More than 300 farmers from 12 mandals in the district protested against the public hearing on proposed Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP), outside a private function hall in Raigiri here on Tuesday.
“Is this a marriage function you are organising here? Come to our places and see how we will be affected. Speak to us,” an aged farmer from Ralla Janagam said.
The exercise to be followed up by visits to villages to discuss rehabilitation measures was cancelled the previous evening and the present one was “only for environmental concerns of the project”, officials said. Chaired by District Collector Anita Ramachandran, KLIP Chief Engineer B. Hari Ram, the public hearing was conducted by Telangana State Pollution Control Board (PCB) to discuss Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of Packages 15 and 16.
Gandhamalla and Baswapur reservoirs to be built with 9.87 tmcft and 11.39 tmcft storage capacities would realise the dreams of the farmers in two Assembly constituencies - Alair and Bhongir, by ensuring irrigation facilities to the drought-hit region, experts and local leaders opined. However, the various construction components in the project would fully submerge 14 gram panchayats.
Representatives of various political parties said that they were not opposing the project, but asked whether it would be stopped if the government goes back on the promises being made to farmers and all stakeholders. “Land for land and house for house should be the formula,” a Telugu Desam Party representative said.
Quality and quantity of groundwater, damages to the area, land usage and aquatic ecology were some of the concerns that topped the discussion at the public hearing. “No project was built in air. Construction will start only after all affected families are suitably compensated,” TRS MLC Karne Prabhakar said. Other leaders also pointed to the ill effects of Flourosis caused by water in the district. In all, 93 members - politicians, subject experts and farmers expressed their concerns. The six-hour exercise was video-taped and will be forwarded to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Ms. Anita Ramachandran said all apprehensions of the families likely to be affected will be addressed by our teams. There will not be any deviation from LARR Act 2013,” she said.
