VIJAYAWADA: The ongoing controversy over the frequent change in the acreage required for Machilipatnam port is leading to new suspicions of the state government’s motives. TD’s questions are to do with why the tenders were not called for after Satyam’s exit from Bandar Port and why the same contract was awarded to Krishnapatnam port during the YSR regime while the opposition parties’ issues pertain to the then district collector’s report, in which it was stated that 2,300 acres of government land was available for port construction, with another 2,900 acres that could be acquired as per the Land Acquisition Act at the rate of Rs 635 crore.
The state government is insisting on 14,000 acres of land in the form of land pooling, apart from the 21,000 acres already in its possession. In 2005, when the Congress government invited an Expression of Interest (EoI), Maytas Infrastructure Company had taken up the work on the Build Operate Share Transfer (BOST) mode. However, following agitations by several organisations, Maytas changed the project site from Gogileru near Krittivennu village to Machilipatnam for which the government ag-reed to pay Rs 330 crore additionally to the developer.
Following the Satyam crisis, Maytas withdrew from port construction activities and the government made a revised concessional agreement with Navayuga Engineering Company in June 2010. However, Navayuga insisted on the 6,262 acres of land which the government had promised to Maytas. The director of ports, who examined the Detailed Project Report (DPR) submitted by Navayuga, felt that 761 acres would be sufficient for building the port.
Navayuga approached the Indian Ports Association (IPA) in New Delhi, which suggested that as per the DPR, Navayuga should be given 4,800 acres of land. This was seconded by the director of ports. After re-examining the whole issue, the Congress government, led by Kiran Kumnar Reddy issued a G.O. stating that 5,324 acres was allotted for port construction. The erstwhile Krishna district collector submitted a report to the government, stating that Rs 650 crore needed to be spent to acquire 2,300 acres from farmers, as per the 2013 Land Acquisition Act.
