The hurried backdated notification for land acquisition for the Bhavanapadu project has kicked up a controversy with civil society groups and left-wing parties accusing the Srikakulam administration of trying to carry out the programme under the land acquisition ordinance which lapsed on August 31.The ordinance enabled the government acquire land without having to secure the consent of 70 percent of the local people or commission a social impact assessment.
sThe government released a notification for land acquisition for the Bhavanapadu harbour project on September 1 and 2 but the date mentioned in it was August 28, when the controversial ordinance was still in force.
Local people have been shocked by the notification mentioning the names of the affected farmers and the extent of land they are expected to surrender to the government for the Bhavanapadu harbour.
Hostile farmers have chased away revenue teams from visiting the villages to take the measurements but exact figures were mentioned in the notification. This has astonished the farmers of various villages in Vajrapukotturu and Santabommali mandals.
“We only wanted a fishing harbour but the government wants to take away our land. We will intensify the agitation against the notification,” said B. Ananda Rao, a farmer of Nagarapalli village.
CPI(M) Srikakulam secretary Bhaviri Krishnamurthy and party State committee member Chowdary Tejeswara Rao have alleged that the district administration has misled people with the backdated notification.
“The government has also provided false information by saying that it got clearance for the project in 2005 itself. How could it get the clearance when the proposal itself was not there in 2005? We are going to conduct meetings in all the villages from Monday onwards to highlight the motives of the government,” they added.
Friends of the Earth Association president B. Srinivas Patnaik made it clear that civil society groups would extend their support to the villagers to stop the forcible land acquisition.
District officials indicated that they are only following the instructions of the government.
The government has provided false information by saying that it got clearance for the project in 2005 itselfCPI(M) leaders
