Sanjay Bumbroo
Panchkula, February 12
Farmers heaved a sigh of relief as the Central Government has appointed the Commissioner, Ambala Division, as the arbitrator for increasing the compensation to farmers for the land acquired by Railways for laying the Chandigarh-Baddi line.
The farmers were dissatisfied with the compensation given by the Railways for the 47.36 acres acquired in 21 villages of Kalka tehsil. Now, the Ministry of Railways has issued a notification for laying the new broad gauge rail line project from Chandigarh to the industrial town of Baddi in Himachal Pradesh.
The land was acquired by Northern Railways for the Chandigarh-Baddi line by issuing a notification on March 3, 2021. The compensation awarded for the acquired land was very less, claimed the owners.
Earlier, senior vice-president of Haryana Kisan Congress Vijay Bansal had sent a letter to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and demanded action to resolve the issue of compensation. He had stated that the land was fertile and had also came under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Council, Kalka. Limiting the compensation between Rs 45 lakh per acre and Rs 2.5 crore per acre was against the farmers’ rights.
Bansal said the National Highways Authority of India too had acquired land in these villages for the four-laning of Pinjore-Baddi road and awarded compensation ranging from Rs 4.5 crore to Rs 8.7 crore per acre.
