Expressing concern that the rehabilitation colonies built for the Polavaram displaced people have not provided them with basic infrastructure, CPM national secretary MA Baby demanded the AP government that immediate action should be taken. He warned that CPM will take up agitation if the state government does not take action in that direction.
MA.Baby visited the Tallur and Nagulapalli rehabilitation colonies on Saturday. Later, speaking to the media, he said that thousands of families are being submerged due to the Polavaram project and 85 percent of the displaced people are tribals. He made it clear that the government is responsible for providing dignified rehabilitation to all the Polavaram displaced people.
But, he deplored that there has been complete neglect for a long time. He was furious that minimum humanity was not followed in the rehabilitation of the Polavaram project displaced people. He criticized that the colonies were built in methods that could not even be called houses.
He deplored that due to poor quality of construction, water is leaking from the slabs during the rains, toilets have not been built properly, and people are suffering due to the lack of drinking water facilities. He expressed his regret that the people here have to walk 30 to 40 kilometers every day for employment.
He said that although a primary health center has been built, it has not been fully accessible to the people. Baby explained that even those eligible for the R&R package and rehabilitation houses have been turned away.
Lokanatham, a member of the CPM Central Committee who accompanied him, lamented that the governments in the state has failed miserably in implementing the 2013 Land Acquisition Act for the Polavaram displaced people. He said that the construction cost of the project is Rs. 55,000 crores, but Rs. 33,000 crores have to be spent on the rehabilitation of the people.
He expressed his anger that the previous governments had completely neglected their responsibility to provide complete rehabilitation with basic facilities to the people by putting pressure on the central government. He alleged that the newly-elected coalition government has ignored its promise to look into the problems of the displaced people.
He said that even the nodal officer is not available to listen to the problems of the people. In this context, he expressed his impatience that the displaced people of Polavaram are living like animals.