The issues pertaining to payment of compensation to the residents displaced from Motumarla and Tumparthi villages in Dharmavaram Assembly constituency for the ‘land to the poor’ scheme have come to the fore after some residents tried to stop the convoy of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy at Pothulanagaihpalli Layout. Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy was returning after releasing the Jagananna Vasathi Devena benefits at a programme at Narpala in Anantapur district on April 26 (Wednesday).
The residents alleged that they had received only ₹5 lakh per acre even as they had sought ₹20 lakh per acre.
Referring to the incident, TDP national general secretary N. Lokesh said that the Chief Minister was ‘scared to stop his convoy’ when the villagers tried to submit a representation to him.
CPI(M) district secretary V. Rambhupal criticised both Mr. Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and Mr. Lokesh for ‘not coming to the rescue’ of the villagers.
“We are helpless as the decision was taken during the TDP regime and the compensation amount has been deposited in the court. Nothing can be done now”Kethireddy Venkatarami Reddy Dharmavaram MLA
“The residents who had parted with 210 acres are yet to get compensations. The then TDP government offered to pay only ₹3.5 lakh per acre, but the compensation amount was increased to ₹5 lakh per acre after the Left parties had staged protests. But, the evacuees did not agree to it,” said Mr. Rambhupal.
“Then TDP MLA G. Suryanarayana (now in the BJP) had betrayed the residents. The incumbent MLA, who was in the opposition then, had sought ₹20 lakh as compensation. However, he did not pursue that demand and left the evacuees high and dry,” he said, adding that the land price was now more than ₹25 lakh an acre.
Of the 90 persons who had partied with land, 38 persons accepted the compensation while the rest are fighting a legal battle for higher compensation.
The CPI(M) leader said that teh YSRCP government had distributed the acquired land under the Jagananna Pathakam even as the compensation was not paid.
Dharmavaram MLA Kethireddy Venkatarami Reddy said that the land was acquired prior to the YSRCP coming to power. “Ineligible persons were issued pattas. The compensation amount is with the court, but they are not taking it,” the MLA told the media on April 27 (Thursday).
“We moved Andhra Pradesh High Court, seeking an increase in the compensation amount. I spoke to the then Joint Collector S. Dilli Rao and ensured that the evacuees got ₹5 lakh per acre and the R&R package. We represented to the Chief Minister seeking enhancement of compensation to ₹20 lakh,” he added.
The Chief Minister’s convoy can not be stopped for security reasons. Moreover, no evacuees had sought an appointment with the Chief Minister to represent their case, the MLA said.
The Chief Commissioner for Land Administration (CCLA) G. Sai Prasad had told us that once the compensation amount was deposited in the court, it could not be enhanced. However, there is a scope for the appellate authority in Tirupati.
“We are helpless as the decision was taken during the TDP regime and the compensation amount has been deposited in the court. Nothing can be done now,” the MLA said.
