CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby slams Naidu’s silence on resettlement of Polavaram-displaced  

Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] general secretary M.A. Baby on Sunday (August 17) expressed his dismay over the silence on the part of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Members of Parliament from the NDA in Andhra Pradesh on the Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) of the displaced families of the Polavaram project.

Mr. Baby and CPI(M) MP John Brittas on Sunday concluded their two-day field visit to the Polavaram project submergence area, where they took stock of the implementation of the R&R component. The duo inspected the R&R colonies and project-affected villages along the banks of rivers Godavari and Sabari in Y. Ramavaram, Rekhapalli, Yetapaka Mandals in the Chintoor Agency of Alluri Sitarama Raju district.

Addressing the affected families at Ramavaram in V.R. Puram Mandal, Mr. Baby said the party was not against Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s vision to develop the capital city of Amaravati, but disapproved of his silence about the Polavaram-displaced and R&R component.

“The Members of Parliament of the previous three terms (2014, 2019 and 2024) represented by the TDP and the YSRCP never raised their voice for the Polavaram R&R in Parliament. All of them failed to address the concerns of the Polavaram-displaced,” said Mr. Baby. 

He promised to return with an action plan to lead the fight for the resettlement and rehabilitation of the Polavaram-displaced, as guaranteed by the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

“On the ground, the nexus between the bureaucracy and public representatives is reflected in the execution of the R&R component. An inquiry should be ordered into the irregularities in the R&R component, beginning from 2014-19 term,” said Mr. Baby. 

In his address, Mr. Brittas promised to raise his voice for the Polavaram-displaced at the national level. CPI(M) Central Committee Member K. Lokanadham, ASR district secretary Boppena Kiran and other leaders were present.