Jeypore: The district administration would acquire 14 acres of land from among 10 families of Sauraguda village here in Koraput district for expansion of the local airstrip into a full-fledged airport. Fifty and 70-seater aircraft will fly from this facility.
A decision to this effect was taken Friday at a public hearing on the premises of Sauraguda Sai temple to maintain transparency during social impact assessment (SIA), officials said.
Though the land patch belongs to 10 owners on paper, the number of actual claimants stood at 23 as they were the successors of the original owners, it was learnt. All of them were present at the Gram Sabha.
Among others, ADM and SIA nodal officer Ekadashi Jena, district land acquisition officer and deputy collector Santosh Satpathy, Jeypore sub-collector Krutibas Rout and R&B executive engineer Rashmi Ranjan Mishra were present on the occasion.
This apart, director of COATS (Council of Analytical Tribal Studies) Prafulla Chandra Mohapatra, professor Raj Kishore Meher of Bhubaneswar-based Nabakrushna Choudhury Council for Development Studies and professor Jagabandhu Samal also attended the public hearing.
A total of 28.480 acres of land including 14.430 acres of private land were required to be acquired for the expansion project. While 14.170 acres belong to Sauraguda village under Umuri panchayat, the remaining 0.270 acre belongs to Gaganapur village of Ekamba panchayat.
The state government has set a target to complete the project by March 31, 2017 and granted `28 crore to expedite the works, it was learnt. The government also assigned COATS to assess the social impact of the project. The agency had carried out a field survey July 9 and submitted a report July 30 to the administration. The public hearing was held on the basis of the report.
The families demanded adequate compensation for the loss of their land at the hearing. They wanted substitutes for a village pond with an area of 1.180 acres, a place of worship, 11.280 acres of pasture land and a cremation ground as these were located on the land to be taken up for the project.
Besides, the villagers demanded they be given priority in the recruitment of security staff and engaged as workers in civil work of the project, concrete road to the village, road side illumination, supply of piped water, concrete road connectivity with NH, plantation to check pollution in peripheral region, community centres in all localities and shifting of Bankabija village school.
The officials assured people that the demands would be taken care of. The expansion project was essential to upgrade the airstrip to start flights of 50 and 70-seater aircraft with an eye for the all-round development of the KBK region, they added. PNN