Karnataka - Bidar   

Displaced farmers seek rehabilitation

Staff Correspondent

Panel threatens to lay siege to DC's office The Government acquired land and houses to construct the Karanja dam 36 years ago. However, till today, those displaced have not been compensated

BIDAR: A committee formed by farmers displaced by the Karanja Irrigation Project has threatened to lay siege on the Deputy Commissioner's office if their demands are not fulfilled immediately. In a letter to the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, the committee president, Suryakant Patil Dakulagi, said the course of agitation will be decided at a meeting at Akka Mahadevi College in Bidar on Sunday.

Mr. Dakulagi said the State Government acquired land and houses to construct the Karanja dam 36 years ago.

However, till today those displaced have not been fully compensated.

The Government has spent nearly half the cost of construction of the Upper Krishna Project on rehabilitation and resettlement. However, in the case of the Karanja project, only 9 per cent of the project cost has been spent on rehabilitation.

"Mr. Dharam Singh had promised to release Rs. 100 crores for the welfare of Karanja evacuees as part of his Bidar package six months ago.

However, we are yet to receive it. We have said that a flawed survey of the full reservoir level has led to the submergence of some villages. The Government promised to conduct a fresh survey 15 years back. The survey is yet to be carried out," he said.

Mr. Dakulagi said the State Government has not appointed a permanent land acquisition officer for the Karanja project for the last 15 months. This has led to a situation where 284 families of Ranjolkheni village have not received compensation for the loss of 93 acres of their land.

The former Minister for Water Resources Allum Veerabhadrappa had promised to distribute Antyodaya Anna cards to the families of the displaced farmers, but that too has not been done.

The district in-charge Minister, Gurupadappa Nagamarapalli, had promised to reserve 50 per cent of group C and D government jobs in the district for the sons of displaced farmers. However, none of our children have been employed till now. "If these problems continue, we will have no alternative but to revolt," he added.

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Displaced farmers seek rehabilitation

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