Officials who procured land for construction of a canal under the Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanti (HNSS) project at Gargeyapuram village in the mandal, refused to pay compensation for about 50 acres, saying that it was government land. Mr Ravindra Reddy, a farmer, said their elders had purchased about 50 acres in the village about 40 years ago. He said officials had given pattadar passbooks for the lands and they had taken bank loans using them. Mr Ravindra Reddy said eight other farmers were also cultivating the land. He said officials had paid Rs 95,000 per acre as compensation to other farmers in the village whose lands were acquired. Mr Ravindra Reddy said officials had promised to give them similar compensation and after three years told them that no compensation would be given. He said farmers, who were cultivating the lands, had no other land and didn't know how to repay their bank loans. Mr Ravindra Reddy said they had been paying land tax for the lands for the last 40 years. He said officials were also refusing to pay compensation being given to those cultivating government land to them. Mr Ravindra Reddy said they would search for alternate livelihood if compensation was paid to them and warned that they would have to commit suicide along with their family members if aid was denied.

Gram panchayat members of 19 villages have demanded that the compensation for land acquisition be increased from Rs.75 lakh per acre to Rs.2 crore. At a meeting organised by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Goel at Alipur here, it was pointed out that the Delhi Government had increased the compensation from Rs.25 lakh per acre to only Rs.75 lakh per acre in the last ten years, "even though the market price in these areas had gone up to Rs.3 crore per acre'.

The Supreme Court has passed a ruling directing the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to acquire 1.50 acres of land from plot no 438 in Salisbury Park, which had been reserved in the 1966 as well as the 1987 Development Plan (DP) for the purpose of developing a garden and playground. However, the civic administration had preferred to stay away from the acquisition citing "paucity of funds' as reason. The landowners had served the PMC a purchase notice for failing to acquire the land within the designated time.

Speakers at a view exchange meeting yesterday called on the authorities to evict land grabbers from about 300 bighas of land at Rajpur in Lalmonirhat and return them to the genuine owners. They also called for stern action against the illegal encroachers. Rajpur Char Land Recover Committee organised the meeting at Cirdap auditorium in the capital, with Shudhir Chandra Mohonto, convenor of the committee and a former union parishad chairman, in the chair. A booklet titled 'Roktakto Rajpur' was also launched at the programme. Eminent economist Prof Muzaffer Ahmad, former adviser to the caretaker government Sultana Kamal, University Grants Commission Member Prof AHM Zihadul Karim, Assistant Professor Abdur Rob of Jahangirnagar University, FEMA President Munira Khan, ActionAid Country Director Farah Kabir and representatives of Rajpur char dwellers spoke at the programme, moderated by Bidhan Chandra Pal of The Hunger Project. Expressing their shock at the land grabbing incident during this government, the speakers criticised the local administration for their inaction and demanded withdrawal of false cases filed against the real owner of the char lands. They also urged all to unite to launch a social movement to protect the char dwellers across the country. Representatives of the char dwellers alleged that a well-connected political leader in collusion with the local police administration has grabbed at least 300 bighas of char land in Rajpur. His men also tortured the real owners of the land when they refused to hand over their land to him, they added.

Proposal to acquire 2300 acres for the 2000 MW plant "Government had employed all tactics to terrorise the people' CHANDIGARH: The Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, a conglomerate of Left parties, has threatened to make it a national issue in case the Punjab government failed to meet the demands of the people of the four villages of Mansa district of Punjab, who are agitating against a proposal to acquire their 2300 acres of land to set up a 2000 MW thermal power plant.

Marking an important step in its plans to set up a chemical hub in the State, the West Bengal government on Friday handed over a

In an effort to preserve the productive area for, the state government has decided not to allow setting up of any special economic zone (SEZ) on agricultural land, however, the entrepreneurs willing to invest on the barren land are most welcome. Rather, the government will facilitate investors, who are willing to invest in barren areas, claimed Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal. Dhumal was interacting with mediapersons after inaugurating a new OPD complex, at Nurpur Civil Hospital, here today. It has been made at a cost of Rs 119 crore.

The Delhi Government has taken possession of land given by the DDA for construction of a gas-based power plant at Bamnauli. The 50 acres that will be owned by the Delhi Government and leased to the Power Department has fetched the DDA Rs.109 crore. The land will be used for setting up a 750 MW gas-based power plant. Power Department officials said the environment impact assessment would now be carried out by NTPC and the plant would be completed by 2010. A MoU has already been signed with Petronet for supply and purchase of gas.

The supreme court ruled on October 12 that governments should not acquire agricultural land for private companies for non-agricultural purposes unless there is no alternative. Pointing out that the