MANDI:  Fourlane Affected Farmers Association (FAFA) of the four-lane highway projects has lambasted the state government for putting the onus on the NHAI for giving factor-2 compensation to the affected farmers.

Referring to the statement of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur at Aut that he would take up the matter of compensation to the authorities, president FAFA Naresh Kumar Kuku claimed the issue of land comes under the state government. National Highway Authority ( NHAI) will give compensation as much as the state government wants, but the Himachal government has recommended only factor-1 compensation to NHAI, he claimed.

Kuku charged that the Chief Minister dismissed the matter by making an excuse in this matter.  “CM is a son of a farmer, but the matter of Factor 2 compensation remained unresolved for the last four years of his present tenure”, he said.

FAFA members said the farmers are Anndata of the country but they are being denied the cost of their land which would be lost forever to the roads. “The present government has been changing the chairman and members of the land acquisition committee time and again for the last four years that has caused a lot of heartburns among the affected farmers”, they charged.  

The farmers remined the BJP Government  of party’s commitment made in its Manifesto of 2017 that it would implement the Land Acquisition Compensation Act  of 2013 at the earliest and would give four times land compensation to the farmers of the state.

FAFA treasurer Bansi Thakur said Prime Minister Narender Modi in Mann Ki Baat and Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur talked about giving four-times compensation to the farmers, which would be paid by the central government.  At Bhuntar Airport, Union Minister Highways and Surface Transport Nitin Gadkari had told Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur that the farmers would be given four times compensation.

The farmers in other parts of Indian are getting four times compensation for the land that the government has acquired, but why the farmers of Himachal are being denied this, questioned, panchayat Pradhan, Shyam Sharma, Up-pradhan Gagan, Chandu Ram, Shyam, Vipan, Prem Chand, Ishwar Das of the land affected area.