VR Puram (ASR District): CPI (M) national leadership has announced that they will fight at a national-level to address the problems of those displaced and evacuees by the Polavaram project. CPI (M) General Secretary MA Baby, Rajya Sabha floor leader John Brittas, and other party state leaders, including K Lokanadham, Thulasidas, and Balaram, visited the project’s submergence areas in Chintoor, VR Puram, and Yetapaka mandals of Alluri Sitarama Raju district on Sunday. The affected residents presented petitions to the CPI (M) national leaders, detailing their struggles. The leaders assured them that their hardships would be brought to the country’s attention at the national level. A public meeting was held at Ramavaram in the VR Puram mandal, chaired by local party leader Puli Bujji.

Speaking at the meeting, Baby questioned why the state government, which is planning to build a capital at a cost of thousands of crores, is failing to resolve the issues of the Polavaram evacuees. He criticised the BJP, TDP, and YSRCP governments for their “miserable failure” in fulfilling promises made to the displaced. Baby highlighted that according to the 2013 Land Acquisition Act, the displaced people should be provided with a dignified life and colonies with improved infrastructure. However, he stated that the ground reality is completely different. He expressed his dismay that residents are forced to live under tarpaulins as the roofs of their new homes leak just four years after construction.

He also said that while the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Polavaram national project was valued at Rs 55,000 crore, the central government has only released Rs 2,200 crore. Of this, only Rs 7,000 crore were spent on rehabilitation, and Baby alleged that there were commissions and corruption involved. He demanded an investigation and legal action against those responsible.

He also called for skill training and employment opportunities for the displaced and compensation of Rs 20 lakh per acre for their land. He urged party members to fight for these demands.

John Brittas, CPM’s Rajya Sabha floor leader, said hewas “stunned” by the conditions in the Polavaram rehabilitation colonies, which lacked even basic facilities.

He questioned why MPs from Andhra Pradesh representing the TDP and YSRCP are not raising these issues in Parliament. He advised the AP MPs to visit the rehabilitation colonies built in Kerala, where displaced people were provided with education, health, transport, and employment opportunities.

He condemned the attempt to complete the Polavaram project without providing a proper rehabilitation package, describing it as a conspiracy to force the displaced residents to leave by submerging their areas. Brittas affirmed that the CPI (M) would raise the voice of the Polavaram displaced in Parliament. Central Committee member K Lokanadham stated that Polavaram is not just a project, but also the government’s responsibility to rehabilitate those who sacrificed their land.

He alleged irregularities in the contour calculations made by officials in Ramavaram, noting that of the 279 houses in the village, only the 166 on one side of the road were notified for displacement. He questioned whether the houses on the other side of the road would not also be submerged.

Boppena Kiran, CPI (M) district secretary of Rampachodavaram, expressed hisgratitude that the CPI (M) has recognised the struggles of the Polavaram displaced as a national issue.

Party leaders B Thulasidas, B Balaram, Lotha Ramarao, Matla Vaneesree, Pallapu Venkat, Sunnam Rajulu, Puli Santosh, Seasam Suresh, and MPP Karam Lakshmi also attended the meeting.

CPM National General Secretary MA Baby and CPM Rajya Sabha floor leader John Brittas along with other party leaders interacting with displaced residents at Ramavaram village in VR Puram mandal on Sunday