When land acquisition began for the Rambilli naval base project in 2009, around 407 families from nine villages of Rambilli and S Rayavaram mandals were displaced and rehabilitated in the process. The fisherman community had to immediately cease fishing in the waters of Varaha and Sarada. Around 4,800 acres of land belonging to the community were acquired by the government.
Announced in 2005, the site identified for the Rambilli Naval Alternate Operating Base (NAOB) is located 60 km south of Visakhapatnam. The base is spread across 1,590 hectares and encompasses the area where the rivers Varaha and Sarada flow into the sea. While work is progressing briskly, with more than a dozen tunnels being dug to create the underground facility, the families rehabilitated in the area are still waiting for promises made at the time of land acquisition to be fulfilled.
“We are protesting because we lost our livelihoods. They are not allowing us to go fishing anymore (around the naval base). We should be compensated accordingly per month. Our children have to stop their education after Class 10 because the colleges are very far away. We demand better health facilities and sanitation facilities in the rehabilitated colonies,” said Gangaraju, a member of the displaced fishermen committee.
A compensation package was promised in accordance with Land Acquisition Act and Rehabilitation and Resettlement initiatives, but these were never fulfilled. The fishermen organised themselves and formed a committee to demand the compensation promised to them and also began protesting near the naval base office’s main gate in Vada Narasapuram. It has been two months since the protests began and they continue as the two sides are holding talks.
The 407 families were rehabilitated to a colony and were provided houses with basic amenities. When the land was identified for the naval base, they were promised a jetty so that they could continue fishing in the rivers. More than 15 years have passed, and fishermen are still waiting. Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Lokanadham said, “The fishermen were allowed to continue fishing in the rivers until the jetty was constructed. But they are being stopped due to the work at the NAOB for security reasons.” The construction of the jetty is also unlikely as concerns have been raised now about security issues. After conducting a survey, the jetty is likely to be constructed at another place at Pudimadaka mandal.
The Union government had given the nod for the second phase of NAOB in Visakhapatnam also called the Rambilli naval base in 2018. The approval for the second phase will set the stage for construction to expand facilities to securely house recharge stations and technical support areas for upcoming nuclear-powered Indian Navy vessels. The eastern fleet, the largest in India with 50 warships, is based in Visakhapatnam. The new base at Rambilli will offer a secure base far from populated areas while relieving traffic in Visakhapatnam, another important commercial hub.
Gangaraju said, “Construction work has been going on inside (NAOB) at full speed for several years now. They did not employ us in the construction work. The workers have come from other states. The package says that one member of the household must be provided with a job, but they did not provide us jobs and we are here now protesting the blockage to the fishing route.” Earlier, the gates were open for the villagers so they could continue fishing while displaying their ID cards.
The families were promised 5 cents of land to displaced families, a school, a monthly compensation until the construction of the jetty. In addition, some women and men at the time of acquisition were promised 3 cents of land. The locals were to be trained and provided a job but no such program has been initiated for the locals. As of now, all families have been provided land, but no alternate employment has been provided and some people are still waiting for 3 cents of land.
Responding to a question raised on the rehabilitation promises in the Parliament by Andhra Pradesh, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitaraman said Rs 189 crore was given to the state government towards cost of land (4,636.71 acres), including total rehabilitation and resettlement compensation of approximately Rs 103 crore, from March 2005 to December 2017. Lokanadham said, “As promised, the state government did not offer locals 75% of the jobs. The government had also fallen short in providing the necessities at the resettlement and rehabilitation colonies built for the displaced people.”
The heads of the displaced villages accompanied by BJP MLC Madhav and the District Collector, met with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on December 24, 2022. “We were assured that our demands will be considered and resolved soon,” one of the sarpanches, Pentayya said. “Our demands are rightful. We have been promised by the chief ministers, ministers and various district collectors till now. Now we want a written assurance,” he added.