The affected people of the Kanpur Irrigation Project over river Baitarani at Baudevpur under Champua police limits agitated in front of the entrance of the project and stopped the ongoing construction works, demanding fulfilment of a 17-point charter of demands on March 17.
The important demands include payment of compensation as per the RR Policy-2006 and continuation of the CE office at Basudevpur instead of at Anandpur.
The construction of the project which started in the year 2007was to be completed in 2012 with project cost of Rs432 crore, but till now the project cost has reached Rs2,000 crore while there is no sign of its completion in near future.
The main hurdle in the completion of the project is the failure of the Government to rehabilitate 3,930 affected people who will be displaced by the project. Sources reveal that even if the payment of compensation has been almost completed, but there is a dispute with regard to the payment of RR assistance to the displaced persons. While the Government is ready to pay Rs8,26,000 to the SCs and STs and Rs7,4 1,000 to other category of adult members of the affected family but the affected villagers demand Rs30,00,000 in lieu of land as package as per the RR policy, 2006.
As per the policy, a general family will get 4 acres of non-irrigated land and 2.5 acres of irrigated land while STs and SCs will get 5 acres of non irrigated land and 2.5 acres of irrigated land respectively.
When asked, project chief engineer Dhaneswar Saha told that the demand of the affected people have been conveyed to the Government. But regarding the delay in the project, he attributed it to the failure to construct a high level bridge by NH-215.
Affected people’s core committee chief Naesh Chandra Sitary said the construction work of the project will be stopped till the Government agrees to their demands.
However, BJP leader Mohan Majhi said that a corporate lobby is working behind not to complete the project. He elaborated that companies like Jindal, Essar and BRPl are collecting water of the Baitarani by pipe to their respective factories.
“Very little is left for use in agriculture. The companies are creating all sorts of troubles in the project work. Certainly, the project has been a milking cow for a handful of Government officials, contractors and politicians,” said Majhi.