As many as 35 aggrieved farmers have formed a panel called The Viramgam IOC Land Acquisition Affected Farmers' Committee to get early justice from the authorities concerned. The committee has already made written representations to Governor Sundar Singh Bhandari and Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel urging them to "get us justice from the IOC at the earliest".

A committee leader said here on Tuesday that the farmers had accepted the IOC's offer for Rs 138 per sq mtr of the land (the total value of which is over Rs 11 crore) under the consent award reached between the farmers' lawyers and the IOC on March 12, 1999.

The IOC authorities had informed the farmers that the former would take possession of the land in March itself and pay the compensation amount immediately. But, even after eight months, the farmers were yet to get the compensation amount from the IOC, as a result of which they could not buy farm land in other nearby areas, complained the committee leader.

He said the affected farmers would launch a non-violent agitation against the delay in payment of compensation if nothing was done in the issue.