Farmers protest in Warangal over Mamnoor airport land compensation

Farmers in Warangal staged a protest demanding higher compensation for lands being acquired for the Mamnoor airport expansion. Alleging that the government’s offer was far below market value, they insisted on yard-based compensation and warned they would not part with land otherwise

Warangal: Warangal: Farmers who are set to lose their lands for the expansion of Mamnoor airport staged a protest on Nakkalapalli road here on Saturday, demanding fair compensation.

The farmers alleged that the compensation being offered by the State government was far below the prevailing market value. Farmers of Gunturpally under Sangem mandal declared they would not part with their lands unless the government revised the compensation.

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Raising slogans against the Congress government, the agitated farmers squatted on the road. They pointed out that the current market value was around Rs.4 crore per acre, while the District Collector was offering only Rs.1.20 crore per acre. Since the lands fall within urban limits, each yard costs between Rs.30,000 and Rs.40,000, a farmer was seen stating in a video circulating on social media.

Around 40 farmers from the village are set to lose about 70 acres for the airport expansion. They argued that as their lands abut the main road, the government should offer higher compensation.

Another farmer recalled that the government had initially promised to allot equal land to those losing property. He added that for the inner ring road project, landowners were compensated based on yard value, and a similar practice should be followed for the airport expansion. He further pointed out that the registration value of their lands had not been revised for over a decade.

The farmers said repeated appeals to the District Collector, local MLA and Minister had brought no relief. “We are not against development, but the government should offer fair compensation. This is our livelihood and we are not in the real estate business,” one farmer said.

Over the past few months, farmers from Gadipally, Gunturpally, Nakkalapally and neighbouring villages have been staging protests over poor compensation. Last November, the State government released Rs.205 crore for acquiring 260 acres, in addition to the 696 acres already available for the airport.