Hyderabad: Calling the redesigning of irrigation projects and their revised estimates of costs as the biggest scam in the country, the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) intensified its fight against the Mallannasagar project on Monday.
A TPCC delegation led by party president Uttam Kumar Reddy met Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan and sought his intervention to stop forcible acquisition of agriculture land, ensure compensation as per the Central Land Acquisition Act of 2013 and direct the DGP to lift Section 144 which has been in place in the villages facing submergence due to Mallannasagar for long.
The Congress also stormed the bastion of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao with Mr Uttam Kumar Reddy leading a delegation of party leaders as part of ‘Sanghibhavan Yatra’ to express solidarity with the farmers of Vemulaghat in Medak district. The farmers have been protesting for 100 days against the Mallannasagar project which would submerge 14 villages in Siddipet mandal.
The Congress memorandum to the Governor said that as the first citizen of the state he should intervene to protect the life and property of farmers and farm labour in villages, which are set to be submerged. The TPCC said it would move the Supreme Court if the 2013 land Act was not implemented. “Since a large number of people are affected, we want to know what is the compensation offered by government,” Mr Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
He condemned the TRS government’s “misuse of official machinery and forcible land acquisition with the support of reve-nue and police officials.”
“Congress supports irrigation, drinking water, electricity projects. Congress won freedom. Congress gave Telangana. We want Telangana people to prosper and develop. The TRS is misleading the people.”
TRS hits out at congress
The TRS on Monday criticised the Congress for trying to stall the Mallannasagar and other irrigation projects fearing that it would vanish due to the growing popularity of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
“Leaders like S. Jaipal Reddy had criticised Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the past when she was at the peak of her popularity due to bank nationalisation, land reforms, garibi hatao progromme, etc. He and other Congress leaders are adopting a similar stance against Mr Chandrasekhar Rao, who has become popular due to his welfare and developmental schem-es,” TRS MP B. Vinod Kumar said.
Taking exception to the Congress’ petition to the Governor and a rally at Mallannasagar, he sought to remind the Telangana Congress leaders that their colleagues, who are in power in Karnataka and Kerala, did not implement the Land Acquisition Act, 2013.
