Hyderabad: The TS government’s land acquisition policy, to acquire land for irrigation projects, is increasingly facing resistance from farmers. The agitations that started against land acquisition for Mallannasagar project in the Chief Minister’s home district Medak is spreading to other projects with displaced people demanding compensation as per the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and not based on a government order issued by the TS government last year.
The government has been directly negotiating with farmers to purchase lands by offering registration value prescribed by sub-registrar office at up to Rs 6 lakh per acre as against paying compensation three times the market value as per the Land Acquisition Act. Farmers claim that the market value was up to Rs 18 lakh per acre and they should be paid accordingly.
With stiff opposition, the TS government is planning to scrap its GO and invoke the Land Acquisition Act.
The government which went ahead aggressively to acquire land as per its GO 123 all these days, has now halted the process temporarily after the entire Opposition, and the TJAC extending support to the farmers. The government has decided to acquire nearly 60,000 acres in Medak district alone. Of this, 40,000 acres are needed for Mallannasagar project, 12,000 acres for NIMZ in Zahirabad and remaining 8,000 acres for raising the height of Ghanpur anicut on Manjira river.
About 14 villages in four mandals will be submerged due to Mallannasagar reservoir. Another eight villages in two mandals will be hit due to raising of the Ghanpur anicut height. The farmers in these villages taking to the streets and intensifying their agitation with the support of Opposition parties had an effect on the land acquisition process for NIMZ and the Pranahitha-Chevella (renamed as Kaleshwaram project), as farmers who either lost or were about to lose their lands due to these projects too joining the agitation programmes and demanded compensation as per Land Acquisition Act, 2013.
Irrigation minister T. Harish Rao said, “Opposition parties with vested interests are misleading the farmers with the ill-intention of obstructing irrigation projects devised by the TRS government to provide a permanent solution to drought and drinking water problem in state. We have come out with our own land acquisition policy to speed up land acquisition and pay compensation faster. Cheques are being issued to farmers on the spot. The process would get delayed if the Centre’s Act is adopted as there are various procedural hurdles in this.”
Bandaraipalli villagers get into the ‘Act’, demand more:
Villagers of Bandaraipalli in Gopalpet mandal in Mahbubnagar district on Saturday obstructed flood canal works of Palamuru lift irrigation project, demanding payment of compensation as per the Land Acquisition Act, 2013.
The villagers sat on dharna at the project site and organised "vanta-varpu", cooking food in the under-construction canals.
They alleged that the government started project works without paying adequate compensation and arrange rehabilitation of the displaced families. They vowed not to allow the works to go on till they get justice.
The villagers said the revenue officials forcibly took their lands and paid meagre compensation citing GO 123 issued by the state government while they were supposed to get three times market value for land lost as per Land Acquisition Act, 2013.
