Shops razed for elevated track 5 years ago; no relief yet

Sunit Dhawan

Rohtak, July 31

Residents of the Gandhi Camp area in Rohtak city whose shops were demolished for the construction of the country’s first railway track nearly five years ago are still making rounds of government offices to get their due compensation.

Shop owners claim that they were assured of new shops but now different terms and conditions have been imposed.

“After getting our shops demolished on such assurances, government officials maintained that our shops were built on the Railways’ land in an unauthorised manner. This is not true as we have registries and allotment letters. They are also trying to make us settle for a lesser amount than the market price and offer new shops at higher rates, which is monetarily unfeasible,” lamented Johny Malik, one of the affected shop owners.

He pointed out that shopkeepers who had built houses on the first floors of their shops have lost their homes as well as livelihood.

“We are running from pillar to post for years, but to no avail. We have even met the Chief Minister and apprised him of our plight, but our concerns have still not been addressed,” he added.

Local councillor Radhey Shyam Dhall said the MC authorities had recommended the grant of due compensation to the affected shop owners and the matter is pending with the state authorities.

Rohtak MLA Bharat Bhushan Batra stated that the shop owners felt cheated and have been making rounds of government offices to get their due compensation for years, which amounted to injustice.

“The shops were built in 1956, while the railway line was laid in 1959. It is, therefore, improbable that these were constructed on the Railways’ land. The state government is shirking its responsibility of giving the due compensation to them,” said the Congress MLA. He demanded that the displaced shopkeepers be rehabilitated and warned of a decisive battle to ensure justice to them.