VIJAYAWADA: Around 350 houses will get demolished for the laying of seven four-lane roads criss-crossing the capital city. The tenders for the roads are set to be finalised in a week and awarded to one of the seven companies that have participated in the bid.
Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority officials are already on the job to cajole the villagers of Thullur, Inavolu, Nidamanuru, Yerrabalem and Penumaka, where those house are expected to get demolished. Already a meeting was held in Thullur in that regard.
“There has been no clarity on what compensation will be given to house owners. Though they are saying that equal extent of the house site will be offered and compensation will be on par with the best, they are neither stating where the displaced will get relocated nor the quantum of the amount that would be paid,” Ch Babu Rao of CPM said.
According to him most of the villagers are yet to make up their mind, as they are still not able to understand what losing the house would cost to them. Many have been questioning the necessity of giving up the houses, when CRDA is in possession of so much land it got through land pooling scheme.
When asked about the demolition of the houses, Municipal Administration Minister P Narayana said those seven 4-lane roads are important roads having a total 64.5 km length. It is inevitable for some houses to get demolished.
“In fact we have brought down the number of houses that get demolished from the earlier estimates of 5,500. When the plans for road infrastructure were first prepared, 5,500 houses stood to get demolished. We revised the plans, but the number only reduced to 3,500. Yet again we re-revised and today it is just 350 houses,” he explained.
Meanwhile, in another 15 days land allotment to farmers who gave up their plots under the land pooling scheme will be completed. There, however, currently are four villages where the allotment of land is pending.
According to Narayan out of those four villages, land allotment would be completed in two in about one week’s time. Further, he said free registrations of the lands allotted would commence from Thullur in a couple of days and subsequently will be done for other places.
He said another 1,300 to 1,400 acres of land would be acquired and that land is in form of small bits in the land already acquired under Land Pooling Scheme and some of them are in the locations earmarked for roads and other infrastructure works.
“We have been appealing the owners of the lands to give their plots for the land pooling scheme.Some of them have responded and 300 acres were handed over to the CRDA under the scheme in the last three months. The doors are still open for handing over land under the and availing of the benefits under the scheme. However, it is their choice,” he said.
Speaking about road infrastructure for which tenders are to be finalised in a week, Narayana said it would cost `30,000 crore including the construction of key government buildings in the capital.
“When we are putting so much effort to realise the dream of people’s capital, leader of opposition YS Jaganmohan Reddy is still hatching plots to derail the development process and hinder the construction of the capital city. People will surely teach him a lesson,” he said, while referring to Jagan’s proposed visit of to farmers who have not given the lands.