First Things First: Villagers of Anukunta Want Price for Their Lands Fixed Before Survey for Airport in Adilabad
Srinivas said it would be better for them to relocate their village on to the lands of the Adilabad unit of the Cement Corporation of India.
Adilabad: The villagers of Anukunta, whose lands are to be acquired for the proposed joint-user airfield at Adilabad, insist that the state government first fix the price of their lands before surveying them.
The government has been cautioned that this would otherwise create panic among the villagers.
The state government has issued GO-36 dated July 25, sanctioning Rs 2278.14 crore for development of the joint-user airfield in Adilabad.
The villagers seek high compensation, considering their lands as part of a developing area as the area is just 2km from Adilabad town. The village is merged with Adilabad municipality and falls in ward 4.
The government plans to acquire a total of 2009.23 acres, including 1609.23 acres for the Indian Air Force and 400 acres for the civil aviation enclave, MRO and cargo facilities and hangars. Nearly 877 acres of land, including 600 agriculture acre, would likely be acquired in Shivaram of Anukunta village.
The villagers regret that there is no clarity yet on the price to be offered for their lands as revenue officials “are not sharing any information” with them. “How could we take a decision about giving our lands without knowing the price,” they ask.
Revenue officials say they will first identify the farmers whose lands are falling in the map prepared for the project. Anukunta is the village that’s mainly being affected by the proposed airport.
The villagers made it clear to the district officials that they want road connectivity alongside the compound wall of the proposed airport. Otherwise, they want the village to be relocated in full to the nearest place.
A villager, M Srinivas, opposed the proposed alternative road via Kachkanti village to the Adilabad headquarters, some 15km from Anukunta. He said this distance would be an additional financial burden on them for travel. This, he feared, would affect the studies of our children and family livelihoods.
Srinivas said it would be better for them to relocate their village on to the lands of the Adilabad unit of the Cement Corporation of India.
Peddinti Gangannan of the Madiga community said they would not be able to buy land to set up homes once they lose their land for the project. “Land costs are high and, furthermore, nobody is selling their land these days. We would become beggars once we lose our agricultural land.”
Agricultural labourers, especially women, fear that they would lose their livelihood if the state government takes away their agricultural lands in and around the proposed airport project. Stated Manchala Gangamma of Anukunta village, “How will the agriculture labourers' family survive without work?”
“Naturally, we will not get any agricultural work after taking away the fertile agricultural lands, leaving just ‘Chelakalu’ or ‘Chenlu’ behind,” she said while arguing with additional collector Rajeshwar during an interaction he had with the villagers at Anukunta on Tuesday.
Gangamma said women agricultural labourers are getting Rs 300 wage (Kaikili) and thus making a living.
Rajeshwar said, “We will conduct a Social Impact Assessment study to know how the proposed project will affect the local communities socially, economically and culturally. We will address the agricultural labourers' problems in the survey report.”
Some 70 farmers of Anukunta are set to lose 10- 20 acres of lands. The remaining are small and marginal farmers while 80 per cent of the villagers are agricultural labourers.
Rajeshwar Rao said the land acquisition would be transparent; and views and objections would be taken into consideration before taking a final call.
Villagers alleged that some political leaders purchased lands at Landasangi at lower prices and registered them in benami names in anticipation of a windfall. “The same lands are now being taken for the project.”
They also expressed their concern over impending sound pollution. Those living in the areas surrounding the proposed joint-use airfield expressed their concern over sound pollution from aeroplanes and the IAF jets during training.
Notably, revenue officials have begun talks with the villagers to acquire their lands under the proposed joint-use airfield.
Additional collector Rajeshwar said new technology is being used to control the sound generated by the IAF jets, and that this would reduce sound pollution by 70 per cent. “The IAF training centre will train it members in different areas, hills, plains and places like the Himalayas.”
Diversion of stream:
Villages of Anukunta also expressed their anxiety over the overflowing of Bangariguda stream that flows beside their village during the monsoon and pleaded for diversion of the stream. It is proposed that the stream would be diverted to develop a long runway for the airport project.
A sum of Rs 310 crore will be spent on the diversion of the existing high-tension towers of 765 KVA as part of the efforts to develop the area.
Adilabad RDO Pulluri Jagadishwar Rao told the Anukunta villagers that they were just doing a preliminary exercise before identifying the lands to be acquired and deciding on the price, and that the farmers need not panic about land acquisition and price.
