M A I N   N E W S

Haryana to pay more for acquired land
Sunit Dhawan
Tribune News Service

Gohana (Sonepat), August 26
Here’s some good news for those whose land is acquired by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) or the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC). The state government has decided to give them an additional amount of Rs 10,000 per year on per acre of the acquired land for 33 years.

This additional amount, or “royalty”, would be over and above the compensation paid for the acquired land. The persons whose land has been acquired after the present regime assumed office on March 5, 2005 will get the benefit of the scheme.

An announcement to this effect was made by the Haryana Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, while addressing a “Dhanyavad” (thanksgiving) rally organised at the new wholesale vegetable market here today. Hooda said it had also been decided that in case of acquisition of village land for setting up of some industry, 25 per cent jobs in that industrial unit would be reserved for the village farmers and landless workers who were dependent on agriculture.

The Chief Minister said the state government had informed the Union Railway Ministry that it was ready to bear half the cost for the Sonepat-Jind railway line via Gohana. The other incentives announced by Hooda on the occasion included the move to give two CFL bulbs, costing Rs 100 each, free of cost to each of the families living below the poverty line in urban as well as rural areas.

He said the surcharge of the urban domestic consumers who pay their electricity bills would be waived. He also announced to appoint a “safai karamchari” on a population of 2,000 in rural areas to ensure sanitation. Hooda announced to establish a 50-bedded hospital at Gohana and construction of a Rs 4-crore canal to ensure adequate supply of water at tail-ends. The Chief Minister asserted that the present state government had paid Rs 225 crore, which was the highest compensation in the country to the farmers whose crops had been damaged due to natural calamities. He also announced that like last year, the women could travel in Haryana Roadways buses on “Rakhi” without paying any fare.

Criticising former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala for terming his government as a shop of property dealers, he described Chautala as the “biggest property dealer”. Hooda also cautioned the people against the “dissident, frustrated and disgruntled” leaders who were not able to digest the success of his government.

Regarding power situation, Hooda maintained that 5,000 MW of additional power would be generated in the next two-and-a-half years. A 300 MW unit of Yamunanagar Thermal Power Plant would be commissioned on November 1, he added.

A mismanaged affair

The arrangements made by rally organizers were rendered grossly inadequate in the wake of the large turnout for the rally. Though the venue was quite spacious, “shamiana” and seating arrangements were arranged in a small chunk of it. Thus, lots of people who had braved the scorching sun to reach the rally venue were put to great inconvenience.

Even some representatives of national dailies were forced to stand for about an hour or so as the seats meant for the mediapersons were occupied by others.