E-way work halted as farmers demand more compensation

THE FARMERS STOPPED WORK BETWEEN PALWAL AND SHAHJANPUR KHADAR, THE LAST VILLAGE ON THE HARYANA BORDER

NEW DELHI: Work on the national capital region’s Kundli-ghaziabad-palwal (KGP) Expressway has been suspended amid protest by farmers who are demanding increased compensation for their land.

On Tuesday, the farmers stopped work between Palwal and Shahjanpur Khadar, the last village on the Haryana border.

“We were forced to stop work on Monday and Tuesday and we will not allow it on over the 30km stretch up to Uttar Pradesh border till we are fully compensated for our land,” said Rajesh Bhati, president of Kissan Sangarsh Samiti. Bhati said the government has to pay an additional Rs 1,285 crore for 1057 acres of land acquired in 24 villages for the project. On Monday, the farmers had threatened to stop construction of expressway.

“The revenue authorities calculated this amount on the direction of the court. The NHAI which has to pay this amount to state government for onward disbursement among the farmers is causing the delay,” Bhati said.

“Our fight will continue and we are determined to get the issue resolved,” said Joginder Bhadana, a farmer who was part of the protest.

“The farmers have stalled work and we are requesting them to allow us resume it,” confirmed Yashpal Singh, DGM NHAI.

NCR’S biggest 136-Km-kundliGhaziabad-palwal (KGP) Expressway was proposed to be complete by August 15, 2017. In April,union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari, had flown into Mohana village in Faridabad and later to Jalaka village in Palwal to review the work.

The minister had then said that nearly 60 percent of the work on the project has been complete. He had also said that he hoped the project would be complete by August 2017. Once the project is commissioned, about 2 lakh vehicles can take this Expressway and decongest traffic in Delhi and Faridabad.