PTI-UNI Report - Rights AP Polavaram Dam

PTI-UNI report. Appeal by eminent personalities to Govt.of India to apply new Land law of 2013 to Polavaram dam displaced.

Eminent writers and personalities today urged the BJP-led NDA government at the centre and the Andhra Pradesh government to provide relief and rehabilitation to one lakh displaced people following the construction of Polavaram dam acoss River Godavari in the first phase. Press Council of India member K Amarnath, economist and senior journalist Dr Pentapati Pulla Rao, Centre for Media Studies, Delhi Chairman Dr N Bhasker Rao and Supreme Court Advocate Shravan Kumar, in a statement here, asserted that the governments had to apply the latest land law of 2013 to Polavaram Dam affected people. Polavaram dam, a Union Government project, located in residuary Andhra Pradesh, is now under the jurisdiction of the central Ministry of Water Resources.

A total of four lakh people, according to the statement, will be displaced by the time the Polavaram Dam is completed, constituting the largest displacement of people in India for any single Project. Thus far, the government has been fixing Relief and Rehabiliation under the terms of the 1894 Land Acquisition Act, which has now been replaced by the Land Acquisition Act of 2013. 'We appeal that the Union government apply its latest land laws to the entire process of land acquisition and displacement to Polavaram dam.The displaced and a project affected people have been agitating peacefully only for their due compensation,'' they said. The eminent writers also said the new Land Acquisition law clearly states under section 24(2) that the entire Land acquisition process has to be made anew, if people are still living on their land and properties.

Diesel Oil de-Regulation

On October 18,  2014, Govt. Of India announced that it was totally de-regulating diesel prices. Before this announcement, government followed a policy of increasing diesel oil prices by 50 Paise per litre every month. Whatever the international price of crude oil, the idea of having a monthly increase of  50 paise  per litre would be to reduce the gap between the subsidised diesel prices and the international  market prices.

Impact of Falling Diesel and Petrol Prices in India

For the last four months, India has enjoyed the surprising benefit of falling crude oil prices. When crude oil prices fall, there is an automatic decline in prices of petrol, diesel, kerosene, LPG gas and a host of hydro-carbon prices. Four months ago, the price of Crude oil was nearly US$ 115 dollars per barrel. Now the price is around US $ 88 per barrel. This steep fall has had some benefits for India.

Pullarao Pentapati - Central Government fanning disputes on River Godavari

It Is –unfortunate that a major issue has broken out between the new states of Andhra Pradesh and Telengana over the addition of 7 Mandals which will be affected by submersion by the gigantic Polavaram dam.   It is reflection of things is being handled.  Instead of bringing states together, one finds that rivers are dividing States and creating enduring animosity between them. This is not healthy for Indian democracy. When parliament passes a law, it should mean that there is wide consensus and that the law will be respected. As soon as the Andhra Pradesh Re=organization Bill was passed, we find that Telengana has said that it is going to  court  This is not a healthy  tradition since  every state will then go to court,  using the vast financial resources of a  state government.