Ratnapur industrial park hits roadblock after farmers refuse to give up land

Plans to set up a 203-acre industrial park in Peddapalli have stalled after strong opposition from local farmers. Despite government efforts to promote industrial growth and interest from Coca-Cola, villagers have refused to part with their remaining land.

Peddapalli: The proposed industrial park near Ratnapur in Ramagiri mandal has hit a roadblock, with a majority of farmers refusing to part with their land.

At a grama sabha organised by the district administration in the village on Friday, 60 farmers flatly refused to give up their lands, while only 19 agreed to the proposal.

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The land in question lies on the outskirts of Medipalli. Farmers said they were unwilling to lose more land, pointing out that around 400 acres had already been taken for the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) and 170 acres for the Krishi Vigyan Kendra.

Women farmers told the officials not to return to the village for land acquisition purposes. Officials left the meeting, saying they would submit a report to higher authorities.

The farmers argued that giving up more land would leave them with nothing for cultivation.

As part of its efforts to promote industrial growth in Telangana’s interior regions, the government proposed setting up the industrial park over 203.31 acres near the Ramagirikhila hillocks, about 22 km from the district headquarters. American beverage giant Coca-Cola is planning to set up a unit in the park.

However, the project has stalled due to resistance from locals.

Of the total proposed area, the government owns 56.12 acres while the remaining 147.19 acres are privately owned patta lands, which the government aims to acquire.

Earlier, on March 18 this year, villagers stopped government officials and Coca-Cola representatives from surveying the land. They expressed anger over land surveys being conducted without their knowledge. Many said they only learnt about the proposed park when a list of oustees, along with the land details, was displayed at the gram panchayat office in February.

Following this, the villagers met IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu and conveyed their opposition. The minister reportedly assured them that an alternative location would be explored.

However, while attending a programme in Manthani on Saturday, Sridhar Babu said the government was establishing the industrial park to support women entrepreneurs.