SIDDIPET: Erravelli villagers passed a resolution asking the government to keep its promise of constructing houses first and evacuate them only after handing over the keys of their new homes. Till then, they asserted, they will not allow construction of the Mallannasagar reservoir. The villagers didn’t allow the contractor to carry out works in the village on Tuesday and all the villagers gathered at the panchayat office on Wednesday and passed the resolution. They said the government promised at the time of giving compensation as per GO No. 123 to construct houses and hand over the keys to them.
The government assured then that the villagers needed to leave the village only after taking possession of a new house. The assurance was given by irrigation minister T Harish Rao. But now the government is going back on its promises, the villagers said. The villagers have sent a copy of the resolution to the district collector, asking him to give clarity on GO No.123 in the court. They said that they would not allow the works to be taken up till rehabilitation, resettlement and full compensation were provided. The memorandum was signed by sarpanch Narsimha Reddy,vice-sarpanch Shivakumar, MPTC Suresh and other villagers.
Villagers of Vemulaghat also submitted a memorandum to the district revenue officer on Wednesday requesting him not to undertake the Mallannasagar reservoir work until full compensation was paid and rehabilitation and resettlement were provided. They tried to meet the Collector but he was not available.
Two farmers, Md Hayat Uddin and Y Srinivas Reddy, said they had moved the court on the Mallannasagar tender issue and works should not be carried out until the court gave its verdict. If works were taken up, it would be contempt of court, they warned.
They said that for the last one year they had been asking for documents relating to construction of the project. They questioned the need for constructing a reservoir with a storage capacity of 50 tmcft of water and sought technical details. But the documents have not been provided by the officials till now. They made it clear that if officials visited their village to initiate works, they would obstruct them from doing so.