Rehabilitation, a distant dream for NTPC land oustees

By K.M. Dayashankar

GODAVARIKHANI, MAY 23. The Ramagundam National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), which illuminated the entire south by providing power from its 2100 MW plant, has left only `darkness' in the lives of land oustees who have lost their agricultural lands and houses for the construction of the project.

Several families, mostly SC/STs were forced into abject poverty due to the non-availability of employment and agricultural lands for doing agriculture. A majority of the people who lost their lands have migrated to other places. Though the NTPC authorities have promised to provide employment to the land oustees, but this has just remained a promise. The condition of villagers who were `rehabilitated' at Narrashalapalli is even worse.

When the Central Government has given clearance for the setting up of the NTPC project at Ramagundam, the authorities had acquired about 5,300 acres of agricultural land from 17 villages in the region. The villagers of Buchaiahpalli, Narrashalapalli, Durgaiahpalli, Khajipalli, Rajipur, Moghalpahad, Poratpalli, Medipalli, Kannala, Ranapur, Malkapur, Malyalpalli, Elkalapalli and Ramagundam have lost their agricultural lands and wells. While some villages were totally shifted for the project, including Narrashalapalli, the entire village was vacated for the construction of CISF township, and Rajipur and Moghalpahad villages were vacated for the construction of ash pond.

The tribals of Kannala village, who lost about 200 acres of agricultural lands for the construction of a canal for shifting water for the NTPC reservoir from SRSP canal, alleged that the authorities had snatched away their lands luring them to rehabilitate them by providing employment opportunities to all the land oustees in the NTPC. It is over 20 years ago that the project was completed but the relief and rehabilitation has remained a distant dream for them, they say.

This tribal hamlet with a population of 500 has no road, school and hospital. Besides, the canal which passes through the village has become a death trap, as it claimed the lives of nine persons, 36 cattle, 50 goats and 76 sheeps. During the rainy season the village is cut off from the rest of the world due to overflowing waters at the siphon causing serious inconvenience.

Seetharamulu, the tribal elder of Kannala hamlet, says that he had lost five acres of agricultural lands for the construction of canal and the authorities had provided him only Rs 90 per gunta (i.e. Rs 3,600 per acre). He said that not a single tribal was provided employment in the NTPC stating that they had no required qualifications.

The condition of farmers of Poratpalli, Ramakrishnapuram, Dabbadepalli, Chitakaripalli, Salepalli and other villages whose lands were submerged in the NTPC reservoir were left in the lurch as they had lost their agricultural fields and houses. The NTPC SC/ST land oustees association general secretary, Mr Vaddepalli Ramchander, said that the NTPC authorities before acquiring lands had promised to provide jobs to each household and an agreement was also reached for providing employment to 225 land oustees in the year 1988. But till 1990, the authorities had recruited only 141 persons including only nine SCs and no ST candidates.

He alleged that the NTPC had acquired lands from the locals and provided employment to non-locals. He charged that even the management had failed to provide self-employment opportunities to the land oustees. He said that whenever the elected representatives raised the issue they had sent call letters for the SC/ST land oustees for recruitment as mazdoors but no recruitment was done due to the negligent attitude of the management.

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Section  : Southern States
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