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Ryots' arrest triggers controversy
Bid to prevent Transco, Gridco from laying HT powerlines

Special Correspondent
VIJAYAWADA: The arrest of some farmers, who tried to obstruct the personnel of the Power Grid Corporation of India and the AP Transco, from erecting poles for lay­ing high tension power lines at Guntupalli near here on Friday snowballed into a controversy.
The Ibrahimpatnam po­lice arrested a farmer under Section 353 of the IPC (as­sault or criminal force to de­fter public servant from (discharge of his duty) and took three others into pre­ventive custody. The police said 12 poles were to be erected in the lands of about 30 farmers, which was being opposed by the latter.
The Consortium of Indi­an Farmers Associations (CIFA), which took up the issue on behalf of the agitat­ing farmers, said it would is­sue a legal notice to the
Vijayawada Police Commis­sioner for taking the farmers into preventive custody. Vi   CIFA secretary general P. llChengal Reddy told The' Hindu that criminal pro­ceedings could also be initi­ated against the police for "abetting the illegal activity" of the Power Grid. Mr. Reddy said the CIFA
had already written to the World Bank about the "ille­gal activities" of the Power Grid, which had taken a loan from it for expanding its power distribution network.
Though it was 'legally and constitutionally binding' on the Power Grid to pay com­pensation to farmers before laying ,the power lines through the fields and homes of the farmers, it was not being done, he said.
Legal provisions
The CIFA had, therefore, written a letter to World Bank's Operations Advisor
Rachid Bennessaoud, quot­ing the legal and Constitu­tional provisions, with a request to hold a public hearing in Vijayawada to en­able the farmers of Guntu­palli, Gollapudi, Nunna and other affected villages to de­pose against the 'illegal ac­tivities' of the Power Grid.
The Power Grid, which was denying the farmers the right to property, should pay the compensation before erecting the poles for the power lines.
The CIFA on its own was ready to organise a-public hearing, for which he re­quested the World Bank to depute a team of its officials along with social and legal experts to make a study of the situation in the villages, he said.
When contacted, Police Commissioner K.V. Rajen-dranath Reddy said the po­lice had acted based on a requisition made by the Su­perintending Engineer of the AP Transco for provid­ing security to the Power Grid staff. "They came,up with a legal opinion that It is perfectly right to erecy the poles and lay the lines," he said.