Water users’ association protests destruction of standing paddy crops for erection of HT power line in Bahour
Standing paddy crops being destroyed by an earthmover at Bahour near Puducherry.
The Bangaru Vaickal Neeradhara Koottamaippu, a water users’ association, protested against the detention of farmers and destruction of standing paddy crops by a joint team of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and the Departments of Electricity and Revenue of the Puducherry Government for erecting a high tension (HT) electric line in Bahour near Puducherry on August 17. It was part of the four-laning work of the Villupuram-Nagapattinam Highway.
In a memorandum addressed to the Lt. Governor K. Kailashnathan, the president of the association, V. Chandrasekhar, said that a section of farmers in Bahour had received a notice stating that their land may be acquired for setting up an HT electric line as part of the four-laning work of the Villupuram-Nagapattinam Highway.
Though farmers had preferred an appeal against the move, the authorities of NHAI and Puducherry government officials went ahead and destroyed standing paddy crops and detained the protesting farmers on August 17.
“Ideally, the NHAI and the line departments of Revenue, Electricity should have mentioned the extent of land required for the construction, with survey details and should have intimated the farmers well in advance along with the quantum of compensation for the land being acquired.”
“However, no such information was shared with any of the farmers and the clandestine manner in which the NHAI and the line departments have destroyed the standing crops is highly condemnable,” Mr. Chandrasekhar said.
While farmers are not against development, the way in which the whole process was done is a step in the wrong direction. The land also should have been surveyed with the farmers’ presence and demarcated in advance before the actual land acquisition process began, he said.
The Association said the detention of farmers’ was totally uncalled for and urged the Lt. Governor to intervene and take action against officials who had destroyed standing paddy crops. The compensation should also be calculated based on the current land value for farm lands in Bahour and it should also include compensation for crop damages.
Read Comments
- Copy link
- Telegram
READ LATER
Remove
SEE ALL
PRINT