Another storm brewing over acquisition
Tuesday, 01/05/2012
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120501/punjab.htm#1
Farmer bodies, who opposed a similar move in Gobindpura, protest proposal to shift Amritsar Central Jail to Bhalapind
After Gobindpura, another proposal to acquire land has brought various farmer organisations out on the streets against the state government’s move. This time, they are up in arms against the proposed acquisition of around 80 acres of land in Bhalapind, 17 km from Amritsar, for building a new jail.
Leading a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office today, Jamhuri Kisan Sabha Punjab chief Satnam Singh Ajnala announced they would not allow forcible acquisition of even an inch of farmers’ land at Bhalapind. They warned any such bid would be strongly resisted.
Farmers up in arms against state government Claim the government wants to sell the prime land worth hundreds of crores where currently the jail is located to tide over the financial crisis Accuse the local SAD leaders of pressuring the farmers to give away their land at Rs 30 lakh an acre against the market price of Rs 1 crore per acre Wonder as to why the state government is keen on shifting the jail to a smaller area as compared to the existing premises of the Amritsar Central Jail Remind Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal of his promise made to the farming community that their land would not be acquired forcibly by the governmentReminding Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal of his promise that the farmers’ land would not be acquired forcibly, he said there was no rationale in shifting the existing Central Jail in Amritsar to Bhalapind. “At present, the Central Jail is spread over 89 acres of land and only half of it is constructed area. It offers adequate scope for further expansion. It is also not very far from the court complex, which facilitates easy movement of undertrials to court. Moreover, it is easily accessible for the kin of prisoners who want to meet them,” he said. Of the total land that the government intends to acquire in Bhalapind, 50 to 55 acres belongs to sugarcane seed farm of the village’s cooperative sugar mill while the rest is owned by around 15 small farmers.
Kirti Kisan Union leader Datar Singh said the land for the seed farm was acquired from the farmers at the rate of Rs 40,000 per acre around two decades back. “However, it was never used for the purpose for which it was acquired. The mill had given this land on lease to the farmers for sowing wheat,” he said. He drew a parallel with Bhatta Parsaul in Uttar Pradesh and demanded that the seed farm land too should be restored to the farmers, as it was never used for the purpose it had been acquired for.
The farmer leaders accused the government of wanting to sell off the prime land worth hundreds of crores where currently the Central Jail is located here for tiding over the prevailing fiscal crisis. They also wondered as to why the government is keen on shifting the jail to a smaller area as compared to the existing premises of the Central Jail. They also accused the local SAD leaders of pressuring the farmers to give away their land at the rate of Rs 30 lakh per acre as compared to the prevailing market price of Rs 1 crore per acre.
Daljeet Singh, who owns three acres of land at the proposed site, said they didn’t want to part with their land as it was their only source of income. The affected farmers alleged that they never got what was promised to them at the time of land acquisition for the sugar mill.
At present, the local Central Jail is grappling with the problem of overcrowding, as there are over 2,500 prisoners in it against the capacity of 1,000.
The farmer leaders also alleged that the cultivable land is also being acquired at very less prices under the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana in villages. For widening of road from Bandala to GT Road, the farmers are being offered a meagre Rs 8.46 lakh an acre against government price of Rs 21.6 lakh and market prices of Rs 80 lakh, they alleged.
