Angered over delay in compensation, land owners oppose road project in Mohali

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and revenue department officials had to return empty handed from Manauli Surat and Paragpur villages as scores of land owners refused to part with the acquired land for the Chandigarh-Ambala Greenfield Corridor as full compensation is being delayed for past three years.

Land owners of Nangal Salempur, Buddhanpur, Basman and Chadbad in Mohali are agitated over the fact that full compensation has not been given to them since 2023 even though the six-lane expressway is ready to be thrown open.

With 395 hectares of land being acquired for the 61.23-km stretch, the expressway is in the final stages and is expected to ease traffic in tricity.

Landowner Dr Manohar Sharma said, “We have vacated our agricultural land for the past three years but compensation is not being paid. When we protest, a couple of landowners get the payment, rest others are kept waiting. There are around 50 landowners from two villages only.”

As soon as NHAI officials, Naib Tehsildar Harjot Singh and the police reached the spot with heavy machinery, landowners and farmers union members carrying flags also reached the spot to express resentment.

Seeing the anger of landowners, officials escorted by the police, beat a hasty retreat, offering the landowners to settle all disputes at the Mohali District Revenue Officer office on Thursday.

NHAI officials later said all the dues have been cleared from their side and revenue department is taking up the case now. “The NHAI and the administration acquired the land in 2022 and given compensation in January 2023 to some of the landowners while others missed out for inexplicable reasons. Following that, the land was taken away from the owners but they stalled the construction of highway on those stretches,” said Numberdar Gurvinder Singh.