Andhra project to "submerge" 11,200 acres of revenue, 6,600 acres of forest land; 70,000 to lose livelihood

A fact-finding committee has estimated that 11,200 acres of revenue land of 127 villages, apart from 6,600 acres of forest land, would be submerged in Andhra Pradesh as a result of the proposed Rs 4,910 crore Chintalapudi Lift Irrigation project. Also displacing 16 adivasi villages, the team has further estimated that 70,000 people would lose their livelihood “entirely or partially”.
An initial report prepared by the civil society team of the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) and other people’s organizations, which visited the project-affected villages of three mandals, Jeelugumilli, T Narsapuram and Chintalapudi of West Godavari district, said its main purpose was to "understand the problems being faced by the people” because of the project.
Those who would lose their land are “land-owning farmers, landless labourers, tenant farmers and people engaged in other rural occupations”, the report said, adding, “In addition to the problems being faced by the people due to the large-scale displacement, there are also severe environmental impacts generated by this project. ”
The team – which particularly "assessed" the implementation of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Act, 2013 – alarmingly found that before putting the project in motion no social impact assessment (SIA) of the area was carried out. SIA is one of the major provisions of the LARR Act.

A displaced farmer

Pointing out that the “the government is proceeding without an authenticated documentation of all the families being impacted by the project and the nature of impact”, the report also stated that no public hearing was conducted on the project, nor was any gram sabha meetings called, or local bodies such as panchayats consulted in any of the affected villages.
Pointing out that “the objections and opinions expressed by the affected villagers have not been considered or responded to”, the report said, the government is going ahead with the project without any environmental Clearance for the project.
In yet another observation, the report said, “The Rehabilitation and Resettlement Plan, as per the requirements of the LARR Act, has not been published and made public for any village”, adding, even “the claims of adivasis to their cultivation rights over forest lands, under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 have not been settled”, yet the government “is proceeding with acquiring forest lands.”
Pointing towards further violations of the LARR Act, the report said, “The real market value of land is not being determined as per the letter and spirit of Section 26(B) of the Act, when the compensation rates are being fixed.”
It added, many land holders are being offered “ex-gratia payment” in violation of the the land-for-land provision of the Act for irrigation projects.
The report said, “Since the Chintalapudi project is part of the larger Polavaram project which is being implemented through the Central government funds, the rules declared for Central government projects for rehabilitation and resettlement should be implemented.”
Wanting LARR Act to be implemented in letter and spirit, the report said, referring in particular to the provision that the compensation for the land to be submerged should be four times the market value.
The Chintalapudi Lift Irrigation project was initiated in 2008 with a capacity of 8 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft), was recently expanded to 20 tmcft.
The fact-finding committee included Meera Sanghamitra, a national convener of NAPM; Mortala Vimala, social activist; Babuji from Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vruttidarula Union (APVVU); and Rahul Maganti, an independent journalist.

Comments

Irrational? Basis for fear among Hindus about being 'swamped' by Muslims

I was amused while reading an article titled "Ham Paanch, Hamare Pachees", shared on Facebook, by well-known policy analyst Mohan Guruswamy, an alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Guruswamy, who has also worked as an advisor to the Finance Minister with the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, seeks to probe, as he himself states, "the supposed Muslim attitude to family planning"—a theme that was invoked by Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister ahead of the December 2002 assembly polls.

Why's Australian crackdown rattling Indian students? Whopping 25% fake visa applications

This is what happened several months ago. A teenager living in the housing society where I reside was sent to Australia to study at a university in Sydney with much fanfare. The parents, whom I often met as part of a group, would tell us how easily the boy got his admission with the help of "some well-meaning friends," adding that they had obtained an education loan to ensure he could study at a graduate school.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

Gujarat slips in India Justice Report 2025: From model state to mid-table performer

Overall ranking in IJR reports The latest India Justice Report (IJR), prepared by legal experts with the backing of several civil society organisations and aimed at ranking the capacity of states to deliver justice, has found Gujarat—considered by India's rulers as a model state for others to follow—slipping to the 11th position from fourth in 2022.

Punishing senior citizens? Flipkart, Shopsy stop Cash on Delivery in Ahmedabad!

The other day, someone close to me attempted to order some goodies on Flipkart and its subsidiary Shopsy. After preparing a long list of items, this person, as usual, opted for the Cash on Delivery (popularly known as COD) option, as this senior citizen isn't very familiar with online prepaid payment methods like UPI, credit or debit cards, or online bank transfers through websites. In fact, she is hesitant to make online payments, fearing, "I may make a mistake," she explained, adding, "I read a lot about online frauds, so I always choose COD as it's safe. I have no knowledge of how to prepay online."

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Of lingering shadow of Haren Pandya's murder during Modi's Gujarat days

Sunita Williams’ return to Earth has, ironically, reopened an old wound: the mysterious murder of her first cousin, the popular BJP leader Haren Pandya, in 2003. Initially a supporter of Narendra Modi, Haren turned against him, not sparing any opportunity to do things that would embarrass Modi. Social media and some online news portals, including The Wire , are abuzz with how Modi’s recent invitation to Sunita to visit India comes against the backdrop of how he, as Gujarat’s chief minister, didn’t care to offer any official protocol support during her 2007 visit to Gujarat.

Area set aside in Ahmedabad for PM's affordable housing scheme 'has gone to big builders'

Following my article on affordable housing in Counterview, which quoted a top real estate consultant, I was informed that affordable housing—a scheme introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—has deviated from its original intent. A former senior bureaucrat, whom I used to meet during my Sachivalaya days, told me that an entire area in Ahmedabad, designated for the scheme, has been used to construct costly houses instead.

Just 5% Gujarat Dalit households 'recognise' social reformers who inspired Ambedkar

An interesting survey conducted across 22 districts and 32 villages in Gujarat sheds light on the representation of key social reformers in Dalit households. It suggests that while Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's photo was displayed in a majority of homes, images of Lord Buddha and the 19th-century reformist couple, Savitribai Phule and Jyotiba Phule, were not as commonly represented.

Search This Blog