Orders issued for acquisition of land for Somasila

HYDERABAD: The government has issued orders for acquisition of land under Somasila project within three months and directed that compensation to the affected parties be paid at gram sabhas in the respective villages through cheques.
The government issued the orders based on the recommendations of the cabinet sub-committee consisting of finance minister Y Ramakrishnudu, revenue minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju and irrigation minister Kadiam Srihari.The acquisition of land had been a major problem for the government in 23 villages under the Somasila project.
The government directed that the acquisition of land and structures in the villages should be expedited through consent. The Kadapa district collector had been authorised to negotiate with the villagers and enhance the compensation by 50 per cent to facilitate the consent award. The valuation of the structures would be as per the current standard scheduled rates.
However, the District Empowered Committee had been permitted to “offer different values or levels of enhancement of compensation taking into consideration the nature of the structure in question.�
The irregularities in the acquisition of land under the Somasila project and payment of compensation have assumed a major controversy and also rocked the Assembly proceedings several times.
The opposition parties demanded that the government should table all the facts relating to land acquisition in the Assembly.
To avoid any further controversy, the Kadapa collector and the special collector of the Telugu Ganga project had been directed to ensure that all the structures be photographed and the payment of compensation done in a transparent manner.