Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A fresh draft about land pooling for Simhastha has been prepared after a series of protests by the Bharatiya Kisan Sangathan (BKS).
According to the new draft, only 155 hectares will be acquired for roads and other work for Simhastha.
In the previous draft, there was a proposal for the acquisition of 2,376 hectares. But Chief Minister Mohan Yadav decided to scrap the proposal after the BKS’s protest against it.
But after Yadav’s decision, an order issued by the government indicated that the Ujjain Development Authority was to modify the scheme. The BKS, protesting the order, demanded the cancellation of the land pooling scheme.
The Urban Development Department has prepared a fresh draft, and efforts are being made to persuade the farmers to accept the fresh draft. According to the draft, 155 hectares will be acquired for constructing roads, sewage systems, and other important work.
The farmers will get double compensation for the land under the Land Acquisition Act. It has been mentioned in the draft that the compensation will be given to the farmers after holding talks with them, which means the government may give them more compensation.
Except for 155 hectares, the rest of the land will be out of the land pooling scheme, which has also been mentioned in the draft. Once the BKS accepts the draft, it will be notified in the gazette.
The BKS recently warned the government of a statewide agitation unless the land pooling scheme was completely scrapped. This is the reason that the government is trying to take the consent of the BKS on the new draft before the farmers launch an agitation.
The functionaries of the RSS and BJP’s state unit president, Hemant Khandelwal, also intervened in the matter to avoid a showdown between the government and the BKS.
What is government’s intention?
The government intends to acquire land to develop roads, sewage systems, and other work through the land pooling scheme so that it does not have to start the process under the Land Acquisition Act.
If the government starts the land acquisition process afresh, it may take six months, which it cannot afford, because the date for Simhastha is not very far.
