The joy of Valluru Lalithamma knew no bounds when she received a hefty compensation for land acquisition, but it turned out to be short-lived.

The unlettered widow of V. Subbaiah, hailing from Jinkalamitta village in Yerpedu mandal of Chittoor district, parted with 4.5 acres for the Electronic Manufacturing Cluster coming up near the international airport, for which she received a hefty compensation of Rs.56.25 lakh, at the rate of Rs.12.5 lakh an acre.

After the acquisition process for various infrastructure projects around Tirupati began, several small-time politicians and village chieftains had turned ‘professional sharks’ to lure, bargain, persuade, hoodwink or even threaten them to part with a ‘percentage’ of their compensation benefits, especially in Renigunta and Yerpedu mandals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone for this particular cluster last October, where four mobile phone companies are setting up base.

The modus operandi of the middlemen was simple. After the news of the land acquisition process trickled and the names of the likely beneficiaries were out, they met the land owners, paid them a bulk amount and extracted a promise to part with the difference in the compensation amount later.

It was only after the compensation was deposited in their account that the gullible villagers found what they had received were the proverbial ‘peanuts’.

“Every day, he [a local leader] makes threatening calls to my sons,” Lalithamma wept in a telephonic conversation with this correspondent.

Hers is not an isolated case, as another victim, on request of anonymity, complained about a person who demanded Rs. 1 lakh per acre, citing “expenses to grease the palms of officials’.

Even the electronically transferred compensation is not safe, with the middlemen receiving tip-off on withdrawals.

“Yes, we have received such complaints and are dealing with them on a case-to-case basis,” Sub-Collector Himanshu Shukla told The Hindu . In a specific case, he got a major portion of the compensation amount converted into fixed deposit to prevent “withdrawal under duress”.

“It is their genuine entitlement and they need not part with a share,” he said indicating that enhanced transparency and personal attention by officials would eliminate such middlemen. Mr. Shukla also warned of cracking the whip if any such case came to his notice.