The Manimajra Farmers Welfare and Environment Protection Society in an executive body meeting held on Thursday expressed resentment on the shifting stands of the UT Administration in implementation of the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy 2007 (NRRP). They stated that the Chandigarh Administration is grabbing farmland of small and marginal farmers at a price less than one per cent of the market rate thus benefitting the realty firms and industries. The members discussed the ‘contradictory’ stand of the UT Administration in context of applicability and implementation of NRRP 2007 in regards to the land acquisition process pertaining to the Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park (RGCTP) Phase-III and other projects. The UT Administration had earlier denied the benefits of NRRP 2007 stating that this policy is applicable only in those cases where more than 400 families are displaced.According to sources, less than 400 families are being displaced in Chandigarh. Reacting sternly to this, the members have lodged a complaint with the Union Ministry of Rural Development in March. The ministry intervened and directed the UT Administration to rectify its interpretation of NRRP 2007 and clarified that the policy applies even to a single displaced individual. Following which, the UT Administration has now decided that it will apply only to those projects whose acquisition proceedings have been initiated after the date of implementation of NRRP 2007, i.e. October 31, 2007. The farmers alleged that the reason behind UT Administration’s shifting stands on the applicability of NRRP 2007, is that it wants to grab the prime, multi-cropped, agricultural land at a lesser rate and share more than 99 per cent revenue with industries. President of the society Hardial Singh Johl said the Union Ministry of Rural Development has been apprised of the acts of the government. Later in the meeting, the executive committee welcomed UT Advisor Pradip Mehra’s stand in the Medicity case, where he has valued 45 acre near RGCTP Phase III at Rs 2,000 crore i.e. Rs 44.44 crore per acre. The committee resolved that a delegation will soon visit New Delhi to apprise the senior Home Ministry officials of the attempts of UT Administrator General (Retd) S F Rodrigues to browbeat honest officials and make them toe his line in respect of various “forcible” land acquisitions, for the so-called development projects like RGCTP, Education City, Film City etc. The society has also resolved to use the Right to Information Act to procure the relevant documents regarding forcible land acquisitions being undertaken by the UT Administration in the name of development projects.
