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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Land troubles for port project by MN Samdani

Land troubles for port project by MN Samdani

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published Published on Oct 20, 2010   modified Modified on Oct 20, 2010

The prestigious Rs 2,500-crore Machilipatnam port project is unable to cruise what with the district administration failing to hand over 4,000 acres of land  to the developers, Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd (NECL), even six months after the state government gave its nod for the project.

The Congress government awarded the project to NECL this April after cancelling the previous agreement with Maytas-led consortium following its involvement in the multi-crore Satyam scandal. While the district administration has contended that 2,000 acres of government land near Gilakaladindi, which was handed over to the promoter, is sufficient to begin works, however, NECL management claims that it cannot take the big risk in case trouble breaks out during acquisition of remaining part of the land.

Sources said the revenue officials are finding it difficult to go ahead with land acquisition following the demand of the oustees for payment of a compensation of Rs 10 lakh per acre. "As per local market price, the land would not cost more than Rs 1.5 lakh per acre. Yet, we are ready to pay around Rs 3 lakh. Still, there are no takers," a senior revenue official told TOI.

With the government need to pay the entire compensation to the oustees to acquire the land, sources said the district administration has been asked to go slow keeping in view of the state's financial constraints. "We may require Rs 120 crore to pay out the compensation if Rs 3 lakh per acre is fixed. Any enhancement would only add to the burden," the official stated.

Another aspect worrying the officials and NECL is that Machilipatnam port project is not as lucrative as Krishnapatnam and Gangavaram ports. While the distance is hardly 3 km and 0.5 km respectively at the two ports to get the required depth for construction of the berths, the NECL engineers are travelling nearly 15 km to build the berths and jetties. "This is making a huge dent in our business plans," port trust limited CEO K Prabhakara Reddy told TOI.

He said NECL took up the project since its chairman C V Rao hails from Krishna district. He said the land, earmarked for acquisition, is neither a green field nor useful for other purposes. "The entire 4,000-acre land falls within the CRZ-3 purview. It cannot be allocated for any other industry other than a port," he added.

Sources said some powerful local public representatives along with a few realtors formed a land syndicate to make most of the situation. "They are provoking the local villagers to resort to agitations and demand exorbitant price for the land," a manager of NECL said. He asserted that farmers and fisherfolk would not be displaced because of the construction of the port. "The site is far away from the fishing zone and the land is barren. So both ryots and fishermen need not worry," he added.


The Times of India, 21 October, 2010, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Land-troubles-for-port-project/articleshow/6783239.cms


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