Inordinate delay in the acquisition of land has hit the progress of head works of Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme, particularly in Package-III in which over 302 out of the required 489 acres land is yet to to be acquired due to farmers not agreeing to the quantum of compensation.
Head works of the project comprise three packages, including excavation and construction of an approach channel for 2.205 km from the foreshores of Srisailam Reservoir, nearly 900 meters length of tunnel and a pump house with nine pumps of 145 MW capacity each (including one spare pump) to lift water for 104 meters as Package-I and put into Anjanagiri reservoir (Package-II) with a storage capacity of 8.51 tmc ft.
Package-III includes construction of an approach channel for 2.650 km from Anjanagiri Reservoir, construction of a head regulator and open canal for 5.675 km length. According to the project engineers, they have secured stage-two forest clearance for 514 acres of forest land required for Package-I and Package-II works. A small extent of private land was yet to be acquired for Package-II.
However, over 302 acres out of 489 acres land required Package-III is yet to be acquired. “The 302 acres land yet to be acquired includes some 290 acres of private patta land mostly in Kudikilla village (250 acres) in Nagarkurnool district. The private patta land is being acquired as per the provisions of GO 123 issued under the Land Acquisition Act with compensation of about ₹5.3 lakh per acre and other rehabilitation benefits,” an engineer supervising the package-three works stated.
Of the 302.54 acres patta land to be acquired, nearly 263 acres lies within the limits of Kudikilla village, where work on about 3 km length of canal work is yet to begin. “Till the last elections to Assembly, a leader in the Opposition was promising the farmers higher compensation and now another leader in the Opposition is doing the same,” a senior project engineer, unwilling to be quoted, said.
Echoing a similar view, Ramulu, a farmer of Kudikilla, said: “Some of the farmers were ready to settle for the compensation offered by the government initially due to their disinterest in fighting the establishment. However, support from some politicians has made us stand firm demanding higher compensation.”
