By SNV Sudhir
Visakhapatnam, Dec 2, 2012:
At the time when Congress leaders are going gaga all over town on
introduction of ‘historic’ SC and STs sub plan Bill-2012 in the state Assembly,
alienation of government land with irrigation facilities created with funds
released under Tribal Sub-Plan in favour of a private company for a thermal
power plant on the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) near Komarada in Vizianagaram
district has come to the fore. Voices demanding cancellation of the alienation
to the power plant have gained momentum. The alienation is also being very
strongly opposed by bête noire of chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, union
tribal welfare minister V Kishore Chandra Deo. Demand is also gaining steam for
the cancellation of the plant proposal.
While the proposed power plant comes under his bastion
Kurapam, Mr Deo wrote letter to Mr Reddy in May this year taking strong
objections to the proposed power plant and urging him to cancel it.
Alpha Infraprop Pvt Ltd (AIPL) has proposed to set up 2,640
mw thermal power plant at Kotipam village in Komarada mandal. While government
acquired certain portions of the land and allotted it to set up the plant, the
AIPL bought some more tracts in and around four panchayats in Komarada. Nearly
1,675 acres are needed to establish the power plant.
The state irrigation department has constructed a dam across
Vanakibadigedda to create an irrigation potential for SCs/STs at a cost of
Rs.6.86 crores drawn from Tribal Sub-Plan budget. From the same Budget
allocation under Tribal Sub-Plan, the department spent an additional amount for
rehabilitating the tribal families displaced by submergence upstream of the
dam.
The beneficiaries of this minor irrigation project are all
STs/SCs. When AIPL approached the government for allocating this very same land
of 290.77 acres, for which Vanakibadigedda dam was to provide irrigation water,
the government issued an order allotting the land to the company, which was
later purchased by the promoters of the power plant in the end of 2009.
The move was also opposed by the then executive engineer of
the irrigation department, Mr DS Pradeep and wrote a detailed letter to the
environmental and pollution engineer, Andhra Pradesh environmental and
irrigation pollution control board of the state irrigation department stating
that the company have not taken any permission from the irrigation department
while purchasing the lands in the contemplated ayacut of reservoir in the above
said villages. In the letter he also mentioned that in the interest of tribal
and small farmers and for their better prosperous by providing irrigation
facilities, it may not be desirable to establish the proposed coal thermal
power project in Komarada Mandal.
“At least to demonstrate the genuineness of the government's
intention of passing a law on SC/ST Sub-Plans, the thermal power project of M/S
Alfa Infraprop should be cancelled and restore the land to SCs/STs with immediate
effect. If the state shows hesitation in this, I am afraid that it will lead to
an adverse inference on its intentions,” said former senior bureaucrat, Mr EAS
Sarma.
Mr Deo in his letter to the Chief Minister in May stated
that the proposed plant will lead to destruction of large tracts of cultivable
and horticultural lands, besides causing damage to natural barriers. He also questioned why such licenses were
issued in such a hush-hush and secret manner.
Mr Deo also criticised minister for forests Satrucharla
Vijaya Rama Raju for going public, saying that the plant would come up as
licenses were already issued.
Earlier explaining the SC ST Sub Plan Bill objectives, the CM said that for the
first time in the country, legislative backing is being guaranteed to spend
funds exclusively for the benefit of SCs and STs in proportion to their
population.
“Besides, diversion of SC/ST funds/lands for this project
there are many objections being raised by the locals on environment, livelihood
and ecology. We don’t want any
destruction and therefore this Plant proposal should be withdrawn,” said
Kotipam Thermal Power Plant Vyathireka Porata Samiti convenor Mr V Srinu Naidu,
while talking to this correspondent.
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