The Association of Farmers Affected by the Execution of the National Highway 68 has urged the State Government to settle the compensation assured to the farmers who gave their lands for the Salem – Ulundurpet project executed a decade ago.
In a petition presented to District Collector Rohini Bhajibhakare, president of the Association R. Gopalakrishnan said that the Government in 2009 assured a compensation ranging between ₹ 25 lakh and ₹ 50 lakh for per acre of land; ₹ 25,000 for a matured coconut tree,₹ 8,000 for arecanut trees and between ₹ 5,000 and ₹ 10,000 for the other tree varieties.
He demanded the government to sanction the assured compensation to the affected farmers with immediate effect.
The government also assured an incentive of ₹ one lakh to the farmers who give their lands for the project first in every village. This incentive too has not been given. The government should also fulfil its promise of providing government job to one member of every family which provided land to the project.
The Association demanded a compensation of ₹ 500 to ₹ 1,000 per sq.ft. as per the market value for the house site land and between ₹ 1,500 and ₹ 2,000 for the buildings destroyed for the NH 68 project.
The petition also demanded the government to do away with the collection of the toll in toll plazas on the highway for the farm products and for the personal vehicles of the farmers who gave away their lands.
The Association demanded the government to reopen the special RDO and tahsildar offices for calculating the sanctioning the compensation with immediate effect.
Mr. Gopalakrishnan said the association would mobilise the entire farming community and lay siege to the toll plazas if the government failed to concede the demands within a month.