A.P. govt. opts for reconciliation of socio-economic survey of 14,000 families hit by Polavaram project

Polavaram Project R&R authorities intensify Socio-economic Survey-2023 reconciliation for 14,000 affected families' rehabilitation approval from Grama Sabhas.

The Polavaram Project Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) authorities have intensified the reconciliation of the Socio-economic Survey-2023 of the 14,000 Polavaram Project Affected Families (PAFs), before seeking approval from the Grama Sabhas to begin their rehabilitation from the Polavaram project submergence area in Alluri Sitharama Raju district.

All the 14,000 evacuee families, mostly Koyas and Konda Reddi tribes from the Godavari Valley, are under the jurisdiction of the Chintoor Integrated Tribal Development Authority (ITDA) and living in the four mandals that were merged from Telangana with Andhra Pradesh in the aftermath of the State bifurcation.

The residents of the four merged mandals of Chintoor, Kunavaram, V.R. Puram and Yetapaka, which bear the brunt of the Godavari flood regularly, are waiting to be rehabilitated from the Polavaram submergence area. 

“The revenue authorities have been instructed to go for the data reconciliation of the Socio-economic survey to finalise the R&R draft before conducting the Grama Sabhas. The Socio-Economic Survey of the 14,000 PAFs was conducted in December 2023, which can be considered old and requires revision before finalising the R&R package of the respective PAFs,” Polavaram Project Administrator V. Abishek told The Hindu.

Meanwhile, the Grama Sabhas, scheduled to be held in the first week of March, have been postponed until the reconciliation exercise is over.

“Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has asked for a very robust draft of the R&R package to be approved by the Grama Sabhas,” Mr. Abishek, Polavaram Project Administrator based in Dowleswaram, said.