Singireddy demands Rs 25L per acre for Buddaram land oustees

Wanaparthy:Former Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy has demanded that the government pay compensation of Rs 25 lakh per acre to farmers who are losing their land due to the Buddaram Pedda Cheruvu project in Gopalpet mandal of Vanaparthi district.

He visited the protest camp set up by displaced landowners in Buddaram village on Saturday and expressed solidarity with their agitation.

He urged the Congress government to honour the promises made to the affected families during the elections.

Reddy said around 210 acres of land would be submerged under the tank, including 110 acres affected by earlier submergence and another 101 acres proposed to be submerged as part of the new reservoir.

He recalled that Congress leaders had promised compensation of Rs 12 lakh per acre under the law about three-and-a-half years ago.

They had also assured Dalit families that they would receive Dalit Bandhu benefits, BC families that they would receive BC Bandhu benefits, and other affected families that they would be provided with double-bedroom houses, he said.

Criticising the change in the compensation promise, Niranjan Reddy said a Congress leader had announced before the elections that Rs 25 lakh per acre would be paid to the affected landowners. He also recalled that the leader had challenged that he would dig a 20-foot pit and bury himself if the promise was not fulfilled. However, the proposed compensation had now been reduced to Rs. 12 lakh per acre, he alleged.

“Is there one compensation policy for the people of Kodangal and another for the people of Wanaparthy?” he asked, demanding equal treatment for the affected families.

Niranjan Reddy said government land was available on the outskirts of Polikapadu village and demanded that the displaced families be allotted three acres of land for every acre they lost, as the affected land was unsuitable for cultivation.

If the government could not provide alternative land, it should pay the promised compensation of Rs. 25 lakh per acre, he said.

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The Hans India