Farmers demand DPR on proposed coal gasification project in Eluru district

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Farmers and residents of villages in the proposed coal gasification project area at Recherla in Chintalapudi mandal of Eluru district have demanded the immediate release of the Detailed Project Report (DPR), saying the Centre and the State government should not take unilateral decisions without consulting the affected people.

Addressing a meeting of farmers and residents near Recherla on Friday, Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham State general secretary K. Prabhakar Reddy demanded that the government disclose details of the proposed Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) project and conduct public consultations and gram sabhas before proceeding with it.

He questioned the proposed involvement of Reliance Industries and alleged that valuable public resources were being handed over to corporate interests without adequately informing local communities about the project’s possible consequences.

Mr. Prabhakar Reddy said the region was agriculturally productive, with farmers cultivating oil palm, cocoa, coconut, banana, maize, paddy and other horticultural and commercial crops. He demanded that the government explain the potential environmental and livelihood implications of coal-based gas extraction and place all relevant information in the public domain.

The meeting, chaired by K. Sarath Kumar, was attended by farmers and leaders of various farmers’ and workers’ organisations. They also inspected an old bore drilled for coal exploration in the area several decades ago.

The farmers said they would not surrender their land for the project and opposed any attempt at compulsory land acquisition. They alleged that farmers had already faced difficulties during land acquisition for the Greenfield Highway and the Chintalapudi Lift Irrigation Scheme.

The meeting resolved to demand the immediate publication of the DPR, public consultations and gram sabhas, and full disclosure of the project details. The farmers warned that they would launch a public agitation if the government proceeded without addressing their concerns.

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