Hyderabad: The TS government is trying to woo farmers with attractive compensation packages to acquire lands for irrigation projects. It has offered compensation which is three times more than the registration value, to acquire 1,500 acres for the Dindi irrigation project in Nalgonda.
While the current value of lands there is about Rs 1.35 lakh per acre, the government has offered Rs 4 lakh and a job to one member of the landowner’s family. The package found immediate acceptance, with over 150 farmers giving letters consenting to part with their lands, on the spot. The same policy is to be adopted for pending and new irrigation projects being planned on the Krishna and Godavari rivers.
Irrigation minister T. Harish Rao had earlier in the week asked officials to expedite the land acquisition process to complete irrigation projects as scheduled.
He conveyed the decision of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to offer thrice the market value of land as compensation and ensure that the families of farmers also benefit from the land acquisition.
The land acquisition process had been stuck for long after farmers refused to hand over their lands at market rates and demanded higher compensation.
The government needs to acquire about 10,000 acres to take up pending and new projects initially for which the same policy would be adopted, Mr Harish Rao said.
