State govt should provide STs affected by Polavaram project additional skills: NCST

Many Scheduled Tribe members were displaced and deprived of their livelihood due to Polavaram Irrigation Project in Andhra Pradesh, noted the NCST in its report and recommended that the state government provide them alternative means of livelihood.

The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, which made a visit to the area in March for assessment of resettlement and rehabilitation of project-affected ST people, were informed that in many cases, the alternative land given to them in lieu of the acquired land was not cultivable, an official statement said.

"Either it is a rocky terrain or there is no water," the NCST said in its report, adding that the state government should provide only land fit for agriculture within the command area of Polavaram Irrigation Project with proper irrigation facilities.

NCST chairperson Nand Kumar Sai along with Vice Chairperson Anusuiya Uikey and members of the commission today called on President Ramnath Kovind and presented a special report on Indira Sagar Polavaram Project Affected Tribal People.

It also contains recommendations on the measures to be taken by the state government for effective implementation of constitutional safeguards and other measures for the protection, welfare and socio-economic development of the STs who were affected on account of Polavaram Irrigation Project.

"The commission noted that many ST people without land holdings were also shifted. They were hitherto depending on minor forest produce for their livelihood.

"Now that they are shifted, they are deprived of their livelihood. The state government needs to take care of them by providing alternative means of livelihood," the statement said.

When the commission visited Iddikulakotta village, it received complaints that in the village, many newly constructed houses were destroyed due to flash flood and so far they had not been re-built.

The commission recommended that the destroyed houses be re-built immediately to mitigate the sufferings of the people.

The compensation needed to be revised on suo-moto basis keeping in view the observations and modalities suggested by the Supreme Court in Special Leave Petition (SLP) of 2007 in the case of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd Versus Mathias Oram and others, it said.

"The commission feels that a similar scheme as per the above Supreme Court order will help the Scheduled Tribe people affected by Polavaram Irrigation Project as their right to fair compensation," it said.

The commission also recommended focus on the resettlement colonies, for creation of social infrastructure like setting up of colleges, university, stadiums, medical college.

The state government should consider developing an industrial estate/hub adjoining the resettlement area to provide employment and economic opportunities to the displaced families.

Both the state and central governments should consider declaring this industrial estate as tax free with a tax holiday for 10 years.

There should be a condition that only the displaced people from the project be given employment for non-managerial jobs there, it recommended as per the statement.