NELLORE: The sustained efforts of revenue authorities and APIIC have put an end to land compensation issues that had delayed the proposed aluminium alloy plant of Midhani in association with Nalco (National Aluminium Corporation), spread over 110 acres in Bodduvaripalem near Nellore.
Incidentally, it is the first defence manufacturing facility of Mishra Dhatu Nigam (Midhani) outside of Hyderabad and the organisation is expected to invest Rs 2,000 on the facility, which has vast employment potential.
While 57.14 acres is government land, the remaining belonged to Cooperative Joint Farming Society (CJFS). The CJFS land was assigned to the landless poor (one acre per beneficiary) free of cost for cultivation in the 1980s but the land was resumed in 2010 as none of the beneficiaries utilized the land.
However, the government assigned the lands once again after 2013 at the rate of 60 cents per head to the old beneficiaries and some more eligible persons.
In 2017, in a bid to allot the land required for Midhani, APIIC paid Rs 10 lakh compensation per acre of CJFS land, although the market value was only Rs 4 lakh. Meanwhile, the assignees collected Rs 10 lakh per acre initially but started demanding Rs 56 lakh per acre citing the amount paid for lands acquired for Coca-Cola unit in the neighbourhood.
In fact, they obstructed the construction of the compound wall, when Midhani started the work and moved the High Court to realise their demand.
In this backdrop, industries minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy, a team of revenue officials led by SPSR Nellore district collector K.V.N. Chakradhar Babu, officials of Midhani and APIIC negotiated with those involved in the litigation and convinced them to accept a one-time settlement of Rs 4 lakh per petitioner as a final settlement.
Expressing satisfaction over the outcome of deliberations with the CJFS members, Chakradhar Babu said that a public hearing was held on April 15 and they were awaiting environment clearance and CFE (Consent for Establishment) for the project.
Goutham Reddy said that decks are cleared for Midhani to recommence construction works. He thanked Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu and DRDO Chairman G. Satheesh Reddy for their support.
