The Vizianagaram district administration has been constructing Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) colonies on a war-footing for the families displaced by the upcoming Bhogapuram International Airport.
Villagers who surrendered their lands for the airport were assured houses as well as compensation. As many as 376 families have been identified as the beneficiaries who will be given houses in the R&R colonies that are being constructed in Gudepuvalasa and Polipalli.
Vizianagaram Collector A. Suryakumari and Revenue Divisional Officer B.H. Bhavani Sankar, who is in-charge of R&R works, visited the colonies recently and directed local officials to speed up the work.
“We have given five cents of land and ₹9.2 lakh financial package for each beneficiary for the construction of houses. The works are on in full swing and they are likely to be completed in a couple of months,” Mr. Bhavani Sankar told The Hindu. “We are providing many civic amenities such as internal roads and water connection, and are also building a temple, school, and community hall in order to ensure that the colonies have amenities on par with gated communities,” he said.
Meanwhile, the district administration is awaiting the court’s judgment on the status of the acquisition of the remaining amount of land that is needed for the project. The government is yet to acquire 120 acres out of 2,203 acres needed for the construction of the airport. Some landowners, including Datla Sridevi, approached the court opposing the land acquisition. As their pieces of land are located near the proposed runway and other important structures, the government postponed the foundation stone-laying ceremony which was originally scheduled for January 2022. Officials of the State government and representatives from the GMR Group are reportedly in talks with the landowners, seeking their support for the construction of the project.
