Harish takes wind out of opposition sails

​Hyderabad: Accusing Telugu Desam Party and Congress of adopting double standards on irrigation projects, Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao on Sunday urged opposition parties not to mislead farmers on land acquisition.

Addressing a press conference here at TRSLP office, Harish Rao said the government was trying to ensure that the submergence of the villages is minimised by redesigning projects, but political parties like the Congress and TDP were misleading the villagers without trying to know the compensation package the government had offered to the farmers to be displaced by the projects.

"The State government is providing compensation of Rs 5.80 lakh an acre, but the opposition parties are demanding compensation as per Land acquisition Act-2013 and if such Act is considered, farmers will get a compensation of Rs 1.80 lakh to Rs 2 lakh only per an acre.

• The Minister for Irrigation says the government is offering `5.80 lakh compensation per acre under Mallannasagar project
• ‘The farmers will get between `1.80 lakh and `2 lakh only per an acre if the Land Acquisition Act-2013 is implemented’
• ‘The Opposition is stalling the development of Telangana State’

If the opposition wants us to implement the 2013 Act, we will do it and if farmers do not take the money, we will deposit the money into their bank accounts and execute projects. But opposition parties will be held responsible if farmers do not get justice," said Harish Rao.

He alleged that the opposition parties were stalling development in the state by spreading falsehood on irrigation projects. He said Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao was redesigning the project to ensure that submergence of villages are minimised and alleged that the Congress and TDP were making each and every issue controversial.

He said the four districts of northern Telangana State would prosper when the Mallannasagar project was constructed. “Why did Telangana Congress leaders maintain silence when 17 villages were submerged in the backwaters of the Pulichintala project? This project does not even benefit Telangana farmers.

Even now, some of the farmers are going round the courts to receive compensation. The Congress party must apologise to all the affected farmers,” he said. The Minister said that when Palamuru Lift Irrigation project was formulated, it threaten to submerge 32 villages, after KCR re-designed the project, the number of villages that would be submerged came down just six.

He said that Yellampally with a capacity of 20 tmcft was submerging 21 villages and affecting 14,000 families. Similarly, the Mid Manair project with a capacity of 25 tmcft was submerging 11 villages and affecting 25,000 families. Mallannasagar with a capacity of 50 tmcft was submerging only seven villages and affecting 5,000 families.

"We are proceeding cautiously in terms of avoiding submergence of villages, whereas the opposition is making every issue controversial,” he rued. He lashed out at the Telangana TDP leaders for staging a sit-in at Mallannasagar and questioned as to why they were silent on Polavaram project and on the issue of transferring seven Telangana mandals to Andhra Pradesh.