Farmers near Gantavanipalle, in Yerragondapalem constituency, watched Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu hand over a Rs 300 crore cheque to families displaced by the Veligonda reservoir project. It was Saturday, and Naidu had come to inspect progress on the feeder canal works.
The cheque is part of the Rehabilitation and Resettlement package. According to Naidu, it reaches 2,351 displaced people. Several farmers became emotional as they thanked him for his commitment to the project, which one called their “three-decade-old dream.” They also asked him to set up food processing units in Markapur to improve their livelihoods.
The money
Naidu laid out the accounts. The project is estimated at Rs 10,580 crore. Rs 6,736 crore has been spent, and another Rs 3,844 crore must be found. On resettlement, Rs 1,906 crore has been spent against a total requirement of Rs 1,932 crore. Since the NDA government took office in 2024, he said, it has spent Rs 759 crore on the project, and Rs 905 crore was released recently for the resettlement package. A separate release quoted him saying the state was spending about Rs 900 crore on resettlement and Rs 3,000 crore on construction, while the Government of India had given Rs 980 crore.
“There is a painful story behind 7,222 who got displaced due to the project and lost lands in the native villages,” Naidu said. He claimed the previous YSRCP government had rehabilitated only 96 people and had filed false cases against those who asked for compensation. According to the release, he also said the Telugu Desam Party government had finished most of the project works between 2014 and 2019, and that its successor announced the project’s dedication in a hurry without doing the work needed to complete it or the resettlement programme.
What he said it would do
“Giving land for the irrigation project is a great sacrifice,” Naidu told the oustees. “Many of you gave up land inherited from your ancestors for this project. The Veligonda Project will change the destiny of four districts in the region.” He pointed to high fluoride in local water and to Markapur’s reputation as a drought-prone area.
The idea dates to the tenure of former chief minister N.T. Rama Rao, he said. When he visited Prakasam district in 1995, people were already asking for it. “Later, we laid the foundation for it.”
Sources
- Veligonda Irrigation Project: CM Naidu disburses ₹300 crore under R&R package
- Veligonda Project near Andhra's Gantavanipalle oustees get Rs 300 crore under R&R package
