Land as main stumbling block

Nellore: Land acquisition has become a formidable task for the Somasila high level lift canal, designed to provide drinking water to 58 revenue villages - most of them fluoride-affected - in six mandals of Nellore district. The project was also expected to irrigate 90,000 acre. The government had accorded administrative approval for Rs 1,532 crore in December 2013 and the execution of the scheme was taken up under EPC turnkey system in Phase-1 & Phase-II.

A Hyderabad-based firm agreed to take up the contract for Phase-I for Rs 840.92 crore in November 2014. In all, the project needs 4,928 acre and only 581 acre has been procured since last two years. According to irrigation officials, the major issues with respect to land acquisition are demand for compensation to dotted lands (government lands given to poor for cultivation in the past). Further headache for officials are structures built overnight in villages by some people from Kadapa at Padamatinaidupalli in Marripadu mandal of SPSR Nellore district that would eventually be submerged.

These people have an eye on compensation. As per design, four balancing reservoirs have been proposed at Padamatinaidupalli, Ponguru, Isukapalli and Pegallapadu to irrigate an ayacut of 43,200 acre at an estimated cost of Rs 1,080.59 crore. As many as six villages are likely to be submerged by reservoirs and the irrigation and revenue officials are in a fix over structures put up in these villages as means to demand more compensation.

A senior official said that they would have to shell out Rs 100 crore if they have to pay compensation for these illegal structures. The new land acquisition policy has also put the officials in a piquant situation. "For example, we paid Rs 6 lakh per acre as compensation when acquisition was based on an ordinance. However, the payout can't be more than Rs 4 lakh in the same area as per new land acquisition policy," a revenue official said pointing to the resistance they are going to face from land owners.

Irrigation engineers are working on alternative designs to reduce the number of balancing reservoirs to prevent submerging of villages and use the existing tanks as reservoirs. Sources in the department said that a decision on the alternative design will be taken within the next fortnight and it will be sent to the government for approval.