Minister wants swift disbursal of LA pay-out lying at district-level

Minister for Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy instructed the authorities concerned to disburse ₹813 crore compensation for land acquisition at the earliest to speed up pending works of the ongoing irrigation projects.

In a videoconference held from Hyderabad along with Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju, Secretary to the Chief Minister K. Manicka Raj, Secretary Finance S.K. Sultania on Monday, the Minister told the District Collectors and Irrigation officials to ensure that funds already released for land acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) reach affected farmers on a war-footing. Minister for Transport and BC Welfare Ponnam Prabhakar, Commissioner for Land Acquisition Siva Kumar Naidu also participated.

The Minister cautioned the officials against parking the money in government accounts for long stating that it would defeat the purpose for which the funds were released and further slow down the pending works of ongoing projects. Reviewing the progress of land acquisition and compensation disbursal with the District Collectors he expressed concern over ₹813 crore pending disbursement. The funds were lying in the administrative accounts of District Collectors, Revenue Divisional Officers and Special Deputy Collectors.

Officials informed the meeting that fund release tokens for ₹3,101 crore were issued since April 1 and about ₹2,504 crore of it was disbursed towards land acquisition and R&R. Of the amount currently pending at the district level, about ₹502 crore was with Land Acquisition Officers and another ₹311 crore was with Collectors.

The Minister asked the District Collectors to personally intervene and speed up negotiations to facilitate awards and payments. “If the money has been released, it must reach the land-losing farmers. In case it is not disbursed for any genuine reason, it must be explained to higher authorities,” the Minister stressed.

Explaining that the funds for land acquisition were being arranged outside the regular irrigation budget so that lack of money would not delay the progress of priority projects, Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy suggested the district officers to have a humane approach towards farmers parting with their land and settle their compensation amicably.

In cases where compensation remained unpaid after an award, the Minister told officials to pay the statutory interest wherever applicable. In cases involving court or title disputes, the officials should compile all pending cases so that they could be taken up with the Advocate General for focused legal action.