When Assembly elections are just round the corner in the State, no political party wants to miss the opportunity to buy people’s support even if it meant taking law into their hands.
Taking cue from Nagari villagers’ successful protests to stall the construction of the new building for IIM-R, they ploughed the land, the proposed site for the new Assembly building at Kute village, on the outskirts of the capital, on Friday and sowed paddy seeds in order to show solidarity with local residents.
They included TMC MlA Bandhu Tirkey, BJP’s Deepak Prakash, Congress’ Subodh Kant Sahay and JVM’s Naveen Jaiswal among others.
The matter has also reached the doorsteps of
Chief Minister Hemant Soren and knocked the Jharkhand High Court’s in the form a PIl about two months ago.
Bandhu Tirkey, extending crucial support to the Hemant Soren Government, even charged it for forcibly overpowering land of the poor
villagers.
“The Government is acting in an autocratic manner and trying to take land forcibly from the villagers. If this happens, then there is no point continuing in the Government,” said Mandar MlA Tirkey.
Villagers also sacrificed 100 chickens on the occasion as a tribal ritual gets obeyed before starting any auspicious work like inaugural farming activities in monsoon season. Villagers in about 300 in number of Kute and some adjoining to it are on indefinite dharna demanding adequate compensation as per new land Acquisition Act-2013 passed by Parliament.
“We have two main objections. Firstly, the Government requires nearly 2300-2400 acres for building Assembly and other necessary premises. That much of land is already available and there is no need to displace the villages settled nearby. Secondly, the displaced people should be compensated afresh under the provisions of the new land acquisition act as the land was not used for nearly 50 years for the purpose it was taken,” said Pankaj Shahdeo of ‘Hatia Visthapit Parivar Samiti’.
The agitators refer to the section 24(B) of the newly passed act which makes provision for compensation based on current market price and treat the land in question as un-acquired if it has not been used for the purpose it was taken or left unused for long. They claim that the land identified for building Assembly and other Government offices had been acquired for the HEC and left unused since 1960.
“The additional land should have been returned to the displaced. If it is not done then now renewed rate of compensation should be paid to them,” added Bandhu Tirkey extending his support to the agitation that has stalled fencing work started by the administration.
The villagers also questioned “additional” land being taken on the name of developing the area and sniff foul play behind this. “They do not like to see the faces of poor people and tribal as it would present an ugly picture before the officers, leaders and businessmen coming to settle or work here. It is like ethnic cleansing as they do not want our presence even nearby,” said Birender Mahali, a resident of Jagganathpur.