Shimla: Himachal Kishan Sabha (HKS) has held that with the government looking the other way, a cement company in Solan district was encroaching upon village lands, without adequately compensating the land owners for the mining being done.
The cement company management has been asked to desist from carrying out mining in Gyana , Sangoi, Barshnu and Banog villages of Solan district, says Tikender Panwar, vice-president HKS. He alleged that the cement company was encroaching upon lands in these villages without declaring any compensation award for the lands involved.
He further alleged that mining in the area was being carried out in defiance of protests by villagers and even the police deployed on the site was assisting the mining activity rather than protecting the people’s rights on the land in contention.
The Sabha has demanded a resettlement and rehabilitation policy especially for cement plant affected lands and families. The government needs to intervene immediately as the villagers have been protesting for over 6 months and a provision of keeping aside 1 percent royalty to be spent on local area development of the plant and mining site needs to be incorporated, said Panwar.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads the team of media professionals at Hill Post.
In a career spanning over two decades through all formats of journalism in Electronic, Print and Online Media, he brings with him enough experience to steer this platform. He lives in Shimla.
