Who is Devasahayam? He is a former administrator in the ‘Chandigarh capital project’ and currently heads the fact-finding committee formed by Medha Patkar’s ‘National Alliance of People’s Movement’ (NAPM).
Devasahayam revealed several interesting points about the ongoing controversy in the State:
Parliament has actually passed a ‘Bill’ saying that no agricultural lands should be acquired for urban development.
As per the existing legislation, six times the market value has to be paid to the oustees. In this case, it works out to nearly Rs 1 lakh crore for the State government of AP which is next to impossible.
Why are 30000 acres needed when there is a stable population of only 10 lakh? Chandigarh with a population of 15 lakh required just 15000 acres
There should be a ‘Master Plan’ first followed by suitable area selection, conduct social impact assessment and environmental impact assessment and then pass legislation for the purpose of acquiring land. But the government is directly acquiring land without resorting to any of the steps.
The ‘AP Re-organization Act’ strongly recommended against acquiring agricultural lands for the construction of a new capital. Even the Sivaramakrishnan Committee initially appointed by Naidu was against location of the capital in Vijayawada-Guntur belt. Naidu ignored both.
