Telangana
,
Khammam
,
Khammam
Published : 12 July, 2014   |   Last updated - 24 Jun, 2024
Farmers in Telangana's Khammam District Oppose National Highway Project
Reported by
Shivam Mogha
Legal Review by
Anmol Gupta
Updated by
Anupa Kujur
Households affected
People Affected
2018
Year started
808
Land area affected
Households affected
People Affected
2018
Year started
808
Land area affected
Key Insights
Sector
Infrastructure
Reason/Cause of conflict
Roads
Conflict Status
Ongoing
Ended
Legal Status
Region Classification
Urban and Rural
Ended
1
Summary

In** November 2018, farmers from nine tehsils in Khammam district Khammam Urban, Chintakani, Thallada, Konijerla, Wyra, Penuballi, Kallur, Vemsoor and Sattupalli protested at the District Collectorate office in Khammam against the proposed KhammamDevarapalli greenfield national highway project, fearing acquisition of their fertile agricultural land. The KhammamDevarapalli greenfield national highway is a pet project of the Telangana government, approved by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the Centre's Bharatmala Pariyojana economic corridor development initiative. The project, which was proposed in 2016, aims to reduce the distance between Rajamahendravaram in Andhra Pradesh and Khammam in Telangana from 220 kilometres to 197 kilometres, improving the connectivity between remote areas in the two states. However, the project is likely to **affect 2,000 farming households by acquiring 1,996 acres of their agricultural lands. The demands of the Telangana Farmers' Joint Action Committee offers two alternatives: the government should either upgrade the existing 100feet KhammamAswaraopet state highway into a national highway, which will benefit everyone without affecting agricultural productivity or displacing farmers, or the compensation amount should be increased satisfactorily. In February 2021, the NHAI agreed to reduce the width of the highway from 70 metres to 60 metres, which will potentially save 350 acres of agricultural land. The Centre, too, agreed to increase compensation per acre from INR 12 Lakh to INR 25 Lakh. Yet, the farmers have stayed put in their opposition, fuelled by the mounting insecurity of being evicted from their own lands. The concerned authorities, provisionally directed by the Telangana high court in February 2021 to not dispossess the petitioners from their lands, have not begun the land acquisition process and are still awaiting environmental clearances.

2
Fact Sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand for more compensation than promised

Complaint against procedural violations

Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Upgrade the state highway into a national highway

Region Classification

Urban and Rural

Type of Land

Private

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)

Status of Project

Project underway despite protests

Original Project Deadline

Whether the Project has been Delayed

Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users

Agricultural land

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

Total investment involved (in Crores):

4609

Type of investment:

Cost of Project

Year of Estimation

Page Number In Investment Document:

Has the Conflict Ended?

When did it end?

Why did the conflict end?

Author
Reported by
Shivam Mogha

Telangana

Kumar Sambhav is a social entrepreneur and award-winning journalist, leading innovative research in accountability investigations. He is the founder of Land Conflict Watch and is currently working as India Research Lead with Princeton University’s Digital Witness Lab.

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Fact sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand for more compensation than promised

Complaint against procedural violations

Farmers in Telangana's Khammam District Oppose National Highway Project

Reported by

Shivam Mogha

Legal Review by

Edited by

Updated by

Updated by

Published on

February 11, 2019

May 17, 2022

Edited on

February 11, 2019

Sector

Infrastructure

Reason or Cause of Conflict

Roads

Starting Year

2018

Land Area Affected (in Hectares)

808

ha

Households Affected by Conflict

People Affected by Conflict

State

Telangana

Sector

Infrastructure

People Affected by Conflict

Households Affected by Conflict

Land Area Affected (in Hectares)

808

ha

Starting Year

2018

Location of Conflict

Khammam

Khammam

Reason or Cause of Conflict

Roads

Land Conflict Summary

In** November 2018, farmers from nine tehsils in Khammam district Khammam Urban, Chintakani, Thallada, Konijerla, Wyra, Penuballi, Kallur, Vemsoor and Sattupalli protested at the District Collectorate office in Khammam against the proposed KhammamDevarapalli greenfield national highway project, fearing acquisition of their fertile agricultural land. The KhammamDevarapalli greenfield national highway is a pet project of the Telangana government, approved by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the Centre's Bharatmala Pariyojana economic corridor development initiative. The project, which was proposed in 2016, aims to reduce the distance between Rajamahendravaram in Andhra Pradesh and Khammam in Telangana from 220 kilometres to 197 kilometres, improving the connectivity between remote areas in the two states. However, the project is likely to **affect 2,000 farming households by acquiring 1,996 acres of their agricultural lands. The demands of the Telangana Farmers' Joint Action Committee offers two alternatives: the government should either upgrade the existing 100feet KhammamAswaraopet state highway into a national highway, which will benefit everyone without affecting agricultural productivity or displacing farmers, or the compensation amount should be increased satisfactorily. In February 2021, the NHAI agreed to reduce the width of the highway from 70 metres to 60 metres, which will potentially save 350 acres of agricultural land. The Centre, too, agreed to increase compensation per acre from INR 12 Lakh to INR 25 Lakh. Yet, the farmers have stayed put in their opposition, fuelled by the mounting insecurity of being evicted from their own lands. The concerned authorities, provisionally directed by the Telangana high court in February 2021 to not dispossess the petitioners from their lands, have not begun the land acquisition process and are still awaiting environmental clearances.

Fact Sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand for more compensation than promised

Complaint against procedural violations

Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Upgrade the state highway into a national highway

Region Classification

Urban and Rural

Type of Land

Private

Type of Common Land

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)

Status of Project

Project underway despite protests

Original Project Deadline

Whether the Project has been Delayed

Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users

Agricultural land

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

Total investment involved (in Crores):

4609

Type of investment:

Cost of Project

Year of Estimation

Page Number In Investment Document:

Has the Conflict Ended?

When did it end?

Why did the conflict end?

Legal Data

Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict

Land Acquisition Laws, Environmental Laws

Legislations/Policies Involved

Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013
Section 25 (Award by Collector must be made within 12 months from date of publication of declaration); Section 26 (Criteria for assessment and determination of market value of land by Collector); Section 27 (Determination of amount of compensation); Section 28 (Parameters to be considered by Collector in determination of award); Section 31(1) (Rehabilitation and Resettlement Award for affected families by Collector); Second Schedule Point 4 (farmers are claiming that they have not been given the jobs they were promised)
Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016
Section 32(g) (Functions of Authority for promotion of real estate sector - measures to facilitate amicable conciliation of disputes between the promoters and the allottees)
Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006
Paragraph 7 [Stages in the prior environmental clearance process for new projects] read with Item 7(f) of the Schedule [Highways]
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Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute

What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?

What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?

Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:

No items found.

Legal Status:

In Court

Status of Case In Court

Pending

Whether any adjudicatory body was approached

Name of the adjudicatory body

Name(s) of the Court(s)

High Court for the State of Telangana

Case Number

Main Reasoning/Decision of court

Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:

No items found.

Reported Details of the Violation:

Date of Violation

Location of Violation

Additional Information

Nature of Protest

Complaints/petitions/letters/memorandums to officials

Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:

Revenue Department of Telangana, Transport Department, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (overseeing the Bhartmala Pariyojana Programme), National Highways Authority of India

PSUs Involved in the Conflict:

Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?

Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached

Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:

Larsen & Toubro

Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?

Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:

Telangana Rythu Sangam, Communist Party of India, Congress Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, Telangana Rashtra Samithi

Complaints/petitions/letters/memorandums to officials

Information on the use of criminal law

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Resources

Resources Related to Conflict

  • News Articles Related to the Conflict:
  • Documents Related to the Conflict:
  • Links Related to the Conflict:

Images

Image Credit:  

Image Credit:  

Video

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