TS READY TO USE ACT TO ACQUIRE LAND

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has made over half-a-dozen visits to the Yadagirigutta temple since October last and monitoring the developments. Nalgonda

collector P. Satyanarayana Reddy has directed revenue officials to persuade the farmers to hand over the land in 10 days. “We will not

go in for land acquisition straightaway. If the farmers offer the land on their own,

we will purchase it. If not, we have no option but issue to a notification under the Land Acquisition Act,” Mr Reddy said. There is no clarity on this, as the previous Land Acquisition Act has been replaced by an ordi

nance at the Centre. The collector has visited the five

villages — Yadagiripally, Gundlapally, Dhatarupally, Mallapur in Yadagirigutta mandal and Raigiri in Bhongir mandal — and interacted with farmers. Mr Reddy said a majority of the farmers in Dhatarupally and Gundlap

ally had agreed to offer land. Revenue divisional officer Madhusudhan said farmers offering their land would get thrice the value notified by the sub-registrar office.

Going by this, farmers in Dhatarupally would get 7

lakh per acre and in Gundlapally, 10 lakh. “It would take four months

to receive compensation under the Act whereas they would be paid instantly if

they offer land on their own,” he said. But realtors are offering farmers 1 crore

an acre if their land is near the temple, and 50 lakh if it

is located at a distance. Sattaiah, a small-time farmer

of Gundlapally, said that rates shot up after the government decided to develop the temple along the lines of Tirumala. Meanwhile, the collector warned private realtors against developing layouts in these five villages without approval from the

government.