Lakhwinder Kaur, 50, rushed to her farm almost a kilometre from her home in Cheema Khudi village of Gurdaspur, Punjab, when she heard a commotion in the village over policemen acquiring land forcefully on May 17.
Farmers in the village were protesting the acquisition of land, allegedly at unfair prices, for the central government’s Bharatmala Project, which involves the construction of highways.
“As I reached, I saw policemen beating kids in our village. My husband, who was already there, intervened and was thrashed by the police,” she told Moneycontrol over the phone.
Just moments later, as she tried to save her ailing husband from a brutal beating, Lakhwinder was slapped. A video of the incident went viral on social media the following day.
“My husband has been sick for a long time. Though he has no chronic illness, he falls sick very often. The beatings have left him in even more pain. He is finding difficulty walking now,” she says. Lakhwinder also has a son, 29, who has been ailing for the past five years. “He is being treated for dystonia in Delhi,” she said.
A small landholding of less than 1 acre is the family’s only source of income.
Sukhvinder Singh, a local farmer leader of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, said that police officials had on May 17 tried to take over the lands forcefully. “They abused us and beat our women,” he alleged.
Farmers demand fair and equal compensation
Farmers in the region said promises of fair and equal compensation for the land had been made but not delivered upon.
“We were told we would be given a compensation of Rs 1.18 crore per acre of land,” says Harvinder Singh, local farmer leader in Gurdaspur. He alleged that despite the promises, the amount has come down to Rs 25 lakh per acre in several cases, after local patwaris (registrars) completed the mapping process.
“This is unfair, especially because people in other villages, after mapping of land, are also being offered amounts up to Rs 1.67 crore. The compensation is changing every 2 meters even though all of it is agricultural land,” he alleged.
What is the policy governing land acquisition?
Since the land is being acquired under the Centre’s Bharatmala project, the NH Act governs the land acquisition.
The Act specifies that calculation of the amount to be paid would be done by a person authorized by the state department.
“For the valuation to be done, the Act provides comprehensive guidelines. The area, structures on land, trees etcetera are all counted. Exact areas are measured,” says former NHAI Member (projects), RK Pandey.
As per the act, assets other than land — structures, wells, trees, etcetera — are not to be registered. Compensation for the assets is paid on the basis of the prevailing Basic Schedule of Rates of the State Public Works Departments.
Even though the Act defines all the provisions via which the value has to be estimated, farmers allege unfair practices are rampant on the ground.
“We have no other way but to protest to raise our voices. These lands mean everything to us, they are our only source of earning. If they want to take it, they will have to pay fair compensation,” said Kaur.