HYDERABAD: The Major Irrigation Minister, Ponnala Lakshmaiah, has admitted that there are problems with regard to land acquisition for the Polavaram left main canal.

Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, Mr. Lakshmaiah traced the problems to two issues. One, the land prices in the area were high and there were some 4,000 farmers who would lose their holdings when the excavation of the canal is taken up. Under the circumstances, `very little' land was acquired for the canal.

The Minister held an exhaustive review of land acquisition and work in progress under various projects with senior irrigation officials through a videoconference. Minute details of the problems on field were discussed and suggestions made.

GO to be modified

A notable outcome of the conference was the decision to modify a Government Order issued in 1992 prescribing the listed trees and compensation to be paid for them in case of felling for project work.

It was decided to add some trees to the list like `kanuga' which did not figure earlier. The officials were told to assess the value of the trees currently while making payments, pending the revision of GO.

The conference noted that there were disparities in budget allocation for acquiring land. There was surplus budget for some projects and deficit for some others. The district officials were therefore directed to send proposals making a realistic assessment of the funds required by June 15 so that the Finance Department reallocated the budget and released accordingly.

Notices to firms

Mr. Laxmaiah said the contracting firms and the investigating and surveying agencies which have not submitted designs and hydrology particulars of the projects so far were given time till the month end. They would be served notices after that.

The Minister asked the Joint Collectors and Special Collectors to speed up land acquisition by visiting disputed villages and holding meetings with the project evacuees.

A State-level committee will review consent awards passed by district officials twice a month.

The committee will meet in district headquarters, if needed, to approve the awards.

He said the relief and rehabilitation (R & R) notification in respect of all the irrigation projects would be issued in the next six weeks.

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