Farmers and other people affected by four-laning of the Nagchala to Manali stretch of the National Highway-21 have decided to gherao the Secretariat in Shimla in protest against inadequate compensation and lack of transparency in the land acquisition process.
Four-lane Sangharsh Samiti president Brig Khushal Thakur (retd) said they had decided to gherao the Secretariat on December 26 saying that the compensation decision was in violation of the Right to Fair Compensation, Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
He said the process of land acquisition for widening and four-laning of the NH-21 from Nagchala to Manali was started by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). However, there was no clarity on the amount of compensation the affected people would be getting.
“The new land Act states that the entire land acquisition process must be humane, participative, informed and transparent and affected people must be provided fair compensation, adequate rehabilitation and resettlement facilities so that the post-acquisition social and economic status of farmers and other affected persons is improved and upgraded,” said Brig Thakur.
Unfortunately, nothing had happened on the ground and the poor farmers were running from pillar to post to voice their concerns, he said, adding the Central government, the state government and the NHAI had turned a deaf ear to their repeated requests. The intended noble spirit of the new land Act had been ignored, he added.
The state government had not undertaken any exercise to examine the distance of the land situated in the rural area as well as remoteness from the urban area while fixing the multiplication factor for awarding the compensation, he said.
Samiti’s general secretary Brijesh Mahant said the market value of the proposed acquired land was required to be assessed and determined by the respective district collectors as outlined in Section 26 of the new land Act.
“In order to provide just and fair compensation for land acquisition, Section 26 states that the Collector shall before initiation of any land acquisition proceeding in any area, take all necessary steps to revise and update the market value of the land on the basis of the prevalent market rate in that area,” he said.
Brig Thakur said the Dispute Redressal System State Authority for Compensation, Rehabilitation and Resettlement under the New Land Acquisition Act had not been constituted and helpless farmers and other affected persons did not know whom to contact or approach for justice, he said.
He said before initiating the land acquisition proceedings, the authorities should have discussed the implication threadbare and then integrated and harmonised both the New Land Acquisition Act and the National Highway Act, 1956, to avoid the present confusion and conflict.
He said the land acquisition notification was not only an ostensible breach of the new Land Acquisition Act, but also a deliberate and blatant breach of Article 21 and 31 (A), denying the protection of life, livelihood and property.
He said they were also contemplating to file a complaint in a court against officials who not implementing the new land Act in letter and spirit under Section 87 of the new land Act, 2013.
Four-lane Sangharsh Samiti president Brig Khushal Thakur (retd) said they had decided to gherao the Secretariat on December 26 saying that the compensation decision was in violation of the Right to Fair Compensation, Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
He said the process of land acquisition for widening and four-laning of the NH-21 from Nagchala to Manali was started by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). However, there was no clarity on the amount of compensation the affected people would be getting.
“The new land Act states that the entire land acquisition process must be humane, participative, informed and transparent and affected people must be provided fair compensation, adequate rehabilitation and resettlement facilities so that the post-acquisition social and economic status of farmers and other affected persons is improved and upgraded,” said Brig Thakur.
Unfortunately, nothing had happened on the ground and the poor farmers were running from pillar to post to voice their concerns, he said, adding the Central government, the state government and the NHAI had turned a deaf ear to their repeated requests. The intended noble spirit of the new land Act had been ignored, he added.
The state government had not undertaken any exercise to examine the distance of the land situated in the rural area as well as remoteness from the urban area while fixing the multiplication factor for awarding the compensation, he said.
Samiti’s general secretary Brijesh Mahant said the market value of the proposed acquired land was required to be assessed and determined by the respective district collectors as outlined in Section 26 of the new land Act.
“In order to provide just and fair compensation for land acquisition, Section 26 states that the Collector shall before initiation of any land acquisition proceeding in any area, take all necessary steps to revise and update the market value of the land on the basis of the prevalent market rate in that area,” he said.
Brig Thakur said the Dispute Redressal System State Authority for Compensation, Rehabilitation and Resettlement under the New Land Acquisition Act had not been constituted and helpless farmers and other affected persons did not know whom to contact or approach for justice, he said.
He said before initiating the land acquisition proceedings, the authorities should have discussed the implication threadbare and then integrated and harmonised both the New Land Acquisition Act and the National Highway Act, 1956, to avoid the present confusion and conflict.
He said the land acquisition notification was not only an ostensible breach of the new Land Acquisition Act, but also a deliberate and blatant breach of Article 21 and 31 (A), denying the protection of life, livelihood and property.
He said they were also contemplating to file a complaint in a court against officials who not implementing the new land Act in letter and spirit under Section 87 of the new land Act, 2013.
