Visakhapatnam: Tension prevailed at Visakhapatnam Steel Plant main gate on Monday as members of the Visakhapatnam steel displaced family members and representatives of Contract Labour Union and the United Association of Displaced Persons staged a protest demanding allocation of land to displaced families as part of a permanent resolution. They also sought a monthly compensation of Rs.25,000 until the land gets allotted to them.

A large number of families holding R-cards participated in the demonstration.

Protesters reiterated their long-standing demand that one acre of land should be allotted to each R-card holder, failing which the surplus lands of the steel plant should be distributed among the displaced persons.

The agitators took out a bike rally, raising slogans and holding placards.

Later, a human chain was formed as part of the agitation. Addressing the gathering, members of the displaced family associations expressed anger over the allegations made against R-card numbers that they are fake cards. The association leaders demanded a one-time settlement with immediate effect for all displaced families.

They urged both the Central and state governments to deliver justice to them without any further delay.

Protesters emphasised that the unity of displaced persons would remain strong and warned that their agitation would continue until justice is done for 8,500 R-card holders. Meanwhile, displaced families at Gangavaram Port halted the operations temporarily at the port’s main gate as they demanded the management to meet long pending rehabilitation commitments. According to officials, the dispute relates to the one-time settlement package finalised during earlier negotiations held in the presence of union leaders, 499 displaced families, port management representatives and government officials.

During those talks, the port management had agreed to provide Rs.27 lakh per beneficiary without mentioning any tax deductions.

However, beneficiaries later reported that after collecting Form-10E, the port deducted Rs.2 lakh from each payment and released Rs.25 lakh instead of the committed amount. Inputs from tax auditors indicate that while some beneficiaries may recover Rs. 1 lakh to 1.5 lakh, many are likely to retain a Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1 lakh liability even after filing returns. In addition, five employment assurances made during the negotiations remain unfulfilled. The total unresolved commitments are estimated at around Rs. 3.75 crore, the protesters mentioned.

Gajuwaka MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao visited the site and held discussions with union leaders, displaced families, the District Collector, police officials, tax auditors and the Chief Executive Officer of Gangavaram Port Amit Malik. The port CEO stated that the matter would be placed before the head office.

Following the intervention, the displaced families agreed to withdraw the agitation, and operations at the Gangavaram Port main gate resumed.