were paid ₹323 crore in three installments earlier. With the release of the fourth installment, the fishermen were paid a total of ₹485 crore till date.
The fishermen, including single women, received the amount as compensation paid by the ONGC. The pipeline project has impacted their livelihood due to the ongoing pipeline project in Kakinada and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema districts.
Fishing in the vicinity of the project has been fully banned since ONGC is laying a 20-inch pipe from an offshore platform to its onshore plant at Mallavaram village, passing through the mouth of Gowthami river, to develop the block KG-DWN-98/2. ONGC began the pipeline project on January 28, 2022 to develop the block — KG-DWN-98/2 in the Krishna-Godavari basin. A 22 km pipeline is being laid along the Gowthami river, a branch of the Godavari. The pipeline will include 9 km in the offshore area. Each affected fisherman family is entitled to a compensation of ₹11,500 a month.
Mr. Jagan was also supposed to release the compensation at a programme at Mambattu village in Tada Mandal of Tirupati district Sullurpet after laying a foundation stone for a Fish Landing Centre at Rayadaruvu in Vakadu Mandal of Tirupati district. The programme was postponed due to heavy rains there.
