VISAKHAPATNAM: The Human Rights Forum (HRF) has urged the government to cancel the 2007 land allotment of over 1,166 acres to Jindal South West Aluminium Ltd (JSWAL) in S Kota mandal of Vizianagaram district. The land, meant for an alumina refinery and smelter project, remains unused nearly two decades later.
In a fact-finding visit from July 5-7, a three-member HRF team met farmers in Mushidipalle, Kiltampalem, Moola Boddavara, Chinakandepalli, and Cheedipalem. The farmers, many of whom are Dalits and Adivasis, have been protesting at Boddavara, demanding that the government reclaim the land and return it to the landless and marginal cultivators.
The HRF noted that the original Bauxite Supply Agreement with JSWAL was cancelled in 2016, yet the government did not revoke the land allotment.
In 2023, a new GO allowed a change of land use from refinery to MSME park, a move HRF criticised as favouring private interests. They raised concerns over allocation of water from the Thatipudi reservoir, a key source for irrigation and drinking water, to the proposed park.
HRF condemned the assault on Dalit farmer Muthyala Sanyasi Rao for opposing a company, demanding a probe. It called for G.O. 14’s cancellation, land reclamation, redistribution to affected farmers, a time-bound inquiry into the allotment process, and accountability for those responsible.