The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : BJP seeks review of ORR package

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 13, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

BJP seeks review of ORR package

Special Correspondent

Says the compensation package is biased in favour of real estate developers

Innocent farmers being given a raw deal
Alternative sites urged for land-losers

HYDERABAD: The State unit of Bharatiya Janata Party has alleged discrimination in fixing special compensation package for land losers affected by the Outer Ring Road project and demanded review of the whole exercise.

The special compensation package, ‘arbitrarily’ fixed by the three-member committee following an agitation by farmers and displaced persons spearheaded by the BJP, was heavily biased in favour of real estate developers, giving a raw deal to the farmers and the poor, said BJP State president Bandaru Dattatreya, general secretary S. Malla Reddy and others.

In a representation to the Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the BJP leaders said the package declared had several inequalities showing undue generosity in awarding compensation in some villages where lands belonged to big real estate players and political leaders while giving poor price to the agricultural lands belonging to farmers.

For instance, if the agricultural lands were given a compensation ranging from Rs.8 lakh to Rs.25 lakh per acre, much higher compensation was awarded to the plots than that of agricultural lands, they criticised.

If a compensation of Rs.2,775 per sq.yard was paid at Kandlakoya on Medchel, NH-7, the agricultural land in the same village on the other hand was given only Rs.11.36 lakhs per acre.

At least an amount of Rs.84 lakhs should be given for an acre of agricultural land applying the same yardstick for the farmers, they stated.

Similarly, if a compensation of Rs.2,100 per sq.yard was given for plots in villages on Shamshabad NH, the farm lands were given Rs.12.7 lakh per acre, approximately equal to a 600 sq.yard plot. Innocent and ignorant farmers were given a raw deal while the influential real estate developers managed to get good compensation, they charged.

Market price sought

The BJP wanted irregularities and inequalities in the compensation package corrected and market price of lands at the time of disbursement be taken into account for fixing compensation. It also said alternative sites should be given to those who had lost house sites and houses, lands earmarked for schools, old age homes and religious constructions and no income tax should be deducted from the compensation amount. The compensation package also should be brought under the purview of CBI inquiry, the BJP said.

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