Express highway to tear apart villages

Amaravati: The fear of displacement haunts Kotturu, a tiny habitation located adjacent to the mandal headquarters town of Thulluru in the capital city area in Amaravati region as the eight-lane express-highway proposed from Nelapadu to Undavalli is expected to tear it apart.

The State government has proposed to lay the highway in the name of `seed axis road’ connecting the capital.

The Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) reportedly proposed to form a ring road connecting the highway at Kotthur for which demolition of buildings on a massive scale is warranted.

The CRDA’s attempts to serve notices on the owners of houses notified for demolition triggered protest a few days ago following a strong resistance from the project victims.

According to information, the ring road project is likely to gobble up at least 200 houses in the village.

The residents of Kothur generously gave up a vast extent of their farm lands for the capital under the land pooling scheme.

With the money accrued by way of selling the returnable plots, some inhabitants either pulled down their existing houses and built new buildings or renovated the old one by investing huge amounts.

Issue of notices by the CRDA turned out to be a double whammy for these hapless residents.

The CRDA authorities conducted meetings thrice on issues of the highway project at the village, the project victims failed to get clarity on the loss of properties.

The officials allegedly failed to ensure transparency in executing the road project, fueling fears in the villagers over displacement on a massive scale. Initially, it was proposed to build six lane highway which was later converted into six-lane road for which more extent of lands and number of houses have to make way.

The road project is already in progress in the Undavalli-Venkatapalem stretch.

Meanwhile, the CRDA authorities in the notices mentioned that the properties would be acquired for the road project in line with the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 widely known as the Land Acquisition Act, 13.

“After all, we have given away our lands for the capital. If our houses are pulled down for the road, where should we go”, asks Shaik Mohammed Khasim.

Living in the ancestral village means something which is relating to emotional and social integration with the people around. It cannot be compensated with the solatium paid by the government, he added.

A Umamaheswara Rao, who owns a house at water tank center does not know where he would build a house if the existing one goes for the road as he has no land.

“Can anyone purchase a piece of land in the capital region given the soaring land cost”, he asked.

Patan Babu made it clear that he would not allow the CRDA officials to pull down his house without providing a house site at a suitable place and adequate compensation for construction of a new house.

For Aluru Seshamma, the exhilaration over building a new house by spending huge amounts does not last long due to the eight-lane highway.

“I built a new house with hard-earned money after several years of toil. Now our dream comes crashing “, she lamented.

VSN Kumar, CRDA’s Assistant Director of the Survey Department told The Hans India that the revenue department has conducted the survey recently. In the same breath, he said a clear picture over the loss of houses is expected to emerge soon.

The CRDA Commissioner Ch Sridhar however assured that the highway project would be initiated only after ensuring alternative house sites and compensation for building new houses and that there is no need for concern or fear from any quarter.