Villagers from Gajwel constituency venting their grievances before Minister Komatireddy Venkata Reddy.
| Photo Credit: By Arrangement
Several people, primarily farmers from the Gajwel Assembly constituency have urged the District Collector to halt the ongoing process of land acquisition for the Regional Ring Road (RRR), alleging lapses in the project alignment.
The farmers, belonging to villages including Peerlapalli, Itikyala, Lingareddypally, Alirajpet, Narsannapet, Chebarti, Pathur, Makta Masanpalli, Samalapalli, Nentur, Bunglavenkatapur, Begampet, and Elkanti, met Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkata Reddy and sought his support for change in the alignment. The discrepancy between the proposed distance of the RRR from the Outer Ring Road (ORR) and its actual allocation was highlighted. Villagers asserted that RRR’s proximity to the Outer Ring Road should adhere to prescribed guidelines, and deviations from those standards must be rectified to ensure optimal urban planning and development.
The Minister said he would take the issue to the notice of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and assured them that the ruling Congress party would not blindly enforce any decision that is detrimental to the interests of farmers.
In a letter addressed to the Collector, the farmers outrightly rejected the proposal, citing significant sacrifices made during the construction of the Kondapochamma Sagar reservoir. They highlighted that thousands of acres were previously relinquished for various infrastructural developments associated with the reservoir. They said that they had already been affected by previous cases of land acquisition and that the recent proposal would ring a death knell for them, as they had received meagre compensation in the past.
Their plea underscores the unjust burden placed on farmers who have already forfeited their land for the reservoir, and are snow facing the prospect of further displacement due to the RRR project. They have urged authorities to reconsider the allocation of land for RRR to prevent further hardship.
