Reviewing progress of land acquisition and rehabilitation works at Navanagar, the minister asked officials to maintain updated records of both lands where awards have already been passed and cases that are still under process
Bagalkot: With thousands of acres set to go under submergence as part of Phase-III of the Upper Krishna Project (UKP), Excise Minister and Bagalkot district in-charge minister RB Timmapur directed officials to expedite survey work related to land acquisition and ensure that all records are kept ready for compensation distribution to affected farmers.
Reviewing progress of land acquisition and rehabilitation works at Navanagar, the minister asked officials to maintain updated records of both lands where awards have already been passed and cases that are still under process.
Stating that the rehabilitation exercise must be handled with a “humanitarian approach,” Timmapur told officials to be more responsive to grievances raised by displaced residents.
During the meeting, it was informed that around 3,300 acres in Mudhol taluk, 19,500 acres in Bilagi taluk, 2,400 acres in Jamkhandi taluk and 8,700 acres in Bagalkot taluk would be submerged under the project.
Special Land Acquisition Officers (SLOs) in Jamkhandi were asked to hold gram sabhas within the next five days to hear grievances of affected villagers and take suitable action. Officials were also directed to prepare, in the first phase, a list of affected persons from 23 villages.
Bilagi MLA and chairman of Hutti Gold Mines Company Limited JT Patil set June 8 as the deadline for payment of compensation to lands coming under submergence. The minister also instructed officials to submit weekly progress reports on the compensation process.