SIDDIPET: Vemulaghat villagers on Wednesday boycotted the grama sabha organised by government officials for acquisition of lands for building the proposed Mallanna Sagar reservoir.The villagers, who face the prospect of getting displaced by the project, arrived at the venue where the grama sabha was being held but did not participate in it. They staged protests with black band on their mouths and holding placards. They made it clear that they would not attend the grama sabha until their issues were solved.
Officials issued a notification for acquisition of the remaining 1,600 acres of land for the reservoir and organised the grama sabha under Section 11(1). Siddipet RDO A Muthyam Reddy and other officials appealed to the protesters to attend the grama sabha and express their objections. They said they would accept their objection even in writing but the villagers rejected the suggestion, saying they could not air their objections on the spot.Even though the villagers did not attend the grama sabha, officials waited for two hours before leaving the village.
Heavy security in place
Police beefed up security to prevent any untoward incident in the village. Later, the protesters said that at the previous grama sabha they had asked for certain information and officials had not provided it so far.
Moreover, officials had not provided the facilities as mandated under Sections 16, 17 and 18 of the Land Act 2013. Besides that,as many as 1,000 farmers from the village had expressed their objections in writing and there was no response.“In this backdrop, what is the purpose of attending the grama sabha now?” they asked.
‘No response from officials’
Hayatuddin and Srinivas, farmers from Vemulaghat, said that officials had not responded to their grievances objections, and the grama sabha did not have any legality. Therefore, the notices issued by the officials did not have any sanctity, they claimed.The RDO said they were taking necessary action as per rules and, as part of it, conducted the grama sabha on Wednesday.
A few people attended the meeting and lodged their complaints. A notification and a declaration had been given in the Vemulaghat village for acquisition of the remaining land.Some people submitted applications relating to some demands, he said. He further added that another grama sabha would be held in a couple of days for eliciting public opinion as per the notices issued.
Guratipally villagers protest,seek compensation
Siddipet: Taking a cue from Vemulaghat villagers, who have been protesting against the land acquisition of the proposed Mallanna Sagar Reservoir, villagers belonging to Guratipally village in Akkannapet mandal protested against the construction of Gauravelli Reservoir. On Wednesday, officials conducted grama sabha in Guratipally village and farmers posed several questions to the officials. Farmers alleged that officials had issued three notifications relating to their village between April 6 and May 27. They added that officials had to conduct grama sabha within 60 days of issuing the notification but the officials organised it after six months. They said that they have made it clear to the officials that they want compensation as per Land Act, 2013. Later, the villagers were angered as officials left the village abruptly. They held a dharna and said that the officials should not leave the village when farmers were explaining their problems peacefully. In the meantime, ACP Mahender Reddy visited the village and pacified the protesting farmers.