Because money remains parked in govt accounts, he warned that irrigation projects should not suffer. Hyderabad: Irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Monday pulled up district officials over delays in compensation payments and directed them to ensure that funds reach affected farmers without delay.
Reviewing land acquisition and rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) works through a video conference with district collectors, along with minister Ponnam Prabhakar and chief secretary Sanjay Jaju, Uttam expressed concern that ₹813 crore remains undisbursed in the accounts of collectors, revenue divisional officers and special deputy collectors. The minister recalled that chief minister A Revanth Reddy had earmarked ₹6,000 crore in 2026 for land acquisition, R&R and forest clearances related to irrigation projects. “If the money has been released, it must reach the land-losing farmers.
If for any genuine reason it cannot be disbursed, explain the reason and return the money instead of keeping it idle,” he said. The funds, he said, were being arranged outside the regular irrigation budget to ensure that priority projects are not delayed for want of money. Compensation should be as close as reasonably possible to prevailing market values,” he said.
“The govt does not want to be unfair to farmers while taking away their land.