Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh’s minority affairs minister, NMD Farooq, revealed that approximately 14,000 acres of Waqf properties have been encroached upon by private individuals. The government is now exploring ways to reclaim these lands and has directed district collectors and SPs to evacuate land grabbers. Farooq emphasized that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has instructed them to take all necessary measures to protect Waqf properties.
Responding to the queries of various legislators in the assembly on Thursday, Farooq said that Waqf lands were surveyed in 2001 under the leadership of Chandrababu Naidu in the undivided Andhra Pradesh. He, however, said that failure of the successive govts to protect these lands helped land sharks usurp these properties. He hit out at previous YSRCP govt for not initiating measures to take up the resurvey of Waqf properties even after launching resurvey of private lands across the state.
He said that buildings and permanent structures have come up in several lands which has become extremely difficult for them to bulldoze. To address this issue, the govt plans to conduct a resurvey of Waqf properties, digitize land records, and explore regularization of encroachments by collecting land values to compensate for losses, he added.
Meanwhile, water resources minister Nimmala Ramanaidu alleged that the previous YSRCP govt left the modernization work of the Gotta barrage associated canals built on the Vamsadhara river to the wind. He told the assembly that the govt is aware of the importance of this prestigious project, which is intended to provide irrigation to 1,48,235 acres. “TDP govt readied the estimates with a cost of Rs 676 crore for the modernization of the Gotta Barrage canals in 2018. YSRCP govt did not initiate the works,” said Ramanaidu.
He said that the structures and shutters of the left canal built 48 years ago have completely damaged, and the farmers of the ayacut were not getting enough water. He explained that only 1800-1900 cusecs is flowing through the left canal, which has a flow capacity of 2,481 cusecs. In addition to this, there are 24 lifts on the left canal, which are receiving another 360 cusecs of water. That is why the ayacut lands are not fully irrigated, he said.
He said that they will prepare proposals for all the works such as dredging the Vamsadhara Stage-2 left canal, strengthening the embankments, modernizing the shutters and other structures and will take a call with the permission of the chief minister.
