The four-laning of the 43-km Kazhakuttam-Inchivila NH 66 bypass is running into rough weather over fixation of fair value for land being acquired in Chenkal and Karode blocks of Neyyattinkara taluk.
The Kovalam-Kaliyikkavila Action Council has demanded fair value on a par with that for Kottukal, Kanjiramkulam and Thirupuram areas.
The move has come when payment of compensation for the land in three blocks is going on and notice has been issued under Section 3G(3) of the NH Act 1956 asking the remaining 95 land owners of the five blocks to appear before Special Tahsildar (Land Acquisition), NH Unit II, Neyyattinkara on January 24 with supporting documents.
In Chenkal and Karode, the fair value for A class land with access to PWD roads is Rs.2.67 lakh a cent, Rs.2.39 lakh for B class land nearer to panchayat roads, Rs.2.35 lakh for C class land (inner areas), Rs.1.40 lakh for D class land (rural areas) and Rs.25,000 for E class land (paddy fields).
The council is demanding fair value on the lines of Rs.3.80 lakh given as compensation per cent for A class land in other three blocks. “Where can one get paddy fields in Chenkal and Karode for Rs.25,000 per cent,” asked action council president V. Sudhakaran.
‘Suggestion ignored’
The administration could not arbitrarily go ahead and take land forcibly by paying meagre compensation, he told The Hindu . Even the fair value of Rs.5.25 lakh per cent for A class land fixed by the District Level Purchase Committee (DLPC) had been ignored.
“The District Collector has not responded positively to our demand. We have documentary evidence for sale of land at higher price. We have decided to accept the compensation and then to take legal remedies,” the council president said.
About 70.65 hectares has to be acquired on the 17-km Kottukal-Karode stretch. The council has also protested against the delay in paying compensation despite the sanctioning of Rs.167 crore for those surrendering land in Chenkal and Karode villages.
The National Highways Authority of India has gone for the EPC mode after two attempts to take up the four-laning work on the BOT mode failed due to poor response.
District administration unresponsive: action panel
70.65 ha has to be acquired along Kottukal-Karode
