Visakhapatnam: NAOB-hit demand ex gratia

Visakhapatnam: With construction work on the Naval Alternative Operating Base starting in Vakapadu village of S Rayavaram mandal in Visakhapatnam district, the people displaced by the NAOB from seven villages have started protests demanding compensation for the 72-acre land acquired for the project. 

After 23 days of protest, 18 farmers from Vakapadu village on Monday submitted a representation to the district collector saying that the government has not approved any compensation for the land as their names were not available in the revenue records. 

They said that this was despite they living on the land since decades.

Rangala Madhava Rao, a salt farmer from Vakapadu, said: “We have paid land taxes to the local authorities. Our names were mentioned in the 10(1) of Adangal account. The government officials had put a condition that compensation will be paid only to the farmers whose names were available in village Account No. 4C of Adangal revenue document.” 

He said, “Zirayiti land owners of Rambilli and other neighbouring villages were paid a meagre '1.05 lakh and '3 lakh per acre in 2004. The government hasn’t given even that much to us.” 

As part of a package, the displaced farmers of Rambilli, Rajala Agraharam, Devallapalem, Velpugondupulam, Revuvathada and Pisinigottupalem were offered around '1 lakh to each family engaged in various fishing activities. 

Only those who hold pattas received the compensation and the rest were ignored by the revenue authorities.

 Of the 18 villagers from Vakapadu, 14 were involved in salt farming on 56-acres and other four were doing pisciculture in fishing lakes of 16-acre area. 

In 2007, the High Court ordered the district collector to conduct an inquiry over the occupied lands in Survey No 306 of Vakapadu village within six months. However, no documents were found at S Rayavaram tahsildar office. Meanwhile, the NAOB started laying roads and other construction activities in the village.