Govt. considering cash compensation instead of rehabilitation for UKP-III oustees: D.K. Shivakumar

The State government is considering providing monetary compensation instead of rehabilitation to families likely to be displaced under the third stage of the Upper Krishna Project (UKP-III), Deputy Chief Minister and Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar said in the Legislative Council on Thursday.

Replying to a proposal raised by BJP member Hanumantha Nirani on providing additional basic facilities and rehabilitation to families affected by the project, Mr. Shivakumar said the government was concerned about the plight of people displaced by the project.

He said that after the acquisition of land for the project, some landowners had approached the courts, which had directed compensation of about ₹13 crore-₹14 crore per acre in certain cases. As it was not feasible for the government to pay such a high amount, the State had recently decided to provide compensation of around ₹30 lakh-₹40 lakh per acre, he said.

“Instead of providing rehabilitation to each family, we are examining the possibility of giving monetary compensation. A decision will be taken after holding a meeting with public representatives and other stakeholders,” the Minister said.

He added that the government was working on an alternative policy in place of rehabilitation and resettlement for villages that would be submerged in the backwaters of the Almatti reservoir under the project.

24 rehabilitation centres

Mr. Shivakumar said that under the existing plan, 24 rehabilitation centres were proposed to be developed to provide basic facilities to people from 20 villages affected by submergence.

As per the new land acquisition rules, construction work was in progress at eight rehabilitation centres, he said. However, land acquisition for two centres — Kundargi and Bavalatti — had been declared invalid by a court, while acquisition of land for the remaining 13 centres was at various stages.

Earlier, BJP members P.H. Pujar and Hanumantha Nirani said that several rehabilitation centres established during the first two phases of the project lacked basic facilities such as proper roads, drinking water supply, drainage, streetlights and land for burial grounds.

They pointed out that delays in implementing the third phase had left residents in affected villages in uncertainty, preventing them from repairing their houses. Schools were not receiving adequate grants, and compensation had not yet been paid, they said, urging the government to address the issues at the earliest.

A.P. raises objections

Following the Andhra Pradesh government’s opposition to Karnataka’s proposal to raise the height of the Almatti dam to facilitate completion of the third phase of the Upper Krishna Project (UKP), Mr. Shivakumar said he would travel to New Delhi next Tuesday along with Minister H.K. Patil to hold discussions with the authorities concerned on the issue.

The Andhra Pradesh government has written to the Union government raising objections to the implementation of the UKP-III phase, stating that the storage level of the Almatti dam should not be increased and that no further land acquisition or project work should be taken up.