Land acquisition: Samiti threatens to intensify stir

Tribune News Service

Mandi, July 3

Members of the Four-lane Sangharsh Samiti have threatened to intensify their agitation if the government fails to maintain transparency in the acquisition of land for the fourlaning of the Nagchala to Manali stretch of the National Highway-21.

Samiti general secretary Brijesh Mahant said despite repeated requests, the government was not providing any information to the affected people.

He said they had submitted their objections within 21 days with the land acquisition office at Pandoh. Over the issues of compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement and the objections raised by the people, samiti’s president Brig Kushal Thakur (retd) along with hundreds of affected people had met the officer in the last week of April, but nothing had happened so far, he added.

In the meantime, the affected people opposed the compensation offered by the state government and met Health and Family Welfare Minister Kaul Singh Thakur who assured to look into their demands of four times compensation and other issues, but no official notification was issued in this regard so far, he said.

Brig Thakur said the market value of the land proposed to be acquired for the widening of the NH-21 under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, was to be multiplied to the factor of 1.0 (one).

“It means that the affected persons will be given compensation only two times the market rate and not the four times as been repeatedly stated by the state government,” he added.

Brigadier Thakur said the proposed acquisition of the agricultural and commercial land for the widening of the NH-21 involved displacement of a large number of rural population, many of them belonging to the vulnerable sections of society, along with their homes and hearth. “The notification completely ignores the interests of the affected persons and is absolutely anti-farmer,” he said.

The state government was misleading people, he said, adding that it was infringing upon their constitutional and fundamental rights by denying them fair and just compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement. “In addition, the compensation based on the circle rates is also not in tandem with the inflation over the years and are undervalued to evade stamp duty. This will further lower the compensation amount to the farmers,” he said.

Brig Thakur said the rehabilitation and resettlement was an integral and essential component of the Land Acquisition Bill, 2013. “It calls for appointment of an administrator, commissioner and establishment of the state monitoring committee, by the state government, to take care of the interests of the affected persons,” he added.

“People are not asking for any undue favour, instead are only seeking fair and just compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement as per the new Land Bill of 2013 passed by the UPA government,” he said. “In fact, the state government is acting against the soul and spirit of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, an Act passed by the UPA government itself amounting to double speak and malicious intention,” he said.