Kullu Manali 4 Lane Highway Hits Land Acquisition Roadblock

Mandi : Sparring over compensation prices for land to be acquired for the 4 lane road widening project to Kullu-Manali, the district administration met the leaders of Snower valley whose land is to be acquired to break the deadlock over the issue.

“People are ready to cooperate with the road widening project if they get appropriate rate for their fertile and cultivable land,” says Khushal Thakur, who spearheads the struggle committee. “A good compensation would compensate for the loss of livelihood that farmers with scare farmland in the valley will suffer from having to part with their land. Project affected farmers have raised a genuine demand which needs to be addressed without any delay or doubt by the government. ‘’

District administration official Madan Kumar who conducted the meeting with the affected people at Kisan Bhavan, Jhidi said, “we will inform the government about the land price demand of the people.”

Krishan Pal Sharma, a Zila Parishad member, Brajesh Mahant, Netra Thakur and others who attended the meeting raised the demand for a compensation of Rs 20 lakhs per biswa of land that would be acquire for the road project.

On the other hand Jwahar, a BJP leader blamed the government for misleading the people over negotiation for appropriate rates. He said, ’’It’s nothing more than a drama. The government doesn’t care about the affected people and only way to get justice is from the court, which the people will have to opt for as soon as possible.”

The important road project has hit a wall over the compensation issue as the government is not willing to relent to the farmers demand, who have been demanding a compensation in accordance with the land acquisition laws that were approved by the previous UPA government.

Renuka Gautam

A theater artist, a script writer and a TV anchor, news is something that grips Renuka. She lives in Kullu.