65 Families In KSEZ Villages Seek Fair Compensation
Sixty-five families in three Kakinada villages have sought fair compensation and rehabilitation as KSEZ plans to take over their settlements.
Some 65 families in three villages-Ramaraghavapuram, Buchireddypalem and Karrivaripalem in U Kothapalli mandal are appealing to the state government to ensure compensation to them as the Kakinada Special Economic Zone (KSEZ) plans to take over their villages.
These villages fall under the Pithapuram assembly constituency in this district.
They submitted a representation to deputy chief minister and Pithapuram MLA, K Pawan Kalyan, seeking justice for them. According to sources, during the YSRC government, more than 2,000 acres of land of the farmers had been given back to the farmers and resolved the issue.
The then-government issued a GO on Ramaraghavapuram village, stating that if the KSEZ wants to acquire the Ram Raghavapuram village, it can do so by providing compensation to the families living in the village. Otherwise, the village should be kept to the villagers, it ruled.
But, for the past five years, either KSEZ or the government did not take any decision on the village. Some families in Buchireddypalem and Karrivaripalem have not vacated the villages as the KSEZ did not provide the required compensation to them.
The authorities subsequently stalled all the government schemes like providing drinking water, drainage, NREGS works etc to the villages. Though the villagers repeatedly submitted representations to the officials, they could not get justice.
According to sources, KSEZ now wants to take over the Ramaraghavapuram village. It convened a meeting with the villagers.
The villagers want compensation for 48 families in Ramaraghavapuram village. The village’s former Sarpanch Ravi Ramesh said that the KSEZ has agreed to take over the village, but it should provide compensation to the farmers.
According to him, the villagers requested the authorities to provide `30 lakh each to construct the house after allocating 4 cents of land to each of the 50 families in the village. “But the KSEZ authorities have said that they can provide these to only 18 families as per the previous survey,” he said.
Ramesh said KSEZ should provide compensation and other R&R packages to all persons who crossed 18 years of age by the time they are vacated.
Meanwhile, the Jana Sena leader of Srirampuram village Muralasetti Nooka Raju said that the KSE project was established in 2005. A family survey was conducted in 2006, and a new village was constructed at Kotha Mulapeta village to relocate the residents starting in 2009, he said.
Meanwhile, some people from each village moved there and others continued to reside in the KSEZ affected villages. The KSEZ did not build houses for everyone; and homes were constructed for only half the population. Even though the remaining families wished to relocate, they were unable to do so due to the lack of housing there. Consequently, they remained in their original village, he said.
P Veerreddy said that during the tenure of the previous government, the people of Srirampuram, Pativaripalem, Badipet, Mummidivarapodu and Ravivari Podu were not being relocated to Kotha Mulapeta. They would be moved to Ravivaripadu village as per the GO-18 issued in 2021.
But the villagers made it clear that they would reside only where they are in Ramaraghavapuram.
Panchayat officials made it clear that they should be relocated to Ravivaripadu village because the present village settlement obstructed the company’s operations.
The residents V. Kumari and K. Lavanya urged the deputy chief minister to consider their plea and provide a fair compensation to them as they are in a pathetic condition due to KSEZ.
