Land acquisition and rehabilitation & resettlement (R&R) works of Polavaram irrigation project (PIP) are being carried out by the Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP). According to the GoAP, in PIP, a total of 1,06,006 project displaced families (PDFs) have been identified for rehabilitation in the State of Andhra Pradesh.
Upto December, 2013, R&R package being provided for the displaced families of PIP was in accordance with the R&R 2005 policy of Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP) which entitled each PDF of PIP to receive Rs 2.83 lakh, along with the house site. The said policy also provisioned for land–to–land to scheduled caste/ scheduled tribes (SC/ST) PDFs.
However, January, 2014 onwards, R&R package is being provided as per Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013 (Act). According to the Act, R&R package for SC/ST PDFs of PIP comes to Rs. 6.86 lakh, while for the other PDFs of PIP, the package is Rs. 6.36 lakh. In addition, house site is also to be given to all PDFs of PIP.
The Act also provides that those persons losing land and belonging to SC/ST will be provided land equivalent to land acquired, or two and a one-half acres, whichever is lower. In addition, GoAP has sanctioned an additional R&R package so that each displaced family of PIP receives total R&R package of Rs. 10 lakh, including the above-mentioned entitlements under this Act.
This information was given by the Minister of State, Shri Bishweswar Tudu in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.