WASHINGTON: The State government has decided to expedite work on the construction of the Bhavanapadu port, thanks to the pressure being exerted by the Centre which wants to develop sea ports as part of its much-publicised Sagarmala project.
Labour Minister K .Atchannaidu attended the meeting organised by Union Minister for Road Transport and Shipping Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi on Saturday on the project. The Bhavanapadu sea port area falls under the Tekkali constituency, which is represented by Mr. Atchannaidu in the Assembly. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is a member of the Sagarmala high-level committee, but he has deputed Mr. Atchannaidu so that he can understand the importance of the port.
Though the mood is against industrialisation and the Bhavanapadu sea port, the State government is hopeful of the situation turning in favour of the economic activity in future. According to officials, the sea port will help handle huge cargo as it is very close to States such as Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Faced with stiff resistance from locals, the State government has decided to acquire only 2,500 acres of land for the construction of the project though it proposes to acquire over 4,500 acres.
Also, the government can reduce the burden as it has to pay compensation in line with the new Land Acquisition Act-2013. Senior officials of the district have been directed to speed up the process. The Left parties are organising agitations opposing the land acquisition, saying that it would lead to displacement of the fishermen community. Environmentalists, too, are opposing the project on the ground that the port will destroy the fragile ecosystem in the Naupada swamp.
“The government cannot take up land acquisition forcibly in sensitive areas. We will continue to agitate since the project will displace about 10,000 families,” said Bhaviri Krishnamurthy, Srikakulam wing secretary of the CPI(M).
