Residents of Palloor in Mahe here who have demanded higher compensation for their land being acquired for the Thalassery-Mahe bypass have decided to up their ante by demanding four times the government-fixed rate of the land.
The discontented land owners of Pallur in Mahe under the Puducherry State will place before the arbitrator, who will meet them on August 31, their demand that the compensation for the land should be four times the rate of land fixed by the Puducherry government in Mahe for the current financial year.
Though a district-level purchasing committee (DLPC) had fixed land prices in Mahe last year, the acquisition procedure could not be completed because of the alleged refusal of the National Authority of India (NHAI) to provide the compensation fixed by the DLPC. The NHAI allegedly objection to the DLPC-fixed rate on the ground that there was no provision in the rules regulating the National Highways to provide compensation fixed by the DLPC. Instead, the NHAI had proposed that it would provide the compensation fixed by the arbitrator.
The DLPC had earlier fixed the rate, which is four times the government-fixed rate in 2010-11, said Kannipoyil Babu, convener of the action committee. The Puducherry government had increased the land value by 15 per cent a year since then, he said. Moreover, the government rate for land on either side of the existing National Highway had also been substantially increased, he said adding that the government was mindful of the fact that land value in areas close to the road was high. Landowners of Palloor therefore deserved four times the rate of the government fixed value, he said.
The total length of the 17.8-km bypass passing through Palloor is two km. A total of 30 acres of land owned by 220 residents have been identified for the project. The action committee leaders said 45 houses in the area had to be demolished for developing the bypass.
The compensation should be four times the rate of land fixed by the Puducherry government, say residents.
