The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday (August 3, 2026) released the third instalment of compensation to the farmers who surrendered their land for the Guntur Channel expansion project. Union Minister of State for Rural Development Dr Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar announced that ₹10 crore has been credited to the bank accounts of 37 farmers from GG Palem and Ravipadu villages.In a statement, the Union Minister said that the latest payment was made following his efforts to expedite the release of compensation. Earlier, the government had disbursed ₹10.54 crore in the first instalment and ₹17.58 crore in the second, taking the total compensation paid so far to ₹38.12 crore.The total compensation payable for land acquired for the project is ₹70.17 crore. With the latest release, nearly 54 per cent of the compensation has been disbursed, while the remaining ₹32.05 crore will also be paid at the earliest, he said.He said that he had been coordinating with farmers and government officials to ensure timely compensation and smooth implementation of the project. He thanked Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for extending support to speed up compensation payments.The Union Minister said the completion of the Guntur Channel expansion would improve irrigation facilities in the region and provide significant benefits to agriculture while safeguarding the interests of affected farmers. Published - August 03, 2026 07:18 pm IST