Kakinada: Poor families displaced by the Polavaram project in some villages in the agency areas are in dire straits as the rehabilitation program has not been implemented for them so far. The villages are mainly Devipatnam, Thoyyeru and Pudipalli among others.

With authorities failing to act and political leaders ignoring the plight of the homeless, displaced residents are returning to their villages from Sunday amid uncertainty over their future.

When Godavari was in flood, the people of these villages quickly left their villages in the hope that they would be given alternative accommodation and facilities. They rented a space for temporary stay in Gokavaram and near the mandal.

Some of these residents wanted to return to their villages after the floodwaters receded, but the police got in the way. At the same time, officials have continued to play the flute and made no progress in the past eight months vis-à-vis setting up rehabilitation colonies for them.

Families have been agitating and observing a rapid relay in Gokavaram for a month, seeking to quickly complete the RR settlements and implement the RR packages. But the officials don’t care.

A week ago, Devipatnam sarpanch Kunjam Rajamani gave an ultimatum to the government that they would return to their villages unless the officials kept their word on the R&R package and built the R&R settlements.

From Sunday, tribals and non-tribals began to return to their villages. “People in these villages are unable to pay house rents and they get loans at huge interest rates. They cannot repay their debts and cannot even buy vegetables. They buy drinking water at Rs 10 a box,” she said.

She said some of the victims received compensation of Rs 6 lakh but as the R&R settlements were not completed, the sanctioned money was rescinded. Nor are they entrusted with the work of the NREGS.

Gangadhar, a member of the Polavaram Project’s Devipatnam Mandal Rehabilitation Committee, said authorities left the victims stranded. The government gave pattas to 644 victims of the project at Devipatnam mandal. More than 300 families are expected to receive pattas, he said.

“Victims borrow money at interest rates of Rs 6 to Rs 7 per cent for subsistence. If they tried to migrate to other places of work, officials would suddenly arrive and take notice. These migrant workers are threatened with not registering their names for compensation. This is pure injustice. Many families are unable to arrange weddings for their daughters due to the current financial struggle they are caught in. »

Tribal and non-tribal people live in worse conditions due to project-related displacement and apathy from government officials,” he said.
The political leadership does not help them either. Officials gave pattas to some tribals in lowland areas. If they want to mortgage land, nobody wants to give them money. Officials agreed that was their mistake, but have not corrected it so far.

Adivasi Maha Sabha’s legal adviser, Inapurapu Suryanarayana, said the victims of the Polavaram project remained grossly neglected. “The attitude of the civil servants is highly reprehensible and against the law. The government should solve their problems without further delay,” he pleaded.

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