The decades-long ordeal of the residents of Vanadurgapuram to take 18-km detour that includes a stretch in the neighbouring Tamil Nadu to reach their nearest mandal headquarters of Palasamudram, just 3 km away from their habitation, appears to end soon as a road covering the smallest possible distance has been approved.
Be it police station, offices of tahsildar, MPDO or others, the residents of the small habitation in the undivided Chittoor district need to go to their mandal headquarters frequently for all administrative purposes. Even as Palasmudram is not far, the residents need to travel 18 km to reach there. The reason is the forest area of 1.5 km and the denial of permission by the Forest Department to lay a road through the area.
There are several such roads in the undivided Chittoor district along the porous Tamil Nadu border. Poor road connectivity in the areas forces the residents to depend on Tamil Nadu for all practical purposes including livelihood, as they find travelling to the neighbouring State easier and cheaper and the local economy is taking the heat.
Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980
Deputy Chief Minister K. Narayanaswamy, who represents the bordering Gangadhara Nellore constituency, said that he recently took the issue to the notice of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, seeking the necessary amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. He said the Forest Department recently gave its nod to lay a road through the forest area.
“The issues have remained unresolved since the formation of Andhra Pradesh. It is a fact that the residents are more dependent on the Tamil Nadu side for their activities. But now, permission for the upgrade of the earthen roads into BT roads has been given. The Forest Department has agreed to accord permission for roads on four such stretches, including the one between Vanadurgapuram and Palasamudram,” he said.
In Sri Rangaraja Puram mandal, a 600-metre stretch with not much greenery is notified as ‘forest area’. Now, the necessary permissions have been given for a BT road connecting Kammakandriga and the Chittoor-Puttur State highway. The Hamsapuri - TVNR Puram ghat road, now sanctioned for 1.20 km, offers the much-needed connectivity between two sides of a hillock. Similarly, the 6.95 km stretch from Jakkidona to Muttalam in Vedurukuppam mandal passing through Panapakam reserve forest has also been approved recently.
“These roads will ensure development in the Gangadhara Nellore Assembly constituency,” Mr. Narayanaswamy said.
Published - April 11, 2023 11:21 pm IST
