Kakinada: The TD seems to have changed its policy on the Kakinada SEZ and Petro Chemicals and Petro Investment Region (PCPIR) between Visakhapatnam and Kakinada. TD president N. Chandrababu Naidu had opposed these Congress-proposed projects earlier when they were campaigning here and had promised to get the farmers their lands back.
On Friday, the finance minister said the PCPIR project has been taken over by the Centre and the KSEZ was a part of it. He said the government wants to solve the problems of farmers and ensure that they get the maximum remuneration according to the new Land Acquisition Act. He said TD feared pollution caused by the projects.
The TD leaders participated in a seminar conducted at Kakinada by the KSEZ Vyathireka Porata Samiti and strongly opposed the project and proposed to scrap it. Later, when Mr Naidu took up Mee Kosam Yatra, he visited KSEZ area and ploughed lands and promised the farmers that he would strive to give back their lands.
He also said that owing to KSEZ project, the fishermen and other occupational workers in the region would lose their livelihood. However, now the Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu told the reporters here today that the PCPIR project had been taken up by the Union Government and the KSEZ was also a part of it.
He said the government wants to solve the problems of farmers and ensure that they get the maximum remuneration according to the new Land Acquisition Act. However, he says, "Then TD opposed the project with a fear of pollution in the area. But, now the government would only give permission to the pollution-free industrial units." "If the industrial units spread the pollution, the
government would not give permissions to them", he said.
The Kakinada Special Economic Zone Vyathireka Porata Samithi convener Chinta Suryanarayana Murthy said that KSEZ should be abolished first as promised by the TD and Chandrababu Naidu as there were so many irregularities have been taken place. He also demanded the government should take action against the KSEZ management for harassing farmers for all these years and also destroying environment in the area. He said that they would launch agitation, if they can't get justice.
