Residents and shopkeepers affected by the widening of the National Highway 72 at Harrawala staged a protest at the District Collectorate accusing the Mussoorie-Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) of harassment. However, the authority has stated that it was available to help them get their building maps approved without which any construction will be considered illegal.
Members of the Rashtriya Rajmarg Adhigrahan Sangharsh Samiti reached the district collectorate to protest against alleged harassment by the authorities. The protesters claimed that about 80 families and shopkeepers affected by widening of the national highway 72 at Harrawala were being harassed by the MDDA.
They said that homes and shops about 50 years old located on both sides of the road at Harrawala village were acquired by National Highways Authority for the widening. The affected families voluntarily demolished their structures themselves and are constructing shops or homes on their remaining land with the money received in compensation.
They alleged that the MDDA had issued sealing and demolition notices to them. The compensation given to them for the land has been provided at a rate lower than the current circle rate while the compensation for the construction is lower than the PWD rate. They submitted a memorandum to the district magistrate seeking necessary action.
On the other hand, the MDDA secretary Prakash Chandra Dumka said that the people in question had started construction on their lands without getting the building map approved by the authority. “They had been penalised in the past for not getting the building maps approved. We have not issued demolition notices. They need to realise that we are ready to facilitate the approval of their building maps but without getting the building maps approved, the constructions will be considered illegal,” he added.