Committee to examine problems of Koyna Dam affected people

Nagpur, Nov 27 (UNI) The state government has set up a committee, headed by the Divisional Commissioner of Pune, to look into all aspects related to people affected by the Koyna Dam, Minister of State for Revenue and Rehabilitation Dr Rajendra Shingne told the Maharashtra Legislative Council during question hour today.

Replying to supplementaries on a question from Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena) and others, Dr Shingne said that the committee would take stock of the rehabilitation status and other issues of the project-affected people within three months. The committee would prepare a report that will be tabled in the House in the next session, he said.

Admitting that the problems of the project-affected people have been pending for the last 40 years, Mr Shingne said that as fresh requests for rehabilitation were being made to this day, the government did not have the exact figure of such people. An area of 25,599 hectares was submerged due to the Koyna Dam, which was proposed in 1953 and was completed in 1967, he said.

As part of the rehabilitation process, over 6,400 project-affected people had been given lands in Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Thane and Raigad districts, Dr Shingne said. Settlements for the displaced people had been established in Thane and Raigad districts and Rs 471 lakhs and Rs 10.65 crore had been allocated for civic infrastructure in these settlements in Thane and Raigad districts, respectively, he added.

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