‘No land acquisition will be allowed till higher compensation’

Shimla, Sept 11 (PTI) The four lane sangharsh committee,agitating for higher compensation for acquisition of theirlands today declared that "no bulldozer" would be alloweduntil their demands are met. President Four Lane Sangarsh Samiti, Brigadier (Retd)Khushal Thakur, alleged the government had blatantly "violatedthe provisions for payment of compensation for acquisition ofland in connivance with national Highway Authority of India(NHAI) as both are in hurry to hasten the process of landacquisition by following the provisions of NH Act 1956 and notthe new land law passed in 2013". The Samiti demanded compensation at the rate of fourtimes the market value while the government was giving twicethe market value as compensation which was unacceptable tofarmers, he added. Demanding fair market price and compensation as perfactor 2- which implies that the compensation would be fourtimes, the Samiti members said no social impact assessment(SIA) has been done. "If the valuation is not done on time, farmers andresidents cannot be blamed for it", Thakur said  adding thatconfusion prevails on the parameters being adopted for givingcompensation. The compensation award is being split for land,structures, assets, fruits and plants which will increaseunnecessary litigation and deny affected people from makingimmediate arrangements, he said. Moreover, the negotiations initiated to resolve the issueare just an eyewash as the chairman of the negotiationcommittees has no powers, he claimed adding rehabilitationshould precede land acquisition and not follow it as it wouldrender the affected persons shelterless. PTI PCL RCJ RGRCJ