Farmers block Gurugram expressway

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, October 15

High drama prevailed on the Gurugram-Jaipur Expressway as hundreds of farmers marched and blocked the highway this afternoon, accusing the state government of indifference.

The farmers are opposing the acquisition of 1,810 acres by the Haryana State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) for the expansion of IMT Manesar, citing poor compensation.

The farmers have been on a strike for the past 200 days. According to the farmers, the officials concerned failed to address their problem and therefore, they decided to block the highway.

The protest led to a long traffic jam on the expressway. Within an hour of the protesters blocking the highway, officials from the administration reached the spot. The officials pacified the farmers and made them vacate the highway.

The protesting farmers have now threatened to block the highway permanently if their demand for enhanced compensation was not fulfilled.

The issue has been a bone of contention between the Haryana Government and over 3,000 farmers for the past year. Though CM Manohar Lal Khattar had announced a resolution in July, no headway has been made so far.

“Every time they say they will address our issue in the next Cabinet meeting and befool us. We have been on a strike since the past 200 days now, but our demand has not been fulfilled. Neither the MLAs nor the MPs pay heed to our demands. We have threatened to commit mass suicides, but still the Khattar government has not taken any steps to resolve our problem. We have now decided to block the highways,” a farmer said after a mahapanchayat on Sunday.

The farmers said the market rate of the land was more than Rs 10 crore per acre, but the government was offering them only Rs 91 lakh (the base price of Rs 55 lakh plus interest) per acre. To sweeten the deal, the government had offered plots with conditions to the eligible farmers. However, the deal failed to convince the farmers.

The process for acquisition of 1,810 acres of land in Kasan, Sehrawan, Kunkrola, Fazilpur, Fukurpur, Mokalwas, Kharkhadi, Bas Lambi, Manesar, Naharpur Kasan, Dhana, Bas Kushla, Bas Hariya and Nakhrola villages had begun in 2011. The acquisition was then challenged by an NGO. In August 2022, after getting an order from the court in its favour, the state government awarded compensation for the acquisition.

The farmers at these villages, meanwhile, alleged that they had applied for plots under the oustee quota, but were denied the same by the state government. They have now demanded plots as well as an additional compensatory amount for the acquisition of land.

Opposing acquisition of land by HSIIDC

• Citing poor compensation, farmers are opposing the acquisition of 1,810 acres by the HSIIDC for the expansion of the IMT-Manesar
• The farmers said the government was offering them only Rs 91 lakh per acre against the market rate of over Rs 10 crore per acre
• The farmers have been on a strike for the past 200 days

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