BISWANATH CHARIALI, May 4 - The affected people whose land was acquired by the Central Government for the purpose of four-laning of National Highway-15 have decided to occupy their evicted land on May 7.
This was announced here on Thursday in a press meet by �15 No. Rashtriya Ghaipath Kshatigrasta Suraksha Eikyamancha of Sonitpur and Biswanath Districts�.
The apex body of the affected people of Biswanath and Sonitpur districts alleged that the Government has been dilly-dallying in the name of paying compensation to the land owners of 132 villages from Dolabari in Tezpur to Rajgarh in Gohpur.
The Government fixed the amount of compensation by applying the old Land Acquisition Act, 1983 though it should have been calculated by applying the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, they added.
Although the award was approved in 2012 itself, neither the compensation was paid to the affected land owners nor was the possession of land taken prior to enactment of the said Act.
Significantly, the Government appointed an arbitrator to deal with the issues after bowing to the pressure generated by the organisation. However, as the person concerned is due to retire during the current month, it will obviously result in more complicacies in the near future.
The Eikyamancha has decided to stop the ongoing work of four-laning by occupying the evicted land. The press meet was attended by Lakhyajit Das, Ghanashyam Hazarika, Ananta Hazarika, Palash Borkakati, Akan Saikia and others.
