NH-affected families decry discrimition in compensation

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Jan 9: Rashtriya Ghai Pathor Kshotigrastha Raijor Aikya Mancha, Axom (RGPKRAMA) convener Bolindra Saikia has said that the government has not yet paid compensation to the people affected by tiol highways in the state even as the families affected by railway lines in the State have been compensated duley.

Talking to newsmen at Guwahati Press Club here today, Saikia said: “Many families in the State have been badly affected by tiol highways that ske though the State, but they haven’t been compensated properly as yet. When the affected families were compensated, parity has not been maintained at all. The famers of the State, whose arable lands have been acquisitioned for tiol highways, have been turned to baggers. They have to beg before the government to get their compensation paid. While the rate of compensation paid per bigha for the four-lane NH 37 ranges from Rs 32 lakh to Rs 68 lakh in Dibrugarh, the rate of compensation for farmers affected by NH-15 in Sonitpur district ranges from Rs 40,000 to Rs 6 lakh per bigha. Likewise, the rate of compensation for NH-52(B) in Sivasagar ranges from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 8 lakh per bigha against Rs 17,000 to Rs 2 lakh paid in Dibrugarh for the same highway. The rate of compensation for NH-38 under construction in Tinsukia district ranges from Rs 18,000 to Rs 30,000.  We’ve been writing to the authority against such discrimition in the payment of compensation, but to no avail. We condemn such an act of the government. We demand of the authority to put on hold the construction of all tiol highways in the State till the payment of right compensation to the affected families.”

CPI(ML) central committee member-cum-adviser of the mancha, Vivek Das said: “The BJP government in the State that came to power with the promise of protecting the tion (jaati), land (maati) and foundation (bheti) of the State has no plan to compensate the people of the State who have been badly affected by tiol highways. The government can provide thousands of bighas of land to a businessman-saint Ram Dev, but can’t pay the compensation to the farmers affected by various tiol highways in the State. Dispur hasn’t even obtained environment clearance while construction the tiol highways in the State. At a time when global temperature is on the rise, the BJP government doesn’t lay more importance on environment protection. It lays importance on destruction of forest for highways. Resorting to such a practice, the party is amassing funds for the next election in the country. We’ll register our protest on February 9 at Dispur against government’s failure to pay compensation and not paying importance on environmental situation. We appeal to all in the State to cooperate in the proposed February 9 protest.”