'No land acquisition will be allowed till higher compensation'

The four lane sangharsh committee, agitating for higher compensation for acquisition of their lands today declared that "no bulldozer" would be allowed until their demands are met.
President Four Lane Sangarsh Samiti,Brigadier (Retd) Khushal Thakur, alleged the government had blatantly "violated the provisions for payment of compensation for acquisition of land in connivance with national Highway Authority of India (NHAI) as both are in hurry to hasten the process of land acquisition by following the provisions of NH Act 1956 and not the new land law passed in 2013".
The Samiti demanded compensation at the rate of four times the market value while the government was giving twice the market value as compensation which was unacceptable to farmers, he added.

Demanding fair market price and compensation as per factor 2- which implies that the compensation would be four times, the Samiti members said no social impact assessment (SIA) has been done.
"If the valuation is not done on time, farmers and residents cannot be blamed for it", Thakur said adding that confusion prevails on the parameters being adopted for giving compensation.
The compensation award is being split for land, structures, assets, fruits and plants which will increase unnecessary litigation and deny affected people from making immediate arrangements, he said.
Moreover, the negotiations initiated to resolve the issue are just an eyewash as the chairman of the negotiation committees has no powers, he claimed adding rehabilitation should precede land acquisition and not follow it as it would render the affected persons shelterless.